Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...

and largest city of

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...

. It is the most populous city in

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the former ...

, with a population of 2,909,500 (2022). It is in northeastern Uzbekistan, near the border with

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental coun ...

. Tashkent comes from the

Turkic Turkic may refer to: * anything related to the country of Turkey * Turkic languages, a language family of at least thirty-five documented languages ** Turkic alphabets (disambiguation) ** Turkish language, the most widely spoken Turkic language * ...

''tash'' and ''kent'', literally translated as "Stone City" or "City of Stones". Before Islamic influence started in the mid-8th century AD, Tashkent was influenced by the Sogdian and

cultures. After

Genghis Khan ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr /> Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent) Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin ...

destroyed it in 1219, it was rebuilt and profited from the Silk Road. From the 18th to the 19th century, the city became an independent city-state, before being re-conquered by the

Khanate of Kokand The Khanate of Kokand ( fa, ; ''Khānneshin-e Khoqand'', chg, ''Khoqand Khānligi'') 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, ...

. In 1865, Tashkent fell to the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

; it became the capital of

Russian Turkestan Russian Turkestan (russian: Русский Туркестан, Russkiy Turkestan) was the western part of Turkestan within the Russian Empire’s Central Asian territories, and was administered as a Krai or Governor-Generalship. It comprised the o ...

. In

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

times, it witnessed major growth and demographic changes due to forced deportations from throughout the Soviet Union. Much of Tashkent was destroyed in the

1966 Tashkent earthquake The 1966 Tashkent earthquake ( uz, Toshkent zilzilasi; russian: Ташкентское землетрясение) occurred on 26 April in the Uzbek SSR. It had a moment magnitude of 5.2 with an epicenter in central Tashkent at a depth of . The e ...

, but it was rebuilt as a model Soviet city. It was the fourth-largest city in the Soviet Union at the time, after

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

and

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

. Today, as the capital of an independent Uzbekistan, Tashkent retains a multiethnic population, with ethnic

Uzbeks The Uzbeks ( uz, , , , ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group native to the wider Central Asia, Central Asian region, being among the largest Turkic ethnic group in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to ...

as the majority. In 2009, it celebrated its 2,200 years of written history.

History

Etymology

During its long history, Tashkent has had various changes in names and political and religious affiliations.

Abu Rayhan Biruni Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (973 – after 1050) commonly known as al-Biruni, was a Khwarazmian Iranian in scholar and polymath during the Islamic Golden Age. He has been called variously the "founder of Indology", "Father of Co ...

wrote that the city's name Tashkent comes from the Turkic ''tash'' and ''kent'', literally translated as "Stone City" or "City of Stones". Ilya Gershevitch (1974:55, 72) (apud Livshits, 2007:179) traces the city's old name Chach back to

Old Iranian The Iranian languages or Iranic languages are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian Plateau. The Iranian languages are grouped ...

*''čāiča-'' "area of water, lake" (cf. Lake ''Čaēčista'' mentioned in the

Avesta The Avesta () is the primary collection of religious texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language. The Avesta texts fall into several different categories, arranged either by dialect, or by usage. The principal text in the li ...

) (whence

Middle Chinese Middle Chinese (formerly known as Ancient Chinese) or the Qieyun system (QYS) is the historical variety of Chinese recorded in the ''Qieyun'', a rime dictionary first published in 601 and followed by several revised and expanded editions. The ...

transcription *''źiäk'' >

standard Chinese Standard Chinese ()—in linguistics Standard Northern Mandarin or Standard Beijing Mandarin, in common speech simply Mandarin, better qualified as Standard Mandarin, Modern Standard Mandarin or Standard Mandarin Chinese—is a modern standa ...

''Shí'' with

Chinese character Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as '' kan ...

石 for "stone"), and *''Čačkand'' ~ ''Čačkanθ'' was the basis for

adaption Tashkent, popularly etymologized as "stone city".

Early history

Tashkent was first settled some time between the 5th and 3rd centuries BC by ancient people as an

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentChirchik River, near the foothills of the West

Tian Shan The Tian Shan,, , otk, 𐰴𐰣 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃, , tr, Tanrı Dağı, mn, Тэнгэр уул, , ug, تەڭرىتاغ, , , kk, Тәңіртауы / Алатау, , , ky, Теңир-Тоо / Ала-Тоо, , , uz, Tyan-Shan / Tangritog‘ ...

Mountains. In ancient times, this area contained Beitian, probably the summer "capital" of the

Kangju Kangju (; Eastern Han Chinese: ''kʰɑŋ-kɨɑ'' < *''khâŋ-ka'' (c. 140 BCE)) was the Chinese name of a kingdom in

Central Asia

confederacy. Some scholars believe that a "Stone Tower" mentioned by

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of import ...

in his famous treatise ''Geography'', and by other early accounts of travel on the old Silk Road, referred to this settlement (due to its etymology). This tower is said to have marked the midway point between

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

and China. Other scholars, however, disagree with this identification, though it remains one of four most probable sites for the Stone Tower.

History as Chach

In pre-Islamic and early Islamic times, the town and the province were known as ''Chach''. The

Shahnameh The ''Shahnameh'' or ''Shahnama'' ( fa, شاهنامه, Šāhnāme, lit=The Book of Kings, ) is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50 ...

of Ferdowsi also refers to the city as Chach. The principality of Chach had a

square In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90-degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...

citadel built around the 5th to 3rd centuries BC, some south of the

Syr Darya The Syr Darya (, ),, , ; rus, Сырдарья́, Syrdarjja, p=sɨrdɐˈrʲja; fa, سيردريا, Sirdaryâ; tg, Сирдарё, Sirdaryo; tr, Seyhun, Siri Derya; ar, سيحون, Seyḥūn; uz, Sirdaryo, script-Latn/. historically known ...

River. By the 7th century AD, Chach had more than 30 towns and a network of over 50 canals, forming a trade center between the

Sogdians :''This category lists articles related to historical Iranian peoples'' Historical Peoples Iranian Iranian Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples ...

and

nomads. The

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

monk

Xuanzang Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...

(602/603? – 664 AD), who travelled from China to India through Central Asia, mentioned the name of the city as (). The Chinese chronicles ''

History of Northern Dynasties The ''History of the Northern Dynasties'' () is one of the official Chinese historical works in the ''Twenty-Four Histories'' canon. The text contains 100 volumes and covers the period from 386 to 618, the histories of Northern Wei, Western W ...

'', ''

Book of Sui The ''Book of Sui'' (''Suí Shū'') is the official history of the Sui dynasty. It ranks among the official Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written by Yan Shigu, Kong Yingda, and Zhangsun Wuji, with Wei Zheng as the lead au ...

