On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v1.c7.s5.1

v1.c7.s5.1

The country at which Yuan-chuang now arrived is called by him Sa-mo (or mei)-kin (or kan) (颯 秣 建), a name which has been taken to represent "Samarkand." We may, however, regard the region indicated by the term "Samokan country" to be identical with the Samarkand district without holding that the two names are identical. According to popular accounts the name Samarkand was derived from an Arabian hero and was not given to the city in this district until A. D. 643. In Chinese literature this name does not appear until the time of the Mongols. It was introduced by them and it was explained as an Arabian word meaning fan-hua (繁 華) that is, bustling, full of life, thronged.¹