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Samarkand - Quiz
Contributed by: Casey
  • 1. What country is Samarkand located in?
A) Tajikistan
B) Uzbekistan
C) Kyrgyzstan
D) Kazakhstan
  • 2. Samarkand is part of which historical trade route?
A) Incense Route
B) Amber Road
C) Silk Road
D) Spice Route
  • 3. Which empire did Samarkand serve as a capital for?
A) Ottoman Empire
B) Persian Empire
C) Mongol Empire
D) Timurid Empire
  • 4. What is the famous mausoleum located in Samarkand?
A) Gur-e-Amir
B) Taj Mahal
C) Pyramids of Giza
D) Mausoleum of Augustus
  • 5. Which river is Samarkand near?
A) Oxus River
B) Zarafshan River
C) Amu Darya
D) Syr Darya
  • 6. Which tapestry technique is associated with Samarkand?
A) Kilims
B) Suzani
C) Gobelin
D) Aubusson
  • 7. What was Samarkand known as in ancient times?
A) Sogdiana
B) Nisa
C) Bactra
D) Maracanda
  • 8. Who was the famous astronomer associated with Samarkand?
A) Kepler
B) Ulugh Beg
C) Copernicus
D) Ptolemy
  • 9. What is the population of Samarkand as of 2021?
A) 551,700 inhabitants
B) 650,000 inhabitants
C) 500,000 inhabitants
D) 600,000 inhabitants
  • 10. What region is Samarkand the capital of?
A) Surxondaryo Region
B) Tashkent Region
C) Samarkand Region
D) Fergana Region
  • 11. Who conquered Samarkand in 1220?
A) Genghis Khan
B) Timur
C) Alexander the Great
D) Cyrus the Great
  • 12. What was Samarkand known as when Alexander the Great conquered it in 329 BC?
A) Bukhara
B) Merv
C) Markanda
D) Khiva
  • 13. Who made Samarkand the capital of his empire in the 14th century?
A) Cyrus the Great
B) Genghis Khan
C) Alexander the Great
D) Timur
  • 14. What is one of Samarkand's most notable landmarks rebuilt during the Soviet era?
A) Gur-e Amir Mausoleum
B) Shah-i-Zinda
C) Registan Square
D) Bibi-Khanym Mosque
  • 15. What is Samarkand's ancient centre known for?
A) Shah-i-Zinda
B) Registan square
C) Bibi-Khanym Mosque
D) Gur-e Amir Mausoleum
  • 16. In which year was Samarkand added to UNESCO's World Heritage List?
A) 2003
B) 2010
C) 2001
D) 1999
  • 17. What are the two parts of modern Samarkand called?
A) old city and new city
B) historic quarter and modern sector
C) eastern district and western district
D) central zone and peripheral zone
  • 18. Which languages are widely used in Samarkand?
A) Kazakh, Uyghur, and Kyrgyz
B) Uzbek, Russian, and Tajik
C) Azerbaijani, Armenian, and Georgian
D) Turkmen, Pashto, and Dari
  • 19. What significant event did Samarkand host in 2022?
A) World Economic Forum
B) Olympic Games
C) SCO summit
D) COP26 climate conference
  • 20. Who captured Marakanda in 329 BC?
A) Genghis Khan
B) Timur
C) Alexander the Great
D) Cyrus the Great
  • 21. What does 'samarkand' likely mean according to some sources?
A) 'Golden city'
B) 'Fat city'
C) 'Stone, rock fort, town'
D) 'Water city'
  • 22. Which language's term for 'stone' is similar in meaning to the name of Samarkand?
A) Turkic
B) Sogdian
C) Persian
D) Greek
  • 23. What was Samarkand known as in Karakhanid Turkic according to Mahmud al-Kashghari?
A) 'Sämizkänd' or 'Sämerkänd'
B) 'Tashkent'
C) 'Bukhara'
D) 'Marakanda'
  • 24. Which Mughal emperor mentioned Samarkand as a 'fat city'?
A) Humayun
B) Babur
C) Akbar
D) Shah Jahan
  • 25. What is the French spelling of Samarkand?
A) 'Samarkanda'
B) 'Semerkant'
C) 'Samarqand'
D) 'Samarcande'
  • 26. What period does the earliest evidence of human activity in Samarkand date back to?
A) 'Neolithic'
B) 'Mesolithic'
C) 'Iron Age'
D) 'Upper Paleolithic'
  • 27. Which dynasty made Samarkand the capital of the Sogdian satrapy?
