Samarkand contains the Registan, a famous Timurid-era architectural ensemble linked to Silk Road history.
The Registan is a public square bordered by three monumental madrasas: Ulugh Beg, Sher-Dor, and Tilya-Kori. Their tiled facades and large iwans form one of the best-known architectural compositions in Central Asia.
Samarkand flourished under Timur and his successors in the 14th and 15th centuries. The city occupied a strategic position between China, India, Iran, and the steppe, while the Timurid court attracted scholars, architects, artisans, and astronomers. Timur’s grandson Ulugh Beg founded the oldest of the three Registan madrasas.
The Registan is not an ancient marketplace preserved unchanged from the earliest Silk Road. Most of its visible buildings date from the Timurid and later periods. Samarkand’s wider historic center became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001.