Shahristan

the territory of an early feudal city in Middle Asia. A shahristan usually had a rectangular layout with a more or less regular network of streets and was protected by a fortress wall with towers and gates. Sometimes a citadel was built inside the shahristan, for example, at the site of the ancient fortified city of Kafyr-Kala near Kolkhozabad in the Tadzhik SSR. The compactly built residential districts included meeting places, workshops, and small markets. Temples occupied a prominent place in the urban layout. Caravansaries were located outside the walls of the shahristan, as were suburban estates, a cemetery, and sometimes a citadel, as in Pendzhikent. With the development of feudalism, the shahristan developed an artisans’ suburb, called a rabad.