Historical reference: Do not rely on this information. It is very old. About this collection
Samarcand, an important city of Bokhara, a centre of the inland commerce of Asia, and a seat of Mohammedan learning. It contains a large number of mosques and forty madrases or theological colleges. Under the name Marakanda it was the capital of Sogdiana, and afterwards became the capital of Tamerlane's vast empire.