'', and ''

Old Book of Tang The ''Old Book of Tang'', or simply the ''Book of Tang'', is the first classic historical work about the Tang dynasty, comprising 200 chapters, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories. Originally compiled during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kin ...

'' mention a possession called ("stone") or with a capital of the same name since the fifth century AD. In 558–603, Chach was part of the Turkic Khaganate. At the beginning of the 7th century, the Turkic Kaganate, as a result of internecine wars and wars with its neighbors, disintegrated into the

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

and Eastern Kaganates. The Western Turkic ruler

Tong Yabghu Qaghan Tong Yabghu Qaghan (r. 618–628 or 630) (also known as T'ung Yabghu, Tong Yabghu Khagan, and Tong Yabğu, Traditional Chinese 統葉護可汗, Simplified Chinese: 统叶护可汗, pinyin ''Tǒng Yèhù Kěhán'', Wade-Giles: ''T'ung Yeh-hu K'o-h ...

(618-630) set up his headquarters in the Ming-bulak area to the north of Chach. Here he received embassies from the emperors of the

Tang Empire The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...

and Byzantium. In 626, the Indian preacher Prabhakaramitra arrived with ten companions to the Khagan. In 628, a Buddhist Chinese monk Xuanzang arrived in Ming Bulak. The Turkic rulers of Chach minted their coins with the inscription on the obverse side of the "lord of the Khakan money" (mid-8th century); with an inscription in the ruler Turk (VII century), in Nudjket in the middle of the VIII century, coins were issued with the obverse inscription “Nanchu (Banchu) Ertegin sovereign".

Islamic Caliphate

Tashkent was conquered by the Arabs at the beginning of the 8th century. According to the descriptions of the authors of the 10th century, Shash was structurally divided into a

citadel A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. In ...

, an inner city (madina) and two suburbs - an inner (rabad-dahil) and an outer (rabad-harij). The citadel, surrounded by a special wall with two gates, contained the ruler's palace and the prison. M10 Abassides AH190 (8011579793)

Post Caliphate rule

Under the

Samanid Empire The Samanid Empire ( fa, سامانیان, Sāmāniyān) also known as the Samanian Empire, Samanid dynasty, Samanid amirate, or simply as the Samanids) was a Persianate Sunni Muslim empire, of Iranian dehqan origin. The empire was centred in Kho ...

, whose founder

Ismail Samani Abū Ibrāhīm Ismā'īl ibn-i Aḥmad-i Sāmāni ( fa, ابو ابراهیم اسماعیل بن احمد سامانی; May 849 – 24 November 907), better known simply as Ismail-i Samani (), and also known as Isma'il ibn-i Ahmad (), was the S ...

was a descendant of Persian

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ...

convert to Islam, the city came to be known as Binkath. However, the Arabs retained the old name of ''Chach'' for the surrounding region, pronouncing it ''ash-Shāsh'' () instead. Kand, qand, kent, kad, kath, kud—all meaning a city—are derived from the Persian/ Sogdian کنده (kanda), meaning a town or a city. They are found in city names such as

Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top: Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zi ...

Yarkand Yarkant County,, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency also Shache County,, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency also transliterated from Uyghur as Yakan County, is a county in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomou ...

Panjakent Panjakent ( tg, Панҷакент), or Penjikent (russian: Пенджикент) is a city in the Sughd province of Tajikistan on the river Zeravshan, with a population of 52,500 (2020 estimate). It was once an ancient town in Sogdiana. The rui ...

Khujand Khujand ( tg, Хуҷанд, Khujand; Uzbek: Хўжанд, romanized: Хo'jand; fa, خجند‌, Khojand), sometimes spelled Khodjent and known as Leninabad (russian: Ленинабад, Leninabad; tg, Ленинобод, Leninobod; fa, لنی ...

etc.). Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ali ash-Shashi, known as al-Kaffal ash-Shashi (904-975), was born in Tashkent - an Islamic theologian, scholar, jurist of the Shafi'i madhhab, hadith scholar and linguist. After the 11th century, the name evolved from Chachkand/Chashkand to Tashkand. The modern spelling of "Tashkent" reflects Russian orthography and 20th-century Soviet influence. At the end of the 10th century, Tashkent became part of the possessions of the Turkic state of the

Karakhanids The Kara-Khanid Khanate (; ), also known as the Karakhanids, Qarakhanids, Ilek Khanids or the Afrasiabids (), was a Turkic khanate that ruled Central Asia in the 9th through the early 13th century. The dynastic names of Karakhanids and Ilek K ...

. In 998/99 the Tashkent oasis went to the Karakhanid Ahmad ibn Ali, who ruled the north-eastern regions of Mavarannahr. In 1177/78, a separate khanate was formed in the Tashkent oasis. Its center was Banakat, where dirhams Mu'izz ad-dunya wa-d-din Qilich-khan were minted, in 1195-1197 - Jalal ad-dunya wa-d-din Tafgach-khakan, in 1197-1206 - 'Imad ad-dunya va-d-din Ulug Egdish Chagry-khan.

Mongol conquest

The city was destroyed by

in 1219 and lost much of its population as a result of the

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...

' destruction of the

Khwarezmid Empire The Khwarazmian or Khwarezmian Empire) or the Khwarazmshahs ( fa, خوارزمشاهیان, Khwārazmshāhiyān) () was a Turko-Persian Sunni Muslim empire that ruled large parts of present-day Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Iran in the ap ...

in 1220.

Timurid period

Under the

Timurid Timurid refers to those descended from Timur (Tamerlane), a 14th-century conqueror: * Timurid dynasty, a dynasty of Turco-Mongol lineage descended from Timur who established empires in Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent ** Timurid Empire o ...

and subsequent Shaybanid dynasties, the city's population and culture gradually revived as a prominent strategic center of scholarship, commerce and trade along the Silk Road. During the reign of Amir Timur (1336-1405), Tashkent was restored and in the 14th-15th centuries Tashkent was part of Timur's empire. For Timur, Tashkent was considered a strategic city. In 1391 Timur set out in the spring from Tashkent to Desht-i-Kipchak to fight the Khan of the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fragment ...

Tokhtamysh Khan. Timur returned from this victorious campaign through Tashkent. Mausoleum Zangiata 15-12

The most famous saint Sufi of Tashkent was Sheikh Khovendi at-Takhur (13th to the first half of the 14th century). According to legend, Amir Timur, who was treating his wounded leg in Tashkent with the healing water of the Zem-Zem spring, ordered to build a mausoleum for the saint. By order of Timur, the Zangiata mausoleum was built.

Uzbek Shaybanid's dynasty period

In the 16th century, Tashkent was ruled by the Shaybanid dynasty. Barakhan Madrasah Tashkent

Shaybanid Suyunchkhoja Khan was an enlightened Uzbek ruler; following the traditions of his ancestors Mirzo Ulugbek and Abul Khair Khan, he gathered famous scientists, writers and poets at his court, among them: Vasifi, Abdullah Nasrullahi, Masud bin Osmani Kuhistani. Since 1518 Vasifi was the educator of the son of Suyunchhoja Khan Keldi Muhammad, with whom, after the death of his father in 1525, he moved to Tashkent. After the death of his former pupil, he became the educator of his son, Abu-l-Muzaffar Hasan-Sultan. Later the city was subordinated to Shaybanid

Abdullah Khan II Abdullah Khan (''Abdollah Khan Ozbeg'') (1533/4–1598), known as "The old Khan", was an Uzbek ruler of the Khanate of Bukhara (1500–1785). He was the last Shaybanid Khan of Bukhara from 1583 until his death.The Bukharans: A Dynastic, Diplo ...

(the ruler actually from 1557, officially in 1583–1598), who issued his coins here From 1598 to 1604 Tashkent was ruled by the Shaybanid Keldi Muhammad, who issued silver and copper coins on his behalf.

Kazakh ruled period

In 1598, Kazakh Taukeel Khan was at war with the Khanate of Bukhara. The Bukhara troops sent against him were defeated by Kazakhs in the battle between Tashkent and Samarkand. During the reign of Yesim-Khan, a peace treaty was concluded between Bukhara and Kazakhs, according to which Kazakhs abandoned Samarkand, but left behind Tashkent, Turkestan and a number of Syr Darya cities. Yesim-Khan ruled the

Kazakh Khanate The Kazakh Khanate ( kk, Қазақ Хандығы, , ), in eastern sources known as Ulus of the Kazakhs, Ulus of Jochi, Yurt of Urus, was a Kazakh state in Central Asia, successor of the Golden Horde existing from the 15th to 19th century, ...

from 1598 to 1628, his main merit was that he managed to unite the Kazakh khanate.

Tashkent state

In 1784, Yunus Khoja, the ruler of the dakha (district) Shayhantahur, united the entire city under his rule and created an independent Tashkent state (1784-1807), which by the beginning of the 19th century seized vast lands.

Kokand Khanate

In 1809, Tashkent was annexed to the

. At the time, Tashkent had a population of around 100,000 and was considered the richest city in Central Asia. Under the Kokand domination, Tashkent was surrounded by a moat and an adobe battlement (about 20 kilometers long) with 12 gates. It prospered greatly through trade with Russia but chafed under Kokand's high taxes. The Tashkent clergy also favored the clergy of

Bukhara Bukhara (Uzbek language, Uzbek: /, ; tg, Бухоро, ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of 280,187 , and the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara ...

over that of Kokand. However, before the

Emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cer ...

of Bukhara could capitalize on this discontent, the Russian army arrived.

Colonial period

In May 1865, Mikhail Grigorevich Chernyayev (Cherniaev), acting against the direct orders of the

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the te ...

and outnumbered at least 15–1, staged a daring night attack against a city with a wall long with 11 gates and 30,000 defenders. While a small contingent staged a diversionary attack, the main force penetrated the walls, led by a

Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most C ...

priest. Although the defense was stiff, the Russians captured the city after two days of heavy fighting and the loss of only 25 dead as opposed to several thousand of the defenders (including

Alimqul `Alimqul (also spelt Alymkul, Alim quli, Alim kuli) (ca. 1833 – 1865) was a warlord in the Kokand Khanate, and its ''de facto'' ruler from 1863 to 1865. Alimqul was born in Budjun Batken, 1833, into a family of a Kyrgyz- Kipchak '' beys'' ...

, the ruler of the Kokand Khanate). Chernyayev, dubbed the "Lion of Tashkent" by city elders, staged a hearts-and-minds campaign to win the population over. He abolished taxes for a year, rode unarmed through the streets and bazaars meeting common people, and appointed himself "Military Governor of Tashkent", recommending to

Tsar Alexander II Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finlan ...

that the city become an independent

khanate A khaganate or khanate was a polity ruled by a khan, khagan, khatun, or khanum. That political territory was typically found on the Eurasian Steppe and could be equivalent in status to tribal chiefdom, principality, kingdom or empire. ...

under Russian protection. Taskent city coat 1909

The Tsar liberally rewarded Chernyayev and his men with medals and bonuses, but regarded the impulsive general as a loose cannon, and soon replaced him with General Konstantin Petrovich von Kaufman. Far from being granted independence, Tashkent became the capital of the new territory of Russian Turkistan, with Kaufman as first Governor-General. A

cantonment A cantonment (, , or ) is a military quarters. In Bangladesh, India and other parts of South Asia, a ''cantonment'' refers to a permanent military station (a term from the colonial-era). In United States military parlance, a cantonment is, essent ...

and Russian settlement were built across the Ankhor Canal from the old city, and Russian settlers and merchants poured in. Tashkent was a center of espionage in the

Great Game The Great Game is the name for a set of political, diplomatic and military confrontations that occurred through most of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century – involving the rivalry of the British Empire and the Russian Empi ...

rivalry between Russia and the United Kingdom over Central Asia. The

Turkestan Military District The Turkestan Military District (russian: Туркестанский военный округ (ТуркВО), ''Turkestansky voyenyi okrug (TurkVO)'') was a military district of both the Imperial Russian Army and the Soviet Armed Forces, with it ...

was established as part of the military reforms of 1874. The

Trans-Caspian Railway The Trans-Caspian Railway (also called the Central Asian Railway, russian: Среднеазиатская железная дорога) is a railway that follows the path of the Silk Road through much of western Central Asia. It was built by ...

arrived in 1889, and the railway workers who built it settled in Tashkent as well, bringing with them the seeds of

Bolshevik Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...

Effect of the Russian Revolution

With the fall of the

, the

Russian Provisional Government The Russian Provisional Government ( rus, Временное правительство России, Vremennoye pravitel'stvo Rossii) was a provisional government of the Russian Republic, announced two days before and established immediatel ...

removed all civil restrictions based on religion and nationality, contributing to local enthusiasm for the February Revolution. The Tashkent Soviet of Soldiers' and Workers' Deputies was soon set up, but primarily represented Russian residents, who made up about a fifth of the Tashkent population. Muslim leaders quickly set up the Tashkent Muslim Council (''Tashkand Shura-yi-Islamiya'') based in the old city. On 10 March 1917, there was a parade with Russian workers marching with red flags, Russian soldiers singing ''

La Marseillaise "La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. The song was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by France against Austria, and was originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du ...

