Samarkand

American  

[sam-er-kand, suh-muhr-kahnt] / ˌsæm ərˈkænd, sə mʌrˈkɑnt /

Or Samarcand,

noun

1. a city in SE Uzbekistan: taken by Alexander the Great 329 b.c.; Tamerlane's capital in the 14th century.

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Samarkand British  

/ ˈsæməˌkænd, səmarˈkant /

noun

1. Ancient name: Maracanda.  a city in E Uzbekistan: under Tamerlane it became the chief economic and cultural centre of central Asia, on trade routes from China and India (the "silk road"). Pop: 289 000 (2005 est)

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Example Sentences

More than 180 nations are to join conservation experts in Uzbekistan's Samarkand to discuss dozens of wildlife trade and protection proposals.

From Barron's • Nov. 24, 2025

FIDE’s World Rapid Championships, which concluded last week in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, featured a very familiar face in the open competition and a huge surprise in the women’s rapid title fight.

From Washington Times • Jan. 2, 2024

The International Chess Federation fined a 23-year-old chess player from the Netherlands at its World Rapid and Blitz Championships in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, for wearing “sports shoes.”

From New York Times • Dec. 28, 2023

He said he didn’t get much sleep before he visited a mausoleum the next morning, followed by a tour of the Afrasiyab Museum in Samarkand.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 4, 2023

His satchel is stuffed with sealed letters, scouting reports from surrounding outposts, receipts of sale, and several leather folios engraved with the crest of local magistrates, bound for the Capital King of Samarkand.

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri