Varakhsha

Varakhsha, also Varasha or Varahsha, was an ancient city in the Bukhara oasis in Sogdia, founded in the 1st century BCE.[1] It is located 39 kilometers to the northwest of Bukhara. Varakhsha was the capital of the Sogdian dynasty of the kings of Bukhara.[1][2] It ultimately never recovered from the Muslim conquest of Transoxiana.

Varakhsha
Ruins of Varakhsha
Shown within West and Central Asia
Varakhsha (Uzbekistan)
Alternative nameVarakhsha
LocationUzbekistan
Coordinates39°51′46.5″N 64°04′23.5″E
TypeSettlement
Site notes
ConditionRuined

Murals

Beautiful murals have been recovered from the palace area, dated to the 8th century CE.[3][1] They show a king and his retinue riding elephants and fighting tigers and monstruous beasts.[4]

Wall Paintings in the Palace at Varakhsha. Hermitage Museum.

References
  1. Azarpay, Guitty; Belenickij, Aleksandr M.; Maršak, Boris Il'ič; Dresden, Mark J. Sogdian Painting: The Pictorial Epic in Oriental Art. University of California Press. p. 201. ISBN 978-0-520-03765-6.
  2. Starr, S. Frederick. Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia's Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane. Princeton University Press. pp. 118–119. ISBN 978-0-691-16585-1.
  3. Azarpay, Guitty; Belenickij, Aleksandr M.; Maršak, Boris Il'ič; Dresden, Mark J. Sogdian Painting: The Pictorial Epic in Oriental Art. University of California Press. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-520-03765-6.
  4. "A painting on the palace - wall at Varaksha shows a king hunting a tiger riding on elephant back along with his retenue" in Kumāra, Braja Bihārī. India and Central Asia: Classical to Contemporary Periods. Concept Publishing Company. p. 6. ISBN 978-81-8069-457-8.
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