The Uzbekistan Portal
Uzbekistan, officially the Republic of Uzbekistan, is a doubly landlocked country located in Central Asia. It is surrounded by five countries: Kazakhstan to the north, Kyrgyzstan to the northeast, Tajikistan to the southeast, Afghanistan to the south, and Turkmenistan to the southwest, making it one of only two doubly landlocked countries on Earth, the other being Liechtenstein. Uzbekistan is part of the Turkic world, as well as a member of the Organization of Turkic States. Uzbek, spoken by the Uzbek people, is the official language and spoken by the majority of its inhabitants, while Russian and Tajik are significant minority languages. Islam is the predominant religion, and most Uzbeks are Sunni Muslims.
The first recorded settlers in the land of what is modern Uzbekistan were Eastern Iranian nomads, known as Scythians, who founded kingdoms in Khwarazm, Bactria, and Sogdia in the 8th–6th centuries BC, as well as Fergana and Margiana in the 3rd century BC – 6th century AD. The area was incorporated into the Achaemenid Empire and, after a period of Greco-Bactrian rule and later by the Sasanian Empire, until the Muslim conquest of Persia in the seventh century. The early Muslim conquests and the subsequent Samanid Empire converted most of the people into adherents of Islam. During this period, cities began to grow rich from the Silk Road, and became a center of the Islamic Golden Age. The local Khwarazmian dynasty was destroyed by the Mongol invasion in the 13th century, leading to a dominance by Mongol peoples. Timur (Tamerlane) in the 14th century established the Timurid Empire. Its capital was Samarkand, which became a centre of science under the rule of Ulugh Beg, giving birth to the Timurid Renaissance. The territories of the Timurid dynasty were conquered by Kipchak Shaybanids in the 16th century. Conquests by Emperor Babur towards the east led to the foundation of the Mughal Empire in India. Most of Central Asia was gradually incorporated into the Russian Empire during the 19th century, with Tashkent becoming the political center of Russian Turkestan. In 1924, national delimitation created the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic as a republic of the Soviet Union. It declared independence as the Republic of Uzbekistan in 1991. (Full article...)
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The Khanate of Kokand was a Central Asian polity in the Fergana Valley centred on the city of Kokand between 1709 and 1876. Its territory is today divided between Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan. (Full article...)
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General images -
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Ruins of Afrasiab – ancient Samarkand destroyed by Genghis Khan (from History of Uzbekistan) -
Kalyan Minaret (Great Minaret) in Bukhara, 1127 (from History of Uzbekistan) -
Chor Minor madrasa, Bukhara, 1807 (from History of Uzbekistan) -
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A group of Uzbek elders, 1890–1896 (from History of Uzbekistan) -
Fayaz Tepe, Standing Buddha Uzbekistan (from History of Uzbekistan) -
The Silk Road extending from Southern Europe through Africa and Western Asia, to Central Asia, and eventually South Asia, until it reaches China, and Southeast Asia (from History of Uzbekistan) -
A group of youth in Uzbekistan, 1995 (from History of Uzbekistan) -
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ossuary, statue of a man, Koy-Krylgan-Kala region, first centuries BC, Khorezm (from History of Uzbekistan) -
Map of Uzbek states in 1735 (from History of Uzbekistan) -
Map of Uzbekistan (from History of Uzbekistan) -
A parandja, a robe worn by women until it was banned in 1927. This example is made of velvet, silk threads and handmade embroidery. Displayed at the Museum of Applied Arts in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. (from Culture of Uzbekistan) -
The Defence of the Samarkand Citadel in 1868. From the Russian illustrated magazine Niva (1872). (from History of Uzbekistan) -
Djamolidine Abdoujaparov is the most famous cyclist in Uzbekistan, winning three Tour de France point contests. Abdoujaparov is also one of the world's fastest cyclists. (from Culture of Uzbekistan) -
Map of Timurid dynasty (1370–1506) (from History of Uzbekistan) -
Triumphant crowd at Registan, Sher-Dor Madrasah. The Emir of Bukhara viewing the severed heads of Russian soldiers on poles. Painting by Vasily Vereshchagin (1872). (from History of Uzbekistan) -
Chorasmian fresco from Kazakly-Yatkan (fortress of Akcha-Khan Kala), 1st century BC-2nd century AD (from History of Uzbekistan) -
The Registan and its three madrasahs. From left to right: Ulugh Beg Madrasah, Tilya-Kori Madrasah and Sher-Dor Madrasah, Samarkand, and Uzbekistan. (from History of Uzbekistan) -
Rabati Malik's portal on the road from Samarkand to Bukhara, 11th century (from History of Uzbekistan) -
Turkish officers during an audience with king Varkhuman of Samarkand 648–651 AD (Afrasiab murals) (from History of Uzbekistan) -
Kushan Prince, Dalverzin-Tepe, 1st century AD, Uzbekistan, Museum of the History of the Peoples of Uzbekistan (from History of Uzbekistan) -
The pharmacy building in Bukhara is a fine example of Uzbek architecture influenced by the Russian Empire. (from History of Uzbekistan)
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