Although archaeological remnants dating to the 5th century
BC have been discovered in the area, there is little to suggest that Dushanbe
was more than a small village until the early 20th century. In 1920, the last Emir
of Bukhara briefly took refuge in Dushanbe (then called Dyushambe) after
being overthrown by the Bolshevik revolution. He fled to Afghanistan
after the Red Army conquered the area the next year.
Dushanbe, which means "Monday" in Persian, developed
on the site of a Monday marketplace village, Dyushambe-Bozor, and its
former name Dyushambe was
