Travel to Shahrisabz

Shahrisabz or Shahr-e Sabz (Persian Shahrisabz, Uzbek Shahrisabz, Шахрисабз), is a city in Uzbekistan located approximately 80 km south of Samarkand with the population of 53,000 (1991). It is located at the altitude of 622 m. Once a major city of Central Asia, it is primarily known today as the birthplace of 14th century Turco-Mongol conqueror Timur. Its name (شهر سبز) means "green city" in Persian.
Formerly known as Kesh (i.e., "heart-pleasing") and tentatively identified with the ancient Nautaca Shahrisabz should be counted among Central Asia’s most ancient cities. Alexander the Great's general Ptolemy captured the satrap of Bactria and pretender to the Persian throne, Bessus, at Nautaca thus ending the once great Achaemenid Empire. Alexander the Great chose to spend his winters and met his wife Roxanna in the area in 328-327 BC.

Shahrisabz was the birthplace of Timur on April 9, 1336, to the family of a minor local chief, and during the early years of the Timurid Dynasty, enjoyed its considerable patronage. Timur regarded Shahrisabz as his “home town” and planned it eventually to be the location of his tomb. However, during the Timurid period, the center of activity shifted to Samarkand instead.

The Emir of Bukhara, Abdullah Khan II, mostly destroyed the city in the 16th century during his attempt to seize the Shaybanid throne. According to legend, he 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.

The city struggled for autonomy under Bukharan rule. The Russians conquered the city in 1870, allegedly in revenge for the murder of a tsarist tax collector.