Washgird

Vashgird until the XVI century was known under the name "Wēšgird". The toponym dates back to Avest. “Vaesa.krta-”, which means “a city created by Visa”, one of the commanders of the Turanian king Afrasiyab. The toponym Fayzabad is a later transformation of the medieval Weshgird ^[2] .

The first mention of Faizabad, known until the sixteenth century. under the name "Wēšgird", the sources are contained in the "Avesta" - the holy book of the Zoroastrians, where its name is given in the form of "Vaesa.krta-". In the “Shahnam” of Firdousi he is mentioned in the form of Vis (Pers. ویسه), Visagird (Pers. ویسه گرد) or Visagan (Pers. ویسه گان) in connection with the events that took place during the time of King Afrasiab. The name is associated with the name of Piran Vis - the vezira of King Afrasiab ^[2] .

In Sogdian documents from the castle on Mount Mug (beginning of the VIII century), the city is mentioned in the form of Vashgirt or Vashkird; 679, p. 221], and in “Khudud al-'alam” - in the form of “Wēškird” (pers. ویشکرد).

According to some reports, in the first half of the VII century. Washgird was the capital of one of the districts of Huttalan. According to the Chinese historical chronicle "Tangshu", the city of U-she-ke, that is, Washgird, was the administrative center of the Hu-mi district, that is, Kued, belonging to Huttalan ^[2] .

According to the source materials, Washgird was one of the oldest cities in Central Asia. In the Avesta, it is referred to as the city of Vis. It formed approximately in the second half of the second millennium BC. According to the doctor of historical sciences, Tajik numismatist Davlathodzha Dowudi, the name of the city in the form of Vis, Visagird and Washgird is mentioned in the immortal poem by Abulkasim Firdousi “Shahname” and Arab-Persian geographical works of the 9th-10th centuries. The city reached its highest development in the Middle Ages as the political, economic and cultural center of Central Asia ^[3] .

Vashgird was located on one of the main highways of the Great Silk Road. This route began in Balkh and through Termez, Chaganian,

Washgird, Alai Valley, Osh reached Kashgar and China. This is evidenced by the finds of copper coins dating from Davlathodzha Dowudi VIII-IX, XI, XII, XV centuries. and minted in Bukhara. To the north of modern Fayzabad, on one of the hills, the remains of the building with a stone foundation and burnt brick walls, possibly belonging to the guard tower guarding the approaches to Washgird, have been preserved.

Ancient Washgird consisted of two fortresses, Shahristan and Rabat. The area of ​​shakhristan, together with one of the fortresses (Kalaya Sangin) reached 9.2 hectares. The second fortress (Fotimai Zuhro) had an area of ​​70x75 m. The largest part of the settlement was rabad - it occupied an area of ​​60 hectares. Rabad in its composition had two settlements - Sari Mazor and Chonvarsuz. Thus, a city structure with a developed economic, handicraft and trade industry was identified (pottery, jewelry, blacksmithing and other workshops found are evidence of developed handicraft production). In Kaliay Sangin and Shahristan, multi-room dwellings were excavated with rooms for various functional purposes - for sleeping, as well as household needs, in particular, storage of grain, utensils, household items, tools for agricultural work. Living rooms were heated by means of sandals - rectangular tables in plan, covered with a blanket. Under the table in a special depression there were smoldering coals, which warmed the legs and body of the inhabitants of the house sitting under the covers. Food was cooked in the centers with boilers. Large dwellings had small patios. The walls of the dwellings were built of large stone blocks from 30 cm to one meter high.

Shakhristan consisted of multi-room dwellings, which were located along two main streets, small streets and alleys. Of the three dwellings of Kalaya Sangin, built of stone blocks, one room had a floor made of stone slabs. In this room were opened six layers of settlement, dating from XI-XV, IX-X and earlier centuries.

Excavations of the Fotimai Zuhro fortress made it possible to discover cultural layers there and date them to the 9th-10th centuries.

It is known that the medieval cities of Central Asia had one citadel fortress, where rulers lived. However, Washgird had two fortresses. One of them is Kalai Sangin in Shahristan, the second fortress Fotimai Zuhro is nearby. This allows researchers to argue that urban planning art and the material culture of cities in the mountains have not been sufficiently studied, including Washgird.

The study of Washgird began in 2004, as a result of which the pages of the ancient history of the city related to the era of the Kushan kingdom (I century AD) were opened. By this time it was a large city, having archaeological layers of an earlier period, which were discovered by subsequent excavations. In particular, a group of archaeologists of the Institute of History, Archeology and Ethnography of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan led by D. Dovudi in 2007 continued the excavation and obtained new evidence of the functioning of this city in the ancient period ^{[4] [5] [6] [7]} .

Research in 2008 in Washgird brought new monuments of material culture. In particular, in one of the private dwellings of Shakhristan, a semicircular clay center with a height of 23-26 cm was opened. On the clay surface, drawings of semi-arches and four Aryan symbolic images were recorded. Inside the hearth-otashdon, turoid creatures and a snake are depicted, which, apparently, were charms of the inhabitants of the dwelling. Otashdon dates from the 11th-13th centuries. and, apparently, he was a relic of the most ancient religious views of Central Asia, possibly Zoroastrianism. Despite the fact that Islam was firmly established here in the period under review, some ancient beliefs left their traces without affecting the Islamic spiritual and religious views of the inhabitants of the city.