Physical structure of the cities of Sughd (8-13. centuries)

Sogdiana or Sughd is an ancient historical and cultural region located in the eastern interfluve of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, in the center of the Zeravshan valley. Between the late 7th and early 8th centuries, Arab conquerors brought to Sughd a new state structure and a new religion of Islam. It had a huge impact on the development of social life and culture of the region. The establishment of new strong trade and cultural ties with different parts of the Caliphate led to the active development of trade and crafts, exchange of ideas and cultural enrichment of the region. The ancient city of Samarkand remained the pivotal city of Sogdia for centuries and became the main stronghold of theArabs in Maverannahr. The purpose of this study is to identify the main trends in the development of the Sogdian city during the Arab era on the example of Samarkand. This work surveys medieval written sources represented by Arab and Persian geographers' works of 9-11 centuries, scientific articles and books in the field of history of art, history and archaeology. In the course of the work, special attention was paid to the study of the features of the cities' social composition during the era under consideration. Based on the work done, it was concluded that during this period, the cities of Sogdiana experienced a period of rapid growth. The economic growth of the region led to the accelerated development of trade and craft suburbs, i.e. rabads, which resulted in the gradual shift of the center of urban life there. The spread of the new religion and state system led to the emergence of a number of new building types in the city and the establishment of state control on the city streets.