Samarqand, << SAHM uhr `kahnd` >> (pop. 572,835), is the second largest city and former capital of Uzbekistan. Only Tashkent, the current capital, is larger. Samarqand, also spelled Samarkand, is an educational and manufacturing center. Factories in the area make chemicals, construction materials, food, and porcelain products.
Samarqand occupies the site of ancient Maracanda. Alexander the Great destroyed Maracanda in 329 B.C. In the 1300’s, the Mongol conqueror Timur (also called Tamerlane) chose the city as his capital. The city’s most famous area is the Registan, a public square bordered by three large madrasahs (Islamic religous schools). The oldest madrasah in the Registan dates from the early 1400’s.