A) 'Umayyad Caliphate'
B) 'Achaemenid dynasty of Persia'
C) 'Timurid Empire'
D) 'Mongol Empire'
  • 28. What is the Italian spelling of Samarkand?
A) 'Samarqand'
B) 'Samarcanda'
C) 'Samarkanda'
D) 'Semerkant'
  • 29. Who became ruler of Samarkand as a gift from Alexander the Great?
A) Seleucus I Nicator
B) Orepius
C) Bessus
D) Darius III
  • 30. Which culture heavily influenced local artisans in Samarkand after Alexander's conquests?
A) Classical Greek
B) Persian
C) Indian
D) Chinese
  • 31. Which empire did Samarkand become part of after the death of Alexander the Great and before the Kushan Empire?
A) Macedonian Empire
B) Roman Empire
C) Parthian Empire
D) Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
  • 32. When did Samarkand go into decline as a center of power?
A) 7th century AD
B) 5th century BC
C) 9th century AD
D) 3rd century AD
  • 33. Who conquered Samarkand around 260 AD?
A) Alexander the Great
B) The Hephthalites
C) The Turkic Khaganate
D) The Persian Sasanians
  • 34. What religion became essential in Samarkand under Sasanian rule?
A) Buddhism
B) Manichaeism
C) Zoroastrianism
D) Christianity
  • 35. Which nomadic tribes conquered Samarkand between AD 350 and 375?
A) Mongols
B) Huns
C) Scythians
D) Xionites
  • 36. Who controlled Samarkand after the Hephthalites until around 560 AD?
A) The Byzantine Empire
B) The Roman Empire
C) The Umayyad Caliphate
D) The Göktürks, in alliance with Sassanid Persians
  • 37. Which religion's metropolitanate was established in Samarkand at the beginning of the 8th century?
A) Manichaeism
B) Nestorian Christianity
C) Islam
D) Zoroastrianism
  • 38. Who established family relations with the ruler of Samarkand during the Western Turkic Khaganate?
A) Tong Yabghu Qaghan
B) Chinggis Khan
C) Shapur II
D) Attila the Hun
  • 39. Which religion was most followed in Samarkand before the Islamic era?
A) Buddhism
B) Hinduism
C) Zoroastrianism
D) Manichaeism
  • 40. Who ruled Samarkand after the Abbasids lost control?
A) The Karakhanids
B) The Samanids
C) The Seljuqs
D) The Umayyads
  • 41. Which Turkic tribe overthrew the Samanids around 999?
A) The Seljuqs
B) The Abbasids
C) The Khwarazmshahs
D) The Karakhanids
  • 42. Which dynasty ruled over Samarkand after the fall of the Samanids state in 999?
A) The Qarakhanid State
B) The Mongol Empire
C) The Timurid Dynasty
D) The Chagatai Khanate
  • 43. Which memorial complex was founded by the rulers of the Karakhanid dynasty in the 11th century?
A) Registan Square
B) Gur-e-Amir
C) Shah-i-Zinda
D) Bibi-Khanym Mosque
  • 44. Who described Samarkand as 'a very large and splendid city' in the late 13th century?
A) Ibn Battuta
B) Al-Biruni
C) Xuanzang
D) Marco Polo
  • 45. Which religious institutions were allowed to be established in the khanate after the Mongol conquest?
A) Jewish synagogues
B) Buddhist monasteries
C) Christian bishoprics
D) Hindu temples
  • 46. Who visited Samarkand in 1333 and described it as 'one of the greatest and finest of cities'?
A) Ulugh Beg
B) Ibn Battuta
C) Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo
D) Timur
  • 47. What was used to supply water to the orchards in Samarkand during Ibn Battuta's visit?
A) Aqueducts
B) Wells
C) Canals
D) Norias
  • 48. In which year did Timur make Samarkand his capital?
A) 1417
B) 1365
C) 1370
D) 1409
  • 49. What was the approximate population of Samarkang during Timur's rule?
A) 200,000
B) 50,000
C) 150,000
D) 100,000
  • 50. Who visited Samarkand between 8 September and 20 November 1404?
A) Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo
B) Ulugh Beg
C) Timur
D) Ibn Battuta
  • 51. What was the main interest of Ulugh Beg in science?
