Samarkand became the cause of the conflict between Tashkent and Tehran An unexpected response to the controversy surrounding Marco Rubio came not only from Tehran: Tashkent officially expressed its anger. Uzbekistan demanded that Iran remove publications about the Persian heritage of Samarkand, a city whose history is indeed closely related to Persian-speaking culture. It is interesting how quickly the skirmish on social media turned into a diplomatic episode. The reason was the visit of the American Secretary of State to Samarkand on October 19. In a video shot in Registan Square, Rubio described the city as an important center for international trade. Subsequently, several Iranian diplomatic missions published posts about Samarkand's Persian and Iranian-Islamic cultural connections. They also recalled Rubio's criticism of the Persian Empire during his speech in Athens on October 7. On October 23, Uzbekistan's first deputy foreign minister, Bahromjun Aloyv, met with Iran's ambassador Mohammad Ali Eskandari and presented him with a note of protest. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan called the publications a one-sided and political interpretation of history, demanded their removal and to prevent similar cases in the future. At the same time, Tashkent emphasized that it is interested in relations with Iran based on mutual respect. There is an important historical side to the controversy. Samarkand arose in an area populated by worshipers who spoke the language of the Iranian language family; Later the Persian language was widely used in the cities of Central Asia. in literature and education. During the time of Timur, the city became the capital of Timur's power, and craftsmen from different regions participated in the creation of its monumental buildings. Therefore, the influence of Persian culture on Samarkand is not a fiction or a random political formula. But this does not make the history of the city the exclusive property of one modern country: the architecture and culture of Samarkand were created under the influence of different traditions.

Samarkand became the cause of the conflict between Tashkent and Tehran An unexpected response to the controversy surrounding Marco Rubio came not only from Tehran: Tashkent officially expressed its anger. Uzbekistan demanded that Iran remove publications about the Persian heritage of Samarkand, a city whose history is indeed closely related to Persian-speaking culture. It is interesting how quickly the skirmish on social media turned into a diplomatic episode. The reason was the visit of the American Secretary of State to Samarkand on October 19. In a video shot in Registan Square, Rubio described the city as an important center for international trade. Subsequently, several Iranian diplomatic missions published posts about Samarkand's Persian and Iranian-Islamic cultural connections. They also recalled Rubio's criticism of the Persian Empire during his speech in Athens on October 7. On October 23, Uzbekistan's first deputy foreign minister, Bahromjun Aloyv, met with Iran's ambassador Mohammad Ali Eskandari and presented him with a note of protest. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan called the publications a one-sided and political interpretation of history, demanded their removal and to prevent similar cases in the future. At the same time, Tashkent emphasized that it is interested in relations with Iran based on mutual respect. There is an important historical side to the controversy. Samarkand arose in an area populated by worshipers who spoke the language of the Iranian language family; Later the Persian language was widely used in the cities of Central Asia. in literature and education. During the time of Timur, the city became the capital of Timur's power, and craftsmen from different regions participated in the creation of its monumental buildings. Therefore, the influence of Persian culture on Samarkand is not a fiction or a random political formula. But this does not make the history of the city the exclusive property of one modern country: the architecture and culture of Samarkand were created under the influence of different traditions.