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| source: samarkand.foto.ru |
Samarkand has always been a city where different religions coexist peacefully. And it is not surprising, since there were the Great Silk Road, where the merchants from Europe and Asia, from India and Arabia used to go.
The history of the emergence of different religions is very rich and diverse. First came here Zoroastrianism, which some people call paganism and fire-worship. Historians and archaeologists say that it was circulated in Samarkand since the founding of the city, in the VIII-VII centuries BC.
Later there came preachers of Manichaeism and Buddhism, which came from India and Iran, in the first centuries of our era. And after them, in the VI century on the land of Samarkand appeared the first Christian missionaries.
Islam, preached here from the end of VII century for several decades, became the dominant religion. It was the only violent religion implanted. People are put before a choice - or to embrace Islam, or pay exorbitant taxes. However, this method worked for long, because nothing can be spread by force. Then the Arab conquerors gave the power of the local nobility, and the situation has changed.
So, for over fifteen hundred years here exist the major religions of the world. Of course, now the dominant religion is Islam and many mosques vivid testimony to this. But besides that in Samarkand there the Buddhist temple, a synagogue, a Catholic cathedral and a few Orthodox churches also operate.
Concluding the review it worth noting the mazvoley Daniyar Hodga, who is a place of pilgrimage for Muslims, Christians and Jews, which is essentially unprecedented. And even more surprising that some visitors to the mausoleum spend Zoroastrian rituals, not even realizing it. Indeed, Samarkand is a wonderful city, a city of connection of all religions of the world.