VARAKSHA

Varaksha's limoneuses hills hide one of the largest sogdian cities in the region. Founded in the first century BC, it was the residence of Des-Khudat, the hephtalites kings that reigned after the fall of the Kouchan empire. The city then exceeded that of Bukhara, and when the Arab conquerors seized, they killed King Soukan and destroyed his palace, then they firent Bouniat, a military leader who tried a rebellion. The city lost its political power but until the th century it remained an important economic centre. Archaeological excavations have shown that, on the eve of the Mongolian attacks, raba spans a radius of 2 km around the citadel. The city was then famous for its market in Navrouz that lasted twenty days. But Varaksha did not have the luck of Bukhara and, after the Mongols destroyed its irrigation system, étiola and quickly transformed into a ghost town. Excavations allowed to discover frescoes that decorate the palace of the th century. This is a hunting scene, where the prince, mounted on a white elephant, gets attacked by two huge leopards. The faces are erased, signs of the damage caused by Muslim warriors. The fresco is exhibited at the Historic Museum in Tashkent.