Varakhsha
Ruins of Varakhsha
Varakhsha is located in West and Central Asia
Varakhsha
Shown within West and Central Asia
Varakhsha is located in Uzbekistan
Varakhsha
Varakhsha (Uzbekistan)
Alternative nameVarakhsha
LocationUzbekistan
Coordinates39°51′49″N 64°04′23″E / 39.86361°N 64.07306°E / 39.86361; 64.07306
TypeSettlement
Site notes
ConditionRuined

Varakhsha, also Varasha or Varahsha, was an ancient city in the Bukhara oasis in Sogdia, founded in the 1st century BCE.[1] It is located 39 kilometers to the northwest of Bukhara. Varakhsha was the capital of the Sogdian dynasty of the kings of Bukhara, the Bukhar Khudahs.[1][2] It ultimately never recovered from the Muslim conquest of Transoxiana.

Murals

Beautiful murals have been recovered from the palace area, dated to the 8th century CE.[3][1] They show a king and his retinue riding elephants and fighting tigers and monstruous beasts.[4]

Wall Paintings in the Palace at Varakhsha. Hermitage Museum.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Varahsha.
  1. ^ a b c Azarpay, Guitty; Belenickij, Aleksandr M.; Maršak, Boris Il'ič; Dresden, Mark J. Sogdian Painting: The Pictorial Epic in Oriental Art. University of California Press. p. 201. ISBN 978-0-520-03765-6.
  2. ^ Starr, S. Frederick (2 June 2015). Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia's Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane. Princeton University Press. pp. 118–119. ISBN 978-0-691-16585-1.
  3. ^ Azarpay, Guitty; Belenickij, Aleksandr M.; Maršak, Boris Il'ič; Dresden, Mark J. (January 1981). Sogdian Painting: The Pictorial Epic in Oriental Art. University of California Press. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-520-03765-6.
  4. ^ "A painting on the palace - wall at Varaksha shows a king hunting a tiger riding on elephant back along with his retenue" in Kumāra, Braja Bihārī (2007). India and Central Asia: Classical to Contemporary Periods. Concept Publishing Company. p. 6. ISBN 978-81-8069-457-8.
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