'' and thousands of local Central Asians. Following various speeches, Governor-General

Aleksey Kuropatkin Aleksey Nikolayevich Kuropatkin (russian: Алексе́й Никола́евич Куропа́ткин; March 29, 1848January 16, 1925) served as the Russian Imperial Minister of War from January 1898 to February 1904 and as a field command ...

closed the events with words "Long Live a great free Russia". The First Turkestan Muslim Conference was held in Tashkent 16–20 April 1917. Like the Muslim Council, it was dominated by the

Jadid The Jadids were Muslim modernist reformers within the Russian Empire in the late 19th and early 20th century. They normally referred to themselves by the Turkic terms ''Taraqqiparvarlar'' ('progressives'), ''Ziyalilar'' ('intellectuals') or simp ...

, Muslim reformers. A more conservative faction emerged in Tashkent centered around the

Ulema In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...

. This faction proved more successful during the local elections of July 1917. They formed an alliance with Russian conservatives, while the Soviet became more radical. The Soviet attempt to seize power in September 1917 proved unsuccessful. In April 1918, Tashkent became the capital of the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (

Turkestan ASSR The Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (initially, the Turkestan Socialist Federative Republic; 30 April 191827 October 1924) was an autonomous republic of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic located in Soviet Central As ...

). The new regime was threatened by White forces, '' basmachi;'' revolts from within, and purges ordered from Moscow.

Soviet period

Tashkent the building of town council 02

The city began to industrialize in the 1920s and 1930s. Violating the

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union that enabled those powers to partition Poland between them. The pact was signed in Moscow on 23 August 1939 by German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ri ...

, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941. The government worked to relocate factories from western Russia and Ukraine to Tashkent to preserve the Soviet industrial capacity. This led to great increase in industry during World War II. It also evacuated most of the German communist emigres to Tashkent.Robert K. Shirer, "Johannes R. Becher 1891–1958"
, ''Encyclopedia of German Literature'', Chicago and London: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 2000, by permission at Digital Commons, University of Nebraska, accessed 3 February 2013 The Russian population increased dramatically; evacuees from the war zones increased the total population of Tashkent to well over a million. Russians and

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Or ...

eventually comprised more than half of the total residents of Tashkent. Many of the former refugees stayed in Tashkent to live after the war, rather than return to former homes. During the postwar period, the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

established numerous scientific and engineering facilities in Tashkent. On 10 January 1966, then

Indian Prime Minister The prime minister of India ( IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...

Lal Bahadur Shastri Lal Bahadur Shastri (; 2 October 1904 – 11 January 1966) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 2nd Prime Minister of India from 1964 to 1966 and 6th Home Minister of India from 1961 to 1963. He promoted the White R ...

and Pakistan President

Ayub Khan Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced ...

signed a pact in Tashkent with

Soviet Premier The Premier of the Soviet Union (russian: Глава Правительства СССР) was the head of government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The office had four different names throughout its existence: Chairman of the ...

Alexei Kosygin Alexei Nikolayevich Kosygin ( rus, Алексе́й Никола́евич Косы́гин, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ kɐˈsɨɡʲɪn; – 18 December 1980) was a Soviet statesman during the Cold War. He served as the Prem ...

as the mediator to resolve the terms of peace after the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...

. On the next day, Shastri died suddenly, reportedly due to a heart attack. It is widely speculated that Shastri was killed by poisoning the water he drank. Much of Tashkent's old city was destroyed by a powerful earthquake on 26 April 1966. More than 300,000 residents were left homeless, and some 78,000 poorly engineered homes were destroyed, mainly in the densely populated areas of the old city where traditional

adobe Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for '' mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of ...

housing predominated. The Soviet republics, and some other countries, such as Finland, sent "battalions of fraternal peoples" and urban planners to help rebuild devastated Tashkent. Tashkent was rebuilt as a model Soviet city with wide streets planted with shade trees, parks, immense plazas for parades, fountains, monuments, and acres of apartment blocks. The

Tashkent Metro The Tashkent Metro ( uz, Toshkent metropoliteni, Тошкент метрополитени) is the rapid transit system serving the city of Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. It was the seventh metro to be built in the former USSR, opening in 1 ...

was also built during this time. About 100,000 new homes were built by 1970, but the builders occupied many, rather than the homeless residents of Tashkent. Further development in the following years increased the size of the city with major new developments in the Chilonzor area, north-east and south-east of the city. At the time of the collapse of the

in 1991, Tashkent was the fourth-largest city in the USSR and a center of learning in the fields of science and engineering. Due to the 1966 earthquake and the Soviet redevelopment, little architectural heritage has survived of Tashkent's ancient history. Few structures mark its significance as a trading point on the historic Silk Road.

Capital of Uzbekistan

Tashkent is the capital of and the most cosmopolitan city in Uzbekistan. It was noted for its tree-lined streets, numerous fountains, and pleasant parks, at least until the tree-cutting campaigns initiated in 2009 by the local government. Alisher Navoi Park

Since 1991, the city has changed economically, culturally, and architecturally. New development has superseded or replaced icons of the Soviet era. The largest statue ever erected for Lenin was replaced with a globe, featuring a geographic map of Uzbekistan. Buildings from the Soviet era have been replaced with new modern buildings. The "Downtown Tashkent" district includes the 22-story NBU Bank building, international hotels, the International Business Center, and the Plaza Building. Tashkent Japanese Gardens, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Tashkent Japanese Gardens, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

The Tashkent Business district is a special district, established for the development of small, medium and large businesses in Uzbekistan. In 2018, was started to build a Tashkent city (new Downtown) which would include a new business district with skyscrapers of local and foreign companies, world hotels such as Hilton Tashkent Hotel, apartments, biggest malls, shops and other entertainments. The construction of the International Business Center is planned to be completed by the end of 2021. Fitch assigns “BB-” rating to Tashkent city, “Stable” forecast. In 2007, Tashkent was named a "cultural capital of the Islamic world" by ''

Moscow News ''The Moscow News'', which began publication in 1930, was Russia's oldest English-language newspaper. Many of its feature articles used to be translated from the Russian language ''Moskovskiye Novosti.'' History Soviet Union In 1930 ''The Mo ...

'', as the city has numerous historic mosques and significant Islamic sites, including the Islamic University. Tashkent holds the Samarkand Kufic Quran, one of the earliest written copies of the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing.: ...

