Museum of the History of Samarkand “Afrasiab” (Uzbek: “Afrosiyob” Samarqand tarixi muzeyi) is a museum located in Samarkand (Uzbekistan). Dedicated to the history of the city of Samarkand and its environs. The museum building is located in the north-eastern part of the city, near the ancient settlement of Afrasiab, which is one of the largest archaeological sites in the world.
The museum building was built in honor of the 2500th anniversary of Samarkand on the initiative of the leadership of Uzbekistan, the architect is Shmavon Azatyan, 1970.
The museum tells about the history of the founding of the city of Samarkand, its further history, and talks about the ancient settlement of Afrasiab. The museum displays various exhibits, including artifacts found during excavations in Afrasiab, Samarkand and their environs. Among them are the remains of ancient blades, ossuaries, knives and other cutting objects, arrows, coins, ceramics, ancient manuscripts and books, figurines and other ancient everyday objects.
One of the remarkable exhibits is the unique preserved frescoes of the Samarkand palace, belonging to the Ikhshid dynasty (VII-VIII centuries). In the museum, some of the exhibits are related to the pre-Islamic era, partly related to the local version of Zoroastrianism, which was the main religion in Sogd before the advent of Islam.
