Tashkent

Tashkent

Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and Central Asia's largest city, located in the north-east of the country. The city lies at an altitude of 450-480 meters in the Chirchik River valley, west of the Chatkal Mountains, and is crossed by a series of canals flowing from the Chirchik River. The city most likely dates back to the 2nd or 1st century BC and was known by various names such as Dzhadzh, Chachkent, Shashkent, and Binkent. The name Tashkent, which in Uzbek means "Stone Village", was first mentioned in the 11th century. It was an important trading and craft center on the caravan routes to Europe and East Asia, and was conquered by the Arabs in the early 8th century, then passed into the hands of various Muslim ruling families before falling to the Mongols in the early 13th century. It was then ruled by the Timurids and the Shaybānids, and lived an independent life before being annexed by the Kokandi Khanate in 1809. By the time it was occupied by the Russians in 1865, it was a walled city of approximately 70 000 inhabitants, and a major center of trade with Russia. It was made the administrative center of the new governorate of Turkistan in 1867, and a new European city grew up alongside the old indigenous city. Soviet rule was established in November 1917 after an armed uprising by Russian colonists. Tashkent remained the capital of the new U.S.S.R. Republic of Turkistan, but when the latter split in 1924, Samarkand became the first capital of the U.S.S.R. Republic of Uzbekistan. In the end, in 1930 the capital was moved to Tashkent.