, which has been located in the city since 1924. Tashkent is the most visited city in the country, and has greatly benefited from increasing

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism ...

as a result of reforms under president

Shavkat Mirziyoyev Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev ( Uzbek Latin: ''Shavkat Miromonovich (Miromon o‘g‘li) Mirziyoyev'', Uzbek Cyrillic: Шавкат Миромонович (Миромон ўғли) Мирзиёев ; born 24 July 1957) is an Uzbek politician ...

and opening up by abolishing visas for visitors from the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...

and other developing countries or making visas easier for foreigners.

Tashkent over the years

File:Tashkent History 1860.jpg, c. 1865 File:Tashkent History 1913.jpg, 1913 File:Tashkent History 1940.jpg, 1940 File:Tashkent History 1965.jpg, 1965 File:Tashkent History 1967.jpg, 1966:

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

and subsequent redevelopment File:Tashkent History 1981.jpg, 1981 File:Tashkent History 2000.jpg, 2000

The city and the origin of television

The first demonstration of a fully electronic TV set to the public was made in Tashkent in summer 1928 by Boris Grabovsky and his team. In his method that had been patented in

Saratov Saratov (, ; rus, Сара́тов, a=Ru-Saratov.ogg, p=sɐˈratəf) is the largest city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River upstream (north) of Volgograd. Saratov had a population of 901 ...

in 1925, Boris Grabovsky proposed a new principle of TV imaging based on the vertical and horizontal electron beam sweeping under high voltage. Nowadays this principle of the TV imaging is used practically in all modern cathode-ray tubes. Historian and ethnographer Boris Golender (Борис Голендер in Russian), in a video lecture, described this event. This date of demonstration of the fully electronic TV set is the earliest known so far. Despite this fact, most modern historians disputably consider Vladimir Zworykin and Philo Farnsworth as inventors of the first fully electronic TV set. In 1964, the contribution made to the development of early television by Grabovsky was officially acknowledged by the Uzbek government and he was awarded the prestigious degree "Honorable Inventor of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic".

Geography and climate

Geography

Tashkent is situated in a well-watered plain on the road between

, Uzbekistan's second city, and

Shymkent Shymkent (; Шымкент, Şymkent), known until 1993 as Chimkent ( uz, Çımkent, چىمكېنت; Yañalif: Çimkent ()); russian: Чимкент, translit=Chimkent (), is a city in Kazakhstan. It is near the border with Uzbekistan. It is on ...

across the

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political bo ...

. Tashkent is just 13 km from two border crossings into

. Closest geographic cities with populations of over 1 million are: Shymkent (Kazakhstan),

Dushanbe Dushanbe ( tg, Душанбе, ; ; russian: Душанбе) is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. , Dushanbe had a population of 863,400 and that population was largely Tajik. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe (ru ...

(Tajikistan),

Bishkek Bishkek ( ky, Бишкек), ), formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. The region surrounds the city, although the city itself is not part of ...

(Kyrgyzstan),

Kashgar Kashgar ( ug, قەشقەر, Qeshqer) or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is an oasis city in the Tarim Basin region of Southern Xinjiang. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, near the border with Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan ...

(China),

Almaty Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to 1936 as an autonomous republic as part of ...

(Kazakhstan),

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Ac ...

(Afghanistan) and

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

(Pakistan). Tashkent sits at the confluence of the Chirchiq River and several of its tributaries and is built on deep alluvial deposits up to . The city is located in an active tectonic area suffering large numbers of tremors and some earthquakes. The local time in Tashkent is UTC/GMT +5 hours.

Climate

Tashkent features a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

( Köppen: ''Csa'') bordering a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

( Köppen: ''Dsa''). /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Asia_K%C3%B6ppen_Map.png Updated Asian map of the Köppen climate classification system/ref> As a result, Tashkent experiences cold and often snowy winters not typically associated with most Mediterranean climates and long, hot and dry summers. Most

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hai ...

occurs during winter, which frequently falls as snow. The city experiences two peaks of precipitation in the early winter and spring. The slightly unusual precipitation pattern is partially due to its altitude. Summers are long in Tashkent, usually lasting from May to September. Tashkent can be extremely hot during the months of July and August. The city also sees very little precipitation during the summer, particularly from June through September.

Demographics

In 1983, the population of Tashkent amounted to 1,902,000 people living in a municipal area of . By 1991, ( Dissolution of the Soviet Union) the number of permanent residents of the capital had grown to approximately 2,136,600. Tashkent was the fourth most populated city in the former

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

, after

, Leningrad (

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

), and

. Nowadays, Tashkent remains the fourth most populous city in the CIS. The population of the city was 2,716,176 people in 2020. *78.0% –

*5% –

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

*4.5% –

Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

*2.2% – Koryo-saram (Koreans) *2.1% –

Tajiks Tajiks ( fa, تاجيک، تاجک, ''Tājīk, Tājek''; tg, Тоҷик) are a Persian language, Persian-speaking Iranian peoples, Iranian ethnic group native to Central Asia, living primarily in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Tajiks ...

*1.2% – Uighurs *7.0% – other ethnic backgrounds Uzbek is the main spoken language as well as Russian for inter-ethnic communication. As with most of Uzbekistan, street signs and other things are often a mix of Latin and Cyrillic scripts.

Districts

Since 2020, when the Yangihayot district was created, Tashkent is divided into the following 12 districts ( uz, tumanlar):
At the time of the Tsarist take over it had four districts (Uzbek ''daha''): #Beshyoghoch #Kukcha #Shaykhontokhur #Sebzor In 1940 it had the following districts (Russian ''район''): # Oktyabr # Kirov #

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

# Frunze #

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

# Kuybishev By 1981 they were reorganized into: #Bektemir #Akmal-Ikramov (Uchtepa) #Khamza (Yashnobod) #Lenin (Mirobod) #Kuybishev (Mirzo Ulugbek) #Sergeli #Oktober (Shaykhontokhur) #Sobir Rakhimov (Olmazar) #Chilanzar #Frunze (Yakkasaray) #Kirov (Yunusabad)

Main sights

Palace of Grand Prince Nikolai Konstantinovich 12-00

Due to the destruction of most of the ancient city during the

1917 revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of governme ...

and, later, the 1966 earthquake, little remains of Tashkent's traditional architectural heritage. Tashkent is, however, rich in museums and Soviet-era monuments. They include: * Kukeldash Madrasah. Dating back to the reign of

(1557–1598) it is being restored by the provincial Religious Board of Mawarannahr Moslems. There is talk of making it into a museum, but it is currently being used as a madrassah. *

Chorsu Bazaar Chorsu Bazaar ( fa, بازار چارسو, ), also called charsu bazaar, is the traditional bazaar located in the center of the old town of Tashkent, the capital city of Uzbekistan. Under its blue-colored domed building and the adjacent areas, a ...

