The Jewish Community of Samarkand
Samarkand
The capital of Samarkand Oblast, Uzbekistan.
Jews are mentioned there from hearsay for the first time by Benjamin of Tudela (12th century) as a large community. It was apparently destroyed when the town was captured by Bab Mehmet Khan in 1598. The Jews later suffered from Muslim oppression. In 1843, at the request of the Jews, a special area was allocated to them for the construction of a Jewish quarter; they were led by a Nasi, named Kulantur, approved by the Emir of Bukhara. The situation of the Jews improved after the Russian conquest (1868), and in 1887 there were 3,792 Jews in Samarkand, the overwhelming majority of them of the Bukharan community.
Settlement of Ashkenazi Jews from Russia began with the construction of the railroad to Samarkand in 1888; they played an important role in the commercial development of the city. In 1897 there were 4,307 Jews (c. 8% of the total population). Their number subsequently increased with Jewish immigration from the emirate of Bukhara and Russia.
The Russian authorities were opposed to this immigration, and, in contrast to the local Jews, the “foreign” Jews (from Bukhara) and the Jews of European Russia were subjected to persecutions. In 1907 the Jewish population numbered 5,266.
With the outbreak of the revolution of 1917, the Zionist movement in Samarkand gained in strength and served as a factor unifying the various communities there. A communal center and Hebrew secondary school were established. Under the Soviet regime a Jewish-Bukharan branch of the communist party was formed in Samarkand; for a number of years it carried on a struggle with the Yevsektsiya (Jewish section of the Soviet Communist Party) over the right of the local Jews to maintain a Hebrew school. The Yevsektsiya took steps to oppose the national and religious traditions of the Jews. By 1933, 15 of the synagogues in the Jewish quarter had been closed down. In 1935 Sovietization of the Jewish museum founded in 1922 expurgated its national-religious character and the evidence of the close ties existing between the Jews of Samarkand and Eretz Israel. The Jews of the Bukharan community numbered 7,740 in 1926, and 9,832 in 1935 (8% of the total population); 8,898 lived in the Jewish quarter, whose name was changed in 1926 to Eastern Quarter, while 95% of the inhabitants were Jews. The Jewish school, whose language of instruction was Tajiki (or Judeo-Tajiki; the language spoken by the Bukharan Jews), was attended by over 1,400 children. During World War II many Jewish refugees from the western part of the Soviet Union arrived in Samarkand.
In the late 1960s the Jewish population was estimated at 15,000 (mainly Bukharan Jews), most of whom resided in the former Jewish quarter. There remained one synagogue in the old part of the city where the Jewish quarter is located; it included a separate section for the Ashkenazi Jews.
Samarkand retained a Jewish cemetery. In 1951 the Rabbi Chakham Ezekiel was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment for religious activity, but was released in 1957, having served six years. In March 1964 the community was compelled by the authorities to protest against the sending of matzot from Israel and the baking of matzot was carried on at home.
In 1997, after the Aliya to Israel, there were 7,000 Jews in Samarkand.
SACHAKOV
(Family Name)SACHAKOV
Surnames derive from one of many different origins. Sometimes there may be more than one explanation for the same name. This family name is a toponymic (derived from a geographic name of a town, city, region or country). Surnames that are based on place names do not always testify to direct origin from that place, but may indicate an indirect relation between the name-bearer or his ancestors and the place, such as birthplace, temporary residence, trade, or family-relatives.
This name is derived from the name of the town Sochak in the eastern outskirts of Samarkand in Uzbekistan. The Russian ending "-ov" means "of/from". Places, regions and countries of origin or residence are some of the sources of Jewish family names. But, unless the family has reliable records, names based on toponymics cannot prove the exact origin of the family. This family name is found among the Jews of Bukhara.
Sachakov is documented as a Jewish family name with Nisonhay Sachakov (1912-1981), a former resident of Tashent, Uzbekistan.
KARSHIGIEV
(Family Name)KARSHIGIEV
Surnames derive from one of many different origins. Sometimes there may be more than one explanation for the same name. This family name is a toponymic (derived from a geographic name of a town, city, region or country). Surnames that are based on place names do not always testify to direct origin from that place, but may indicate an indirect relation between the name-bearer or his ancestors and the place, such as birthplace, temporary residence, trade, or family-relatives.
This name is derived from the name of the city Qarshi in southern Uzbekistan. The Russian ending "-ev" means "of/from". Places, regions and countries of origin or residence are some of the sources of Jewish family names. But, unless the family has reliable records, names based on toponymics cannot prove the exact origin of the family. This family name is found among the Jews of Bukhara.
Karshigiev is documented as a Jewish family name with Yitzhak Karshigiev (1934-2015), a former resident of Ramla, Israel.
GILKAROV
(Family Name)GILKAROV
Surnames derive from one of many different origins. Sometimes there may be more than one explanation for the same name.
