Boysun (, ) is a city in

Surxondaryo Region Surxondaryo Region is a region ('' viloyat'') of Uzbekistan, located in the extreme south-east of the country. Established on 6 March 1941, it borders on Qashqadaryo Region internally, and Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan externally, goin ...

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

and capital of Boysun District. The population was 16,732 as of the 1989 census, and 27,600 in 2016.

History

Boysun is one of the oldest inhabited places in the

. It is located to the northwest of Boysun in the Teshiktosh mountains. It is known that people have lived in Boysun for approximately the last 5,000 years. From the 1st century BC to the 1st century AD, Boysun was the location of a fortified city called "Poikalon". In the 6th to 13th centuries, another city, Bosand, was situated in the Boysun area and was one of the cities of

Chaghaniyan Chaghaniyan (Middle Persian: ''Chagīnīgān''; ''Chaghāniyān''), known as al-Saghaniyan in Arabic sources, was a medieval region and principality located on the right bank of the Oxus River, to the south of Samarkand. History Hephthalite r ...

. Bosand is also mentioned as such in Abu Ishaq al-Istakhri's "

Book of Roads and Kingdoms The ''Book of Roads and Kingdoms'' (, ''Kitāb al-Masālik waʿl-Mamālik'') is a group of Islamic manuscripts composed from the Middle Ages to the early modern period. They emerged from the administrative tradition of listing pilgrim and post st ...

." "

Hudud al-'Alam The ''Ḥudūd al-ʿĀlam'' (, "Boundaries of the World," "Limits of the World," or in also in English "The Regions of the World") is a 10th-century geography book written in Persian by an anonymous author from Guzgan (present day northern Afg ...

" describes Bosand as a place with a large and militant population. Bosand was strategically located on the trade route between

and

Samarkand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...

, passing through the Iron Gate. The exteriors of the houses are adorned with colorful patterns, and decorated with felt and embroidered hangings. In the streets along the walls, there are large clay dishes and water reservoirs. The Teshik-Tash cave, where parts of

Neanderthals Neanderthals ( ; ''Homo neanderthalensis'' or sometimes ''H. sapiens neanderthalensis'') are an extinction, extinct group of archaic humans who inhabited Europe and Western and Central Asia during the Middle Pleistocene, Middle to Late Plei ...

were found, is world famous.

Mesolithic era The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymous ...

"magic bull hunt" wall paintings can be seen nearby in the Kugitang Mountains. According to archaeological sources, life in Bosand has continued from the early centuries until the Islamic period. The city was later reconstructed with a fortification wall. The Boysun treasure is also mentioned in the " Zafarnama." In the 19th century, Boysun was a center of one of the three bekliks in the Bukhara Emirate in the

Surxondaryo region Surxondaryo Region is a region ('' viloyat'') of Uzbekistan, located in the extreme south-east of the country. Established on 6 March 1941, it borders on Qashqadaryo Region internally, and Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan externally, goin ...

, and it was inhabited by the indigenous Uzbek population.

Etymology

The Chig'atoy tribe, a Turkic group, named the place "Boysun." The name "Boysun" is derived from the ancient Turkish words "boy" and "sin," meaning "great mountain" or "big mountain." In ancient Turkic tribes, among various ways of referring to different things, toponyms often included references to mountains, which were considered sacred. According to local traditions, powerful people from ancient Turkic tribes lived in this area, and the name "Biysun" means "the abode of the powerful" or "the settlement of the mighty."

Geography

Boysun lies in a valley running through a hilly region and overlooked by the Boysuntoq Ridge of the

Gissar Range The Hisar Range, formerly the Gissar Range, is a mountain range in Central Asia, in the western part of the Pamir-Alay system, stretching over 200 km in the general east–west direction across the territory of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. G ...

, which rises to here and as even higher to the west. The landscape is dramatic but arid, and varies from grassy areas to exposed rock.

Climate

Boysun has a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Csa''), with cool winters and hot summers. Rainfall is generally light and erratic. Autumn is the wettest season, while summers are very dry.

Population

Transportation

The main road through the town is Route P-105. This connects with the M39 to the west near Shorab, leading to Dehqonobod,

Gʻuzor Gʻuzor (; ; ; ) is a city in Qashqadaryo Region in southern Uzbekistan. It serves as the administrative center of Gʻuzor District. Its population is 24,500 (2016). The town is home to a Polish war cemetery, one of many along the route that Ander ...

Shahrisabz Shahrisabz, lit. "Green City" in Persian, is a district-level city in Qashqadaryo Region in southern Uzbekistan. The Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) has selected Shakhrisabz as its tourism capital for 2024. It is located approximately 80& ...

and

further north, and to Akkurgon and

Termez Termez ( ) is the capital of Surxondaryo Region in southern Uzbekistan. Administratively, it is a district-level city. Its population is 182,800 (2021). It is notable as the site of Alexander the Great's city Alexandria on the Oxus, as a center ...

further south. To the east, P-105 connects to

Shoʻrchi Shoʻrchi (, ) is a city in Surxondaryo Region, Uzbekistan. It is the administrative center of Shoʻrchi District. The town population was 16,560 people in 1989, and 25,000 in 2016. It is mentioned in the works of Kudain and Ibn Khurdadbeh that th ...

and

Qumqoʻrgʻon Qumqoʻrgʻon (, ) is a city in Surxondaryo Region, Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem ...

World Heritage Status

This site was added to the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Tentative List on 18 January 2008 in the Mixed (Cultural and Natural) category.

References

{{Coord, 38, 12, N, 67, 12, E, source:kolossus-itwiki, display=title Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity Populated places in Surxondaryo Region Cities in Uzbekistan World Heritage Tentative List for Uzbekistan