Idea #616 – Visiting the citadel of Khodjent in Tajikistan
In 323 BC BC, after his marriage with Roxane and before undertaking the campaign of India, Alexander the Great leaves his headquarters in Maracanda – Samarkand – for Tashkent, south of which he orders the construction of a city -comptoir and fortress that he named Alexandria Eschatè (Ἀλεξάνδρεια Ἐσχάτη), or Alexandreschata (in Latin: Alexandria Ultima, that is to say “Alexandria the furthest”). It is here that the great river leaves the mountain range to spread peacefully over a large fertile plain.
Beyond that, were the lands of the tribes of nomad warriors of the Scythians and Massagets, tribes that Alexander never dared to face. In 1866, when part of Central Asia came under the sovereignty of the Russian Empire, the city became part of the Turkestan government under the name of Khudjand, becoming the chief town of Khudjand’s ouïdd in the Samarkand oblast. Soviet power established itself at the beginning of 1918.
In 1924, the city was first attached to the Soviet Socialist Republic of Uzbekistan and then, on October 2, 1929, to the Soviet Socialist Republic of Tajikistan.The oldest remains of the city are remains of earthen walls of the citadel of the tenth century, which once had seven gates and 6 km of fortifications. Alexander the Great, during his conquest, stopped in these places. In 1997, the fort was the scene of pitched battles between a rebel Uzbek leader and government troops. There were 300 deaths. The main section remains occupied by the army, but a large part of the eastern wall has been rebuilt, creating an imposing landscape when viewed from the southeast corner. We, we opted for a visit – wild – remains of the citadel.
Some Pictures
Where is it ?
Khodjent, Tadjikistan
