The Ruins of Ancient Conquest in Uzbekistan

We went up to the Nur Fortress to see what was supposedly a military installation built at the command of Alexander the Great around 329-327 BC. There was also a mosque that was newly built in its vicinity. Nur, meaning “light” and “ota,” meaning father, together the name Nurota means “light father.” It refers to a meteorite event that occurred and the tale was passed down by the local folkloric tradition. It was said that a meteorite fell into this spot 40,000 years ago. Yet the founding of this town was traced back to the times of Alexander the Great, who commanded a general to build a fortress here, before he would go on to his conquest of Bactria and Sogdiana. Eventually, Alexander the Great would make it to Bukhara himself from Nurota. But what was Alexander the Great doing in Uzbekistan? He spent two years in Uzbekistan raging a campaign against the Achaemenid Persian Empire. His campaign would take him to far places in this part of the world. At one point he did seize Samarkand, and he had also established his stronghold in modern-day Tajikistan. His warfare in this part of Asia was not always so smooth, however. That is because the tribal troops here engaged in nomadic warfare, to which the great historic warrior had to develop new tactics. He was, still, by and large successful. #nurota #nurfortress #alexanderthegreat #uzbekhistory #uzbekistan #centralasia