, located near the Kukeldash Madrassa. This huge open air bazaar is the center of the old town of Tashkent. Everything imaginable is for sale. It is one of the major tourist attractions of the city. *Hazrati Imam Complex. It includes several mosques, shrine, and a library which contains a manuscript Qur'an in Kufic script, considered to be the oldest extant

Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , si ...

in the world. Dating from 655 and stained with the blood of murdered caliph,

Uthman Uthman ibn Affan ( ar, عثمان بن عفان, ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān; – 17 June 656), also spelled by Colloquial Arabic, Turkish language, Turkish and Persian language, Persian rendering Osman, was a second cousin, son-in-law and nota ...

, it was brought by Timur to

, seized by the Russians as a war trophy and taken to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. It was returned to Uzbekistan in 1924. *Yunus Khan Mausoleum. It is a group of three 15th-century mausoleums, restored in the 19th century. The biggest is the grave of

Yunus Khan Yunus Khan (b. 1416 – d. 1487) ( ug, يونس خان}), was Khan of Moghulistan from 1462 until his death in 1487. He is identified by many historians with Ḥājjī `Ali (, Pinyin: ''Hazhi Ali'') ( ug, ھاجى علي}), of the contempora ...

, grandfather of

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the ...

founder

Babur Babur ( fa, , lit= tiger, translit= Bābur; ; 14 February 148326 December 1530), born Mīrzā Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad, was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his ...

. *Palace of Prince Romanov. During the 19th century Grand Duke Nikolai Konstantinovich, a first cousin of

Alexander III of Russia Alexander III ( rus, Алекса́ндр III Алекса́ндрович, r=Aleksandr III Aleksandrovich; 10 March 18451 November 1894) was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 13 March 1881 until his death in 18 ...

was banished to Tashkent for some shady deals involving the Russian Crown Jewels. His palace still survives in the centre of the city. Once a museum, it has been appropriated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. * Alisher Navoi Opera and Ballet Theatre, built by the same architect who designed Lenin's Tomb in Moscow, Aleksey Shchusev, with

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of ...

labor in World War II. It hosts Russian ballet and opera. *Fine Arts Museum of Uzbekistan. It contains a major collection of art from the pre-Russian period, including Sogdian murals,

statues and

art, along with a more modern collection of 19th and 20th century

applied art The applied arts are all the arts that apply design and decoration to everyday and essentially practical objects in order to make them aesthetically pleasing."Applied art" in ''The Oxford Dictionary of Art''. Online edition. Oxford Unive ...

, such as suzani embroidered hangings. Of more interest is the large collection of paintings "borrowed" from the Hermitage by Grand Duke Romanov to decorate his palace in exile in Tashkent, and never returned. Behind the museum is a small park, containing the neglected graves of the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

who died in the

Russian Revolution of 1917 The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

and to Osipov's treachery in 1919, along with first Uzbekistani President Yuldosh Akhunbabayev. *Museum of Applied Arts. Housed in a traditional house originally commissioned for a wealthy tsarist diplomat, the house itself is the main attraction, rather than its collection of 19th and 20th century

applied arts The applied arts are all the arts that apply design and decoration to everyday and essentially practical objects in order to make them aesthetically pleasing."Applied art" in ''The Oxford Dictionary of Art''. Online edition. Oxford Unive ...

. * State Museum of History of Uzbekistan the largest museum in the city. It is housed in the ex-Lenin Museum. * Amir Timur Museum, housed in a building with brilliant blue dome and ornate interior. It houses exhibits of

Timur Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...

and of President

Islam Karimov Islam Abduganiyevich Karimov ( uz, Islom Abdugʻaniyevich Karimov / Ислом Абдуғаниевич Каримов, italics=no; russian: link=no, Ислам Абдуганиевич Каримов; 30 January 1938 – 2 September 2016) was t ...

. To adjacent south of the museum is Amir Timur Square where there is a statue of Timur on horseback, surrounded by some of the nicest gardens and fountains in the city. *Navoi Literary Museum, commemorating Uzbekistan's adopted literary hero, Alisher Navoi, with replica manuscripts,

Islamic calligraphy Islamic calligraphy is the artistic practice of handwriting and calligraphy, in the languages which use Arabic alphabet or the alphabets derived from it. It includes Arabic, Persian, Ottoman, and Urdu calligraphy.Chapman, Caroline (2012). ...

and 15th century miniature paintings. *The

is known for extravagant design and architecture in the buildings. Taking photos in the system was banned until 2018. The Russian Orthodox church in Amir Temur Square, built in 1898, was demolished in 2009. The building had not been allowed to be used for religious purposes since the 1920s due to the anti-religious campaign conducted across the former Soviet Union by the Bolshevik (communist) government in Moscow. During the Soviet period the building was used for different non-religious purposes; after independence it was a bank. Tashkent also has a World War II memorial park and a Defender of Motherland monument.

Education

Most important scientific institutions of Uzbekistan, such as the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, are located in Tashkent. There are several universities and institutions of higher education: * TEAM University *The Branch of the Russian State University of Oil and Gas (NRU) named after I.M. Gubkin * Tashkent Automobile and Road Construction Institute * Tashkent State Technical University *Tashkent Institute of Architecture and Construction *

Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Melioration The Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Agricultural Mechanization Engineers (TIIAME), formerly Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Melioration (TIIME) ( (TIQXMMI)) is a university in Central Asia, which works for the development of the water ...

*International Business School Kelajak Ilmi * Tashkent University of Information Technologies * Westminster International University in Tashkent * Turin Polytechnic University in Tashkent * National University of Uzbekistan * University of World Economy and Diplomacy * Tashkent State Economic University * Tashkent State Institute of Law * Tashkent Financial Institute *State Conservatory of Uzbekistan *Tashkent Pediatric Medical Institute *Tashkent State Medicine Academy * Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies *Tashkent Islamic University * Management Development Institute of Singapore in Tashkent *Tashkent Institute of Textile and Light Industry * Tashkent Institute of Railway Transport Engineers *National Institute of Arts and Design named after Kamaleddin Bekhzod * Inha University Tashkent *

Uzbekistan State University of World Languages , native_name_lang = , image = OʻzDJTU.jpg , image_size = 200 px , image_alt = , caption = A front side of Uzbekistan State World Languages University , latin_name = , other_name = russian: Узбекский государствен ...