A) Astronomy
B) Chemistry
C) Physics
D) Mathematics
  • 52. In which year did Ulugh Beg construct an observatory in Samarkand?
A) 1417
B) 1435
C) 1409
D) 1428
  • 53. What was the name of the main instrument at Ulugh Beg's observatory?
A) Samarkand Telescope
B) Fakhri Sextant
C) Ulugh Quadrant
D) Timur Wall
  • 54. What was the radius of the Fakhri Sextant?
A) 50 meters
B) 30 meters
C) 40 meters
D) 20 meters
  • 55. What was the circumference of the walls that separated Samarkand from its neighbors?
A) 6 km (3.75 mi)
B) 10 km (6 mi)
C) 12 km (7.5 mi)
D) 8 km (5 mi)
  • 56. Which uprising occurred in Samarkand in 1365?
A) Battuta insurrection
B) Timurid rebellion
C) Clavijo revolt
D) Sarbadar uprising
  • 57. What was a notable feature of the city during Timur's rule?
A) Lack of artistic development
B) Stability and peace
C) Economic decline
D) Constant construction
  • 58. What state did Samarkand become part of after being taken by Muhammad Shaybani?
A) The Mughal Empire
B) The Bukhara Khanate
C) The Safavid Empire
D) The Timurid Empire
  • 59. What did Muhammad Shaybani Khan order to be built in Samarkand?
A) A market
B) A palace
C) A large madrasa
D) A fortress
  • 60. When is the first dated news about the Shaybani Khan madrasa recorded?
A) 1504
B) 1525
C) 1510
D) 1530
  • 61. Who wrote that Sheibani Khan built a madrasa to perpetuate the memory of his brother?
A) Muhammad Salikh
B) Zayn ad-din Vasifi
C) Fazlallah ibn Ruzbihan
D) Abdulatif Khan
  • 62. Who visited the Sheibani-khan madrasa several years after it was built?
A) Fazlallah ibn Ruzbihan
B) Muhammad Salikh
C) Abdulatif Khan
D) Zayn ad-din Vasifi
  • 63. Under what literary pseudonym did Abdulatif Khan write poetry?
A) Hafiz
B) Khush
C) Saadi
D) Rumi
  • 64. In what year did Samarkand come under Russian rule?
A) 1888
B) 1868
C) 1756
D) 1886
  • 65. Who led the force that took the citadel of Samarkand for Russia?
A) Colonel Konstantin Petrovich von Kaufman
B) Muhammad Rakhimbiy
C) Abdul Malik Tura
D) Alexander Abramov
  • 66. When did the Trans-Caspian railway reach Samarkand?
A) 1888
B) 1758
C) 1868
D) 1886
  • 67. In which year did Samarkand become the capital of the Uzbek SSR?
A) 1930
B) 1925
C) 1942
D) 1970
  • 68. Who was responsible for initiating the celebrations of the 2500th anniversary of Samarkand in 1970?
A) Sharaf Rashidov
B) V. Bartold
C) Academician I. Muminov
D) N. Veselovsky
  • 69. What climate classification does Samarkand have?
A) Mediterranean
B) Humid subtropical
C) Desert
D) Cold semi-arid (BSk)
  • 70. What major event did Samarkand host for the first time in 2022?
A) World Cup
B) Carnival
C) Full marathon
D) Olympics
  • 71. Which city is about 270 km away from Samarkand via Road M39?
A) Bukhara
B) Qarshi
C) Tashkent
D) Dushanbe
  • 72. Which ethnic group is especially concentrated in the eastern part of Samarkand?
A) Uzbeks
B) Armenians
C) Tajiks
D) Russians
  • 73. What was a significant change in ethnic registration noted during the 1926 census in Samarkand?
A) Tajik numbers increased substantially.
B) Many Tajiks were registered as Uzbeks.
C) More Russians were registered than before.
D) Uzbek numbers decreased significantly.
  • 74. What is the name of the river that connects Samarkand to Mazar-i-Sharif in Afghanistan?
A) M39
B) Syrdar'ya
C) Amu Darya
D) Zarefshan River
  • 75. Which ethnic group was deported to Samarkand from Merv in the late 18th century?
A) Iranis
B) Tajiks
C) Russians
D) Uzbeks
  • 76. Which ethnic group in Samarkand primarily speaks the Parya language?
A) Tajiks
B) Russians
C) Central Asian 'Gypsies'
D) Uzbeks
  • 77. Which is the most popular Russian-language newspaper published in Samarkand?
