Traces of Seismic Impacts in the Walls of the Ulugbek Madrassa (Samarkand, Uzbekistan)

This article considers the results of a macroseismic survey of one of the oldest buildings in Samarkand, the Ulugbek Madrassa, built in 1417–1420 by Ulugbek, the beloved grandson of Emir Timur. Despite the ongoing restoration work since the 1920s, the madrassaʼs building structures have retained traces of seismic impacts, in particular, the tilt of the arched complex of the southern wall to the south and the arched complex of the eastern wall to the east. Until the mid-1960s (when it was straightened), the southeastern minaret was tilted to the south-southeast. Based on these facts, we have concluded that the source of seismic oscillations responsible for the aforementioned damage was located south-southeast of Samarkand, at the western end of the Zeravshan range. Judging by the data available in the seismic catalogs, it may be an earthquake that occurred in 1817–1818, the local seismic intensity of which was Il = VIII– IX in the city.