*AKFA UNIVERSITY

Media

*Nine

Uzbek language Uzbek (''Oʻzbekcha, Oʻzbek tili or Ўзбекча, Ўзбек тили''), formerly known as Chagatai language, ''Turki'' or ''Western Turki'', is a Turkic languages, Turkic language spoken by Uzbeks. It is the official, and national language ...

newspapers, four in English, and nine in Russian. *Several television and cable television facilities, including Tashkent Tower, the second tallest structure in Central Asia. *Moreover, there are digital broadcasting systems available in Tashkent which is unique in Central Asia.

Transportation

* Metro system * Tashkent International Airport is the largest in the country, connecting the city to Asia, Europe and North American continents. * Tashkent–Samarkand high-speed rail line *Trolleybus system was closed down in 2010. * Tram transport ended at 1 May 2016.

Entertainment and shopping

There are several shopping malls in Tashkent. These include Next, Samarqand Darvoza and Kontinent shopping malls. Most of the malls, including Riviera and Compass mall, were built and are operated by the Tower Management Group. This is part of the Orient Group of Companies. The capital's most established theatre is the Alisher Navoi Theater, that has regular ballet and opera performances. Ilkhom Theater, founded by Mark Weil in 1976, was the first independent theater in the Soviet Union. In 2007 Mark Weil was murdered in Tashkent by 3 people, who under investigation claimed that he has "misinterpreted" the Qu'ran in a production he had directed. The theater operates and has a strong reputation in Tashkent.

Sport

Football is the most popular sport in Tashkent, with the most prominent football clubs being

Pakhtakor Tashkent FK FC Pakhtakor Tashkent ( uz, Paxtakor futbol klubi) is an Uzbek professional football club, based in the capital city Tashkent, that competes in the Uzbekistan Super League. Pakhtakor literally means "cotton-grower" in English. Pakhtakor was the ...

FC Bunyodkor Football Club Bunyodkor ( uz, Bunyodkor futbol klubi) is an Uzbek professional football club based in Tashkent that competes in the Uzbekistan Super League. Bunyodkor, a relatively unknown club at the time, made international headlines when it ...

, and PFC Lokomotiv Tashkent, all three of which compete in the

Uzbekistan Super League Uzbekistan Super League ( uz, O'zbekiston Superligasi), also called Coca-Cola Uzbekistan Super League due to sponsorship reasons ( uz, Coca-Cola O'zbekiston Superligasi / Coca-Cola Ўзбекистон Суперлигаси), is the top division ...

. Footballers

Maksim Shatskikh Maksim Aleksandrovich Shatskikh (russian: Максим Александрович Шацких; born 30 August 1978) is an Uzbek professional football coach of Pakhtakor Tashkent and a former player. He is widely regarded as one of the best Uz ...

Peter Odemwingie Peter Osaze Odemwingie (born 15 July 1981) is a retired Nigerian professional footballer who played as a forward and winger. Odemwingie grew up in Uzbekistan and Russia and began his career with Bendel Insurance in the Nigeria Premier League. ...

and Vasilis Hatzipanagis were born in the city.

Humo Tashkent Humo Hockey Club, also known as Humo Tashkent, are a professional ice hockey team based in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Originally a member of the Uzbekistan Ice Hockey League, Humo joined the Kazakhstan Hockey Championship for the 2022–23 Season. Hu ...

, a professional ice hockey team was established in 2019 with the aim of joining

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs b ...

(KHL), a top level Eurasian league in future. Humo joined the second-tier

Supreme Hockey League The Supreme Hockey League (SHL) (russian: Высшая хоккейная лига (ВХЛ), links=no, ''Vysshaya hokkeinaya liga (VHL)''), also known as the Major Hockey League or Higher Hockey League (HHL), is a professional ice hockey league ...

(VHL) for the 2019–20 season. Humo play their games at the Humo Ice Dome; both the team and arena derive their name from the mythical

Huma bird The Huma ( fa, هما, pronounced ''Homā'', ae, script=latn, Homāio), also Homa, is a mythical bird of Iranian legends and fables, and continuing as a common motif in Sufi and Diwan poetry. Although there are many legends of the creature, c ...

. Humo Tashkent was a member of the reformed Uzbekistan Ice Hockey League which began play in February 2019. Humo finished in first place at the end of the regular season. Cyclist Djamolidine Abdoujaparov was born in the city, while tennis player

Denis Istomin Denis Olegovich Istomin (born 7 September 1986) is an Uzbek professional tennis player. He has won two singles titles (at the 2015 Aegon Open Nottingham and 2017 Chengdu Open) and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 33 in Augu ...

was raised there.

Akgul Amanmuradova Akgul Charievna Amanmuradova ( uz, Oqgul Omonmurodova; born June 23, 1984) is a professional tennis player from Uzbekistan. At 1.90 metres in height, she is one of the tallest female tennis players in history. Amanmuradova has won two d ...

and

Iroda Tulyaganova Iroda Tulyaganova ( uz, Ирода Тўлаганов, translit=Iroda To'laganova; born 7 January 1982) is a former professional tennis player from Uzbekistan. Tulyaganova has career-high WTA rankings of 16 in singles (reached in June 2002) an ...

are notable female tennis players from Tashkent. Gymnasts

Alina Kabaeva Alina Maratovna Kabaeva or Kabayeva (russian: Алина Маратовна Кабаева, ; tt-Cyrl, Әлинә Марат кызы Кабаева; born 12 May 1983) is a Russian politician, media manager and retired individual rhythmic gym ...

and Israeli Olympian Alexander Shatilov were also born in the city. Former world champion and Israeli Olympic bronze medalist sprint canoer in the K-1 500 m event

Michael Kolganov Michael "Misha" Kolganov (or Kalganov, he, מיכאל (מישה) קולגנוב, russian: Михаил Калганов; born October 24, 1974) is a USSR-born Israeli sprint kayaker and former world champion (1998–99). Competing in th ...

was also born in Tashkent. In

Weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various types of competition; promo ...

, Uzbekistan won the heavyweight class in both the Rio. and Tokyo

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

. Tashkent is hosting the 2021 Weightlifting World Championships.

Notable people

* Behzod Abduraimov, Uzbek classical pianist *, Uzbek novelist * Ismoilkhuja Akhmedkhodjaev, Uzbek racing driver *

Turgun Alimatov Turgun Alimatov ( uz, Turgʻun Alimatov; 20 January 1922 – 17 December 2008) was a leading Uzbek classic music and shashmaqam player and composer of 20th century folk and classic music. He was a master performer of tanbur, dutar The ''dutar ...

