Sart Fields. Samarkand

1909
Seen here are fields carefully cultivated by local inhabitants identified in the caption as Sarts. Sart was a term used in the early 1900s to refer not only to town dwellers but also to people who inhabited this area before the coming of Uzbek tribes in the 16th century. These fields were used for grains such as wheat, which flourished in the oasis setting of Samarkand, fed by the Zeravshan River that flows from the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan. The terrain reflects ancient erosion patterns. The image is by Russian photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863–1944), who used a special color photography process to create a visual record of the Russian Empire in the early 20th century. Some of Prokudin-Gorskii’s photographs date from about 1905, but the bulk of his work is from between 1909 and 1915, when, with the support of Tsar Nicholas II and the Ministry of Transportation, he undertook extended trips through many different parts of the empire. Prokudin-Gorskii was particularly interested in recently acquired territories of the Russian Empire such as Turkestan (present-day Uzbekistan and neighboring states), which he visited on a number of occasions, including two trips in 1911. Turkestan appealed to him not only for its Islamic architecture but also for bucolic scenes in places such as Samarkand.

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Filename: 2499.jpg
Copyright: acku Afghanistan
Image Size: 1800x1672 / 721.6KB; 1909 Uzbekistan Samarqand Samarkand Croplands Fields Sarts Hills Cultivated Fields Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii Photo WDL 010029
Contained in galleries: UZBEKISTAN

1909<br />
Seen here are fields carefully cultivated by local inhabitants identified in the caption as Sarts. Sart was a term used in the early 1900s to refer not only to town dwellers but also to people who inhabited this area before the coming of Uzbek tribes in the 16th century. These fields were used for grains such as wheat, which flourished in the oasis setting of Samarkand, fed by the Zeravshan River that flows from the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan. The terrain reflects ancient erosion patterns. The image is by Russian photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863–1944), who used a special color photography process to create a visual record of the Russian Empire in the early 20th century. Some of Prokudin-Gorskii’s photographs date from about 1905, but the bulk of his work is from between 1909 and 1915, when, with the support of Tsar Nicholas II and the Ministry of Transportation, he undertook extended trips through many different parts of the empire. Prokudin-Gorskii was particularly interested in recently acquired territories of the Russian Empire such as Turkestan (present-day Uzbekistan and neighboring states), which he visited on a number of occasions, including two trips in 1911. Turkestan appealed to him not only for its Islamic architecture but also for bucolic scenes in places such as Samarkand.