A) Samarqand News
B) Samarkandskiy vestnik
C) Ovozi Samarqand
D) Durdonai Sharq
  • 78. Which famous Persian poet lived or visited Samarkand?
A) Leo Tolstoy
B) Charles Dickens
C) William Shakespeare
D) Abulqasem Ferdowsi
  • 79. What percentage of residents in Samarkand speak Uzbek as a native tongue?
A) 90%
B) 70%
C) About 30%
D) 50%
  • 80. What is the name of the newspaper published in Tajiki in Samarkand?
A) Ovozi Samarqand
B) Samarqand Herald
C) Samarkandskiy vestnik
D) Durdonai Sharq
  • 81. Which language is spoken by a very small percentage of Samarkandian Arabs?
A) Arabic
B) Uzbek
C) Russian
D) Tajik
  • 82. Which religious group primarily inhabited Samarkand before Islam?
A) Christians
B) Zoroastrians
C) Hindus
D) Jews
  • 83. Who authored the hadith collection known as Sahih al-Bukhari?
A) Imam Bukhari
B) Ibn Khaldun
C) Rumi
D) Al-Ghazali
  • 84. What percentage of Muslims in Samarkand are Sunni?
A) 95-100%
B) Approximately 80–85%
C) 50-55%
D) 30-35%
  • 85. Which Islamic school do most Sunnis in Samarkand follow?
A) Shia
B) Ja'fari
C) Hanafi
D) Maliki
  • 86. Who is the founder of Maturidism, whose shrine is in Samarkand?
A) Ibn Taymiyyah
B) Al-Ghazali
C) Imam Maturidi
D) Rumi
  • 87. Which religious figure revered in Islam, Judaism, and Christianity has a mausoleum in Samarkand?
A) Muhammad
B) The Prophet Daniel
C) Jesus Christ
D) Moses
  • 88. Which Sufi leader from the 15th century has descendants known as a sacred lineage in Samarkand?
A) Al-Hallaj
B) Ibn Arabi
C) Rumi
D) Khodja Akhror Wali
  • 89. Who was the president that implemented a liberal policy affecting religious identity in Samarkand?
A) Emomali Rahmon
B) President Shavkat Mirziyoyev
C) Islam Karimov
D) Nursultan Nazarbayev
  • 90. What is the term used by Samarkandian Iranians to refer to themselves?
A) Tajiki
B) Azerbaijani
C) Irani
D) Uzbeki
  • 91. From which region did many ancestors of Samarkandian Shiites originate in the 18th century?
A) Fergana Valley
B) Khiva
C) Khorasan
D) Tashkent Region
  • 92. What event do Shiites in Samarkand commemorate annually?
A) Ashura
B) Hajj
C) Eid al-Fitr
D) Ramadan
  • 93. Which of the following is a secondary region from which Samarkandian Shiites originate?
A) Turkmenistan
B) Kyrgyzstan
C) Kazakhstan
D) Iranian Azerbaijan
  • 94. What was the US Ambassador for International Religious Freedom's view on the figures provided by a Shiite imam in Bukhara?
A) Confirmed their accuracy
B) Slightly doubted their authenticity
C) Ignored them completely
D) Fully trusted them
  • 95. Which ethnic group, besides Iranians, is part of the Samarkandian Shiite community?
A) Kazakhs
B) Kyrgyz
C) Azerbaijanis
D) Turkmen
  • 96. Which Christian denomination became a center in Samarkand during its early history?
A) Russian Orthodoxy
B) Nestorianism
C) Roman Catholicism
D) Armenian Apostolic Church
  • 97. What happened to Catholicism in Samarkand after its initial establishment?
A) It remained unchanged.
B) It merged with Nestorianism.
C) It was completely supplanted by Islam.
D) It became the dominant religion.
  • 98. Which church in Samarkand was built at the beginning of the 20th century?
A) St. John the Baptist Catholic Church.
B) Church of St. George Pobedonosets
C) Church of Surb Astvatsatsin
D) Cathedral of St. Alexiy Moscowskiy
  • 99. Which Christian sect is the third largest in Samarkand?
A) Armenian Apostolic Church.
B) Russian Orthodox Church
C) Catholicism
D) Protestantism
  • 100. When did the Silk Road Samarkand complex open?
A) 2020
B) 2019
C) 2021
D) Early 2022
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