, Uzbek classic music and

shashmaqam Shashmaqam (russian: Шашмаком; uz, shashmaqom; tg, шашмақом; fa, شش‌مقام) is a Central Asian musical genre (typical of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) which may have developed in the city of Bukhara. Shashmaqam means the six ...

player and composer * Natasha Alam, Uzbekistani–American actress and model *

Abdulla Aripov Abdulla Nigmatovich Aripov ( uz, Абдулла Ниғматович Орипов, Abdulla Nigʻmatovich Oripov, born 24 May 1961, in Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), ...

, Uzbek politician and Prime Minister of Uzbekistan * Artour 'Arteezy' Babaev, Uzbek-born Canadian

Dota 2 ''Dota 2'' is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game by Valve. The game is a sequel to '' Defense of the Ancients'' (''DotA''), a community-created mod for Blizzard Entertainment's '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.'' ''Dota ...

professional player for

Evil Geniuses Evil Geniuses (EG) is an American esports organization based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1999, the organization has fielded players in various fighting games, ''Call of Duty (series), Call of Duty'', ''Counter-Strike: Global Offensive ...

Lola Astanova Lola Astanova (russian: link=no, Лола Астанова; born on 3 July 1982 in Tashkent, USSR) is a Russian-American pianist noted for her visual performance and piano transcriptions. Career Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, at the age of six Asta ...

, Russian-American pianist * Vera Bulatova, archaeologist *

Vlada Ekshibarova Vlada Ekshibarova ( he, ולדה אקשיברובה; born 14 March 1989; formerly known as Vlada Katic) is an Israeli-Uzbekistani tennis player. She competed for her native Uzbekistan (born in Soviet Uzbekistan), and now competes for Israel. S ...

(now Vlada Katic; born 1989), Israeli-Uzbekistani tennis player * Sogdiana Fedorinskaya, Uzbekistani singer and actress * Gʻafur Gʻulom, poet * Vasilis Hatzipanagis, Greek international footballer *

Ravshan Irmatov Ravshan Sayfiddinovich Irmatov ( uz, Ravshan Sayfiddinovich Ermatov, Равшан Сайфиддинович Эрматов; born August 9, 1977) is an Uzbek professional football referee. He officiated in the Uzbek League from 2000-2019 and ...

, football referee *

Arthur Kaliyev Arthur Kaliyev (russian: Артур Калиев; born June 26, 2001) is an Uzbekistani-born American professional ice hockey forward for the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 33rd overall by the Kings in the ...

, born in Tashkent raised in

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, American

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

player for the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

of the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

Rustam Kasimdzhanov Rustam Kasimdzhanov; russian: Рустам Касымджанов (born 5 December 1979) is an Uzbek chess grandmaster and former FIDE World Champion (2004-05). He was Asian champion in 1998. In addition to his tournament play, Kasimdzhan ...

, chess player, former FIDE World Champion *

Moshe Kaveh Moshe Kaveh (משה קוה; born 1943) is an Israeli physicist and former President of Bar-Ilan University. Biography Kaveh was born in Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, Soviet Union where his parents sought safety after fleeing from Poland. All of his ...

(born 1943), Israeli

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate ca ...

and former President of

Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic ...

* Vladimir Kozlov, Ukrainian-American professional wrestler *

Varvara Lepchenko Varvara ( Cyrillic: Варвара; el, Βαρβάρα, ''Varvára''), a variant of "Barbara", may refer to: Places *Varvara, Azerbaijan * Varvara, Prozor, on the Rama river, Bosnia and Herzegovina * Varvara, Burgas Province, Bulgaria * Varvara, ...

, Uzbekistani-born American professional tennis player * Olena Lytovchenko, writer * Tohir Malik, novelist *

Boris Mavashev Boris Mavashev ( he, בוריס מבשב, born 9 May 1939 in Tashkent) is an Israeli seismologist, doctor of geology and ecology, specializing in the geochemical and meteorological precursors of earthquakes. Early life Boris Mavashev was born on ...

, Israeli seismologist * Eson Kandov, singer and musician * Abdulla Qodiriy, writer * Mirjalol Qosimov, former player and head coach of the

Uzbekistan national football team The Uzbekistan national football team ( uz, Ozbekiston milliy futbol terma jamoasi, italic=yes / ) represents Uzbekistan in international football and is controlled by the Uzbekistan Football Association, the governing body for football in U ...

* Igor Povalyayev, former Russian-Uzbekistani professional footballer * Svetlana Radzivil, Uzbekistani high jumper * Artur Rozyyev, former Russian professional football player * Tursunoy Saidazimova, singer * Shakhida Shaimardanova, composer *

, former tennis player *

Alisher Usmanov Alisher Burkhanovich Usmanov (russian: Алишер Бурханович Усманов; born 9 September 1953) is an Uzbek-born Russian businessman and oligarch. By 2022, Usmanov had an estimated net worth of $19.5 billion and was among the w ...

, born in

Chust, Uzbekistan Chust ( uz, Chust/Чуст; russian: Чуст) is a city in eastern Uzbekistan. It is the administrative center of Chust District. The City of Chust is located in the northern corner of the Fergana Valley along the river Chustsoy. Chust is one ...

, spent his childhood in Tashkent *

Milana Vayntrub Milana Aleksandrovna Vayntrub ( , Russian: ; born March 8, 1987) is an American actress, comedian, and activist. Born in the Soviet Union to Jewish parents, she began her career as a child actress shortly after immigrating to the United States. ...

, Uzbek-born American actress and comedian *

Rita Volk Margarita Volkovinskaya (russian: Маргарита Волковинская, born September 3, 1990), known professionally as Rita Volk, is an Uzbekistani–American actress. She is known for her role as Amy Raudenfeld in the MTV romantic co ...

, Uzbekistani–American actress * Hakim Karimovich Zaripov, circus performer * Farrukh Zokirov, Uzbek and Soviet singer * Zulfiya, writer and poet

Twin towns – sister cities

Tashkent is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: *

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, mak ...

, Turkey *

Ashgabat Ashgabat or Asgabat ( tk, Aşgabat, ; fa, عشق‌آباد, translit='Ešqābād, formerly named Poltoratsk ( rus, Полтора́цк, p=pəltɐˈratsk) between 1919 and 1927), is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. It lies ...

, Turkmenistan *

Astana Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, tho ...

, Kazakhstan *

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

, Germany *

, Kyrgyzstan *

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo met ...

, Egypt *

Dnipro Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper R ...

, Ukraine *

, Russia *

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most p ...

, Japan *

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the B ...

, Latvia *

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

, United States *

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

, South Korea *

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

, China * Sverdlovsk, Ukraine

References

Museum of Fine Arts

External links

* *
All about capital of Uzbekistan – TashkentPhotos of historical monuments and modern buildings in TashkentRecent photos of Tashkent with comments in EnglishDisability Information Resource Centre in Tashkent
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