Shahrisabz - 'A green city', hometown of Tamerlane

Shakhrisabz is located 90 km south of Samarkand, once a major city of Central Asia, it is primarily known today as the birthplace of Amir Temur.

Shakhrisabz formerly known as Kesh - "heart-pleasing" and tentatively identified with the ancient Nautaca, Shakhrisabz is one of Central Asia’s most ancient cities. Its name was changed to Shakhrisabz later on, from Tajik means "green city".

From the 6th to 4th centuries BC it was a part of Achaemenids empire. Alexander the Great's general Ptolemy captured the satrap of Bactria and pretender to the Persian throne, Bess, thus ending the once great Achaemenids Empire. Alexander the Great chose to spend his winters and met his wife Roxanna in the area in 328-327 BC. From 4th to 8th century Kesh was one of urban centers of Sogdiana, later rulers of Kesh paid tribute to Turkic and Western Turkic Kaganates, till it was invaded by the Arabs.

Shakhrisabz is the birthplace of Amir Temur. Timur regarded Shakhrisabz as his “home town” and planned it eventually to be the location of his tomb. Temur's father Amir Taragai his spiritual adviser Sheikh Shamsiddin Kulol, and his eldest sons Jahangir and Omar Sheikh were buried there. However, during the Timurid period, the center of activity shifted to Samarkand instead.

According to legend, The Khan of Bukhara, Abdullah Khan II had the city destroyed in a fit of rage over the death of his favorite horse from exhaustion on a steep approach the city, but was later overcome with remorse for the damage he had done.

But later Shakhrisabz monument were restored and other monuments were build.

Shakhrisabz sights:

• Ak Saray Palace
• Kok Gumbaz Mosque
• Hazrat Imam Complex
• Mausoleum of Jahangir
• Tomb of Timur