Alexander's ancient city — Syr Darya pomegranates and Silk Road bazaars
Khujand is Tajikistan's second city, sitting in the fertile Fergana Valley where the Syr Darya River emerges from the mountains — one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central Asia and the site of Alexander the Great's easternmost city, Alexandria Eschate ('Alexandria the Farthest'), founded in 329 BCE. The city is a more relaxed and prosperous version of Central Asian urban life than Dushanbe: the Panjshanbe Bazaar is one of the finest traditional markets in the region (famous for its pomegranates, melons, and dried fruit), the fortress citadel has been partially restored, and t…
Khujand was established as a Greek colony (Alexandria Eschate) by Alexander the Great in 329 BCE to mark the northeastern limit of his empire — the Jaxartes (Syr Darya) River was the boundary beyond which lay the unconquered Scythian steppes. Under the Samanids, Timurids, and subsequent Silk Road dynasties it was a major trading and silk-weaving city. The city was sacked by Genghis Khan in 1220 and substantially rebuilt under Timur in the 14th century. Under the Kokand Khanate it was one of Central Asia's significant urban centres before Russian annexation in 1866. Soviet industrialisation ad…