This is the site of Cyropolis (Κυρούπολις), or the City of Cyrus. In his last expedition against the Saka tribe of Massagetae and shortly before his death in that battle, king Cyrus the Great the founder of the Persian Empire founded a city here which he named after himself. Greek authors maintain that later in time, Alexander of Macedon built a Macedonian settlement near Cyropolis (Khujand) in 329 BC and named it Alexandria Eschate (Greek: Ἀλεξάνδρεια Ἐσχάτη) or «Alexandria The Furthest». It would form a bastion for the Greek settlers against the Scythian tribes to the north of the Syr Darya, which the Greeks called the Jaxartes River. It became a major staging point on the northern Silk Road. Some famous Persian poets and scientists came from this city. Khujand is an integral part of the Iranian world and culture.