This family name derives from an occupation, profession or trade (also connected with raw material, finished product or implements associated with that trade). Names indicating occupation, profession or trade are widespread among Jews. The extensive range of Jewish names deriving from occupations illustrates the variety of their activities in all fields.
This family name is derived from gilkor, an Uzbek term meaning “plasterer”. The Russian ending "-ov" means "of/from", but can also stand for "son of". Originally, this family name could have been a nickname. This family name is found among the Jews of Bukhara.
Gilkarov is documented as a Jewish family name with Ela Gilkarov (1948-2003), a former resident of Sderot, Israel.
DEHKANOV
(Family Name)DEHKANOV
Surnames derive from one of many different origins. Sometimes there may be more than one explanation for the same name.
This family name derives from an occupation, profession or trade (also connected with raw material, finished product or implements associated with that trade). Names indicating occupation, profession or trade are widespread among Jews. The extensive range of Jewish names deriving from occupations illustrates the variety of their activities in all fields.
This family name is derived from dehqon, an Uzbek term meaning “peasant”. The Russian ending "-ov" means "of/from", but can also stand for "son of". Originally, this family name could have been a nickname. This family name is found among the Jews of Bukhara.
Dehkanov is documented as a Jewish family name with Mazal Marusia Dehkanov (1927- 1994), a former resident of Israel.
DANIELOV
(Family Name)DANIELOV
Surnames derive from one of many different origins. Sometimes there may be more than one explanation for the same name. This family name is a patronymic surname derived from a male ancestor's personal name, in this case of biblical origin.
Danielov, in which the Slavic ending "-ov" stands for "son of", is a form of Daniel. Daniel, meaning "God has judged" in Hebrew, was the name of the son of David and Abigail (1 Chronicles 3.1) and of the biblical prophet of the book of Daniel. This biblical name became a family name and assumed several variants. Daniel took suffixes from various languages to form patronymics indicating descent in the male line (the German "-sohn", the Italian "-i", the Slavic "-vitz/vitch", the Latin "-ius"). Danielillo ("little Daniel" in Italian) is recorded in the 17th century, Danill in the early 18th century, Daniels in the 18th century, Danigel, Dannihl, Danielis and Tannigel in the late 18th century. Family name Danielov is found among the Jews of Bukhara and Bulgaria.
Danielov is documented as a Jewish family name with Amnon Danielov (1925- 2005), a former resident of Petah Tikva.
BALKHIYEV
(Family Name)BALKHIYEV, BALKHIEV
Surnames derive from one of many different origins. Sometimes there may be more than one explanation for the same name. This family name is a toponymic (derived from a geographic name of a town, city, region or country). Surnames that are based on place names do not always testify to direct origin from that place, but may indicate an indirect relation between the name-bearer or his ancestors and the place, such as birthplace, temporary residence, trade, or family-relatives.
This name is derived from the name of the town Balkh in the Balkh Province of Afghanistan near the city of Mazar-e Sharif. The Russian ending "-ev" means "of/from". Places, regions and countries of origin or residence are some of the sources of Jewish family names. But, unless the family has reliable records, names based on toponymics cannot prove the exact origin of the family. This family name is found among the Jews of Bukhara.
Balkhiev is documented as a Jewish family name with Tamara Balkhiev (1915 – 2010), a former resident of Petah Tikva, Israel
AKSAKALOV
(Family Name)AKSAKALOV
Surnames derive from one of many different origins. Sometimes there may be more than one explanation for the same name. This family name is derived from a personal characteristic or nickname.
This family name was derived from oq soqola, an Uzbek term meaning “white beard” and used as a nickname for elderly people. The Russian ending "-ov" means "of/from", but can also stand for "son of". Originally, this family name could have been a nickname.
Nicknames have been used to identify people since ancient times by Jews and non-Jew alike. In the Jewish tradition, the boundary between personal names and nicknames has always been fluid, resulting in a wide variety of family names. This family name is found among the Jews of Bukhara.
Aksakalov is documented as a Jewish family name with Maya Aksakalov, a Content Development Manager at Tel Aviv University.
Decorated Wall in a Synagogue in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, 1983
(Photos)Decorated interior wall at the Synagogue on 34 Khudzumskaya Street in the Jewish Quarter of Samarkand, Uzbekistan, USSR, 1983, The synagogue includes a separate section for the Ashkenazi Jews
Photo: Dr. Theodore Cohen, USA
The Oster Visual Documentation Center, ANU – Museum of the Jewish People, courtesy of Dr. Theodore Cohen, USA
The Jewish Quarter in Samarkand, Ubekistan, 1983
(Photos)Rabbi (in green shirt) and Jews in front of the synagogue at 34 Khudzumskaya Street, in the Jewish Quarter of Samarkand Uzbekistan, 1983
Photo: Dr. Theodore Cohen, USA
The Oster Visual Documentation Center, ANU – Museum of the Jewish People, courtesy of Dr. Theodore Cohen, USA