Afrasiab: Ancient Samarkand and the Famous Ambassadors' Fresco

Most visitors to Samarkand see the Registan, Gur-e-Amir and Shah-i-Zinda, yet few realise that all these monuments belong to the "young" city. The real ancient Samarkand, the Maracanda of classical writers, lies on the northern edge of town on a vast loess hill called Afrasiab. The city lived here for more than fifteen hundred years until Genghis Khan's armies sacked it in 1220. Afterwards life moved south, and the hill turned into a deserted ruin field.

Today Afrasiab means two things: the archaeological site itself, with its excavation trenches, and a small museum built specifically around its star find, a 7th-century wall painting usually called the Ambassadors' Painting.

What the Afrasiab site is

The hill covers more than two hundred hectares. From the road it looks like rolling grassy mounds, and an unprepared traveller can easily drive past. Inside are traces of defensive walls, a citadel, water channels and residential quarters from different eras, from the Sogdian period to the Karakhanids. Archaeologists have been working here since the late 19th century, and many finds are kept in museums in Samarkand and Tashkent.

You can climb the hill along footpaths. The view from the top is surprisingly wide: the blue domes of Shah-i-Zinda are right beside you, Bibi-Khanym rises to the south, and beyond it spreads the modern city. From up here it is easy to see how Samarkand "slid" down off the hill after the Mongol invasion.

The museum and the Ambassadors' Painting

The main reason to come to Afrasiab is the hall of murals from the palace of the Sogdian ruler Varkhuman. The paintings were discovered in 1965 during road construction and miraculously survived thirteen centuries underground. The museum was designed so that the fragments stand on the same walls and in the same sequence as in the original hall.

The painting once covered all four walls of a ceremonial room, and each wall told its own story:

• West wall - foreign embassies received by the ruler of Samarkand. You can make out Chinese envoys carrying silk, guests from Chaganian, and figures that scholars associate with the Korean kingdom of Goguryeo, recognisable by their feathered headgear.
• South wall - a ceremonial procession: horsemen, camels, an elephant and white geese led to sacrifice.
• North wall - Chinese scenes: an empress in a boat among fish and flowers, and a hunting scene.
• East wall - the worst preserved, and its subject is interpreted in different ways.

One figure on the west wall still carries a Sogdian inscription, which is what allowed researchers to link the painting to the ruler Varkhuman. It is a rare case where an image can be tied to a specific historical person.

How to read the fresco on your own

The colours have faded and many sections are lost, so without help the painting can look like a collection of stains. A few tips:

1. First stand in the middle of the hall and take in all the walls at once - the composition of "the whole world coming to Samarkand" becomes clear.
2. Look for outlines rather than colour. Your eye soon starts picking out the silhouettes of horses, camels and people in long robes.
3. Notice the scale of the figures: the ruler and important persons are drawn larger than their retinue.
4. Reconstruction drawings are usually displayed next to the fragments - compare the original with the drawing, it saves time.

Why a guide is worth it

Afrasiab is the place where a guide pays off fastest. Without explanations you will see a few faded walls in fifteen minutes. With a guide you will hear about the Sogdian merchants who ran trade along the Silk Road, how the artist distinguished embassies by clothing and weapons, and the scholarly debates over the east wall. Guides can be found at the museum entrance or booked in advance through your hotel. An audio guide in several languages is sometimes available too - check on site.

The main exhibition also displays other finds: ceramics, ossuaries used for Zoroastrian-style bone burials, coins and everyday objects. Allow an hour to an hour and a half for everything, frescoes included.

Getting there and what to combine it with

Afrasiab is in the northern part of the city, about two kilometres from the Registan. On foot from Shah-i-Zinda it takes ten to fifteen minutes along the road; by taxi, a couple of minutes. A convenient half-day loop:

• Siab Bazaar in the morning, while the bread and fruit are fresh.
• The Mausoleum of Khoja Daniyar on the slope of the ancient site.
• The Afrasiab Museum and a walk across the hill.
• The Ulugbek Observatory, a little further along the same road.
• Shah-i-Zinda towards evening, when the light is soft.

Spring and autumn are the best seasons for walking the site. In summer there is no shade on the open hill, and in July daytime temperatures can top forty degrees, so bring water and a hat. Museum admission is approximately modest, and a separate photo fee may apply - prices change, so check at the ticket desk.

From Bukhara to Samarkand and back

Many travellers plan their trip as a Tashkent - Samarkand - Bukhara chain. Bukhara and Samarkand are about 270 km apart, roughly three and a half to four hours by car. Besides the train, a handy option is a shared ride: on Yo'ldosh drivers publish trips and you book a single seat in the app. It costs less than a private taxi, and it is easy to find a departure time that suits your plans.

If you are coming from Bukhara, set off in the morning and you can reach Afrasiab the same afternoon. Look for shared rides and current trips on the Bukhara - Samarkand route page, and find practical tips in the for passengers section.

Cover photo: Koshkinhome, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.