Afshona — Avicenna's birthplace and museum

The village

Afshona is an ancient village north-east of Bukhara. The 10th-century historian Narshakhi described it as having a large town quarter and a strong fortress, with several villages attached and a market held one day a week. He says Qutayba ibn Muslim built a Friday mosque here and that the village lands were endowed for madrasa students. Yaqut al-Hamawi and al-Sam'ani also mention it.

Ibn Sina's mother, Sitora, came from Afshona. Ibn Sina was born here in 980 and his brother Mahmud in 985. The future scholar lived in Afshona until he was five, when the family moved to Bukhara. One interpretation holds that the name is Sogdian for 'a holy place where prayers are swiftly answered'.

Museum and monument

Afshona has an Abu Ali ibn Sina museum and a statue of the scholar. The millennium of his birth was celebrated here in style, and for the occasion a rest pavilion with two ceramic domes, carved doors and columns and decorated walls was built in the village.

The museum is devoted to Ibn Sina's life and legacy, including the Canon of Medicine, which served as a medical textbook in Europe for centuries.