AFRASIAB PAINTINGS, DETAIL OF ‘AMBASSADORS’ IN ORNATE SILKEN ROBES, NORTHERN WALL. SOGDIAN, 7TH CENTURY. MUSEUM OF AFRASIAB , SAMARKAND. ALL PHOTOS COURTESY JULIAN DROOGAN – TAASA Review December 2013

The murals are housed in Samarkand’s Afrasiab History Museum, a marble edifice (1970, Russian-built) at the foot of the huge, ancient tell called Afrasiab, in the northeastern suburbs of the present-day city.

This vast site is said to contain 11 levels of human occupation, from the sixth century BCE onwards.

Principally, the tell holds the ruins of the great cities of Afrasiab (destroyed by Alexander the Great in 329 BCE) and Marakanda (destroyed by Genghis Khan in 1220 CE)...