History

History

The history of our country is very old. Many dynasties reigned over his land. From antiquity our country played a great role in the world civilization. Uzbekistan lies in the heart of Central Asia. Uzbekistan is a land of ancient civilization. It is a center of great communication and trade routes. Today, our independent and freedom-loving country walks its own way and affirms its own identity.

Prehistory

Uzbekistan is one of the oldest inhabited regions of Central Asia. Men arrived in the territory of Uzbekistan in 100,000 and 300,000 years before our era in the Middle Paleolithic. Archaeologists have discovered in the region of Samarkand an encampment of primitive men. The age of this encampment exceeds one hundred thousand years. In southern Uzbekistan the skull and bones of a Neanderthalian and remarkable rural paintings were discovered. The primitive man traced hunting scenes on the walls of the cave of the Sherabad region. There are also vestiges of primitive men in the vicinity of Tashkent, in Khorezm, in Karakalpakie.

The Bronze Age

In the Bronze Age between 2200 and 1700 BC. J.C. a bactro-margian civilization or the civilization of the Oxus (Amu-Daria existed in southern Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan). It had relations with the civilization of the valley of the Indus. His people were a mixture of local peoples and Indo-Aryans from Western Russia. According to the findings of the archaeological sites of Djarkoutan and Mollali Tépé we know that the inhabitants of this country made pottery and built houses for 100-125 inhabitants, cultivating wheat and barley. Remains of preserved irrigation canals relate to the end of the second millennium and to the first millennium BC. In the regions of Andijan, Surkhan-Daria and Bukhara, bronze objects, various utensils, clay tableware were found.

Starting from 1700 BC. AD, the Indo-Aryans migrated to India. The Sogdians, tribes of Iranian nomadic pastoralists settled in Uzbekistan and settled down.

Another culture, the culture of Tazabagyab, appeared around 1500 BC. J.-C near Khorezm south of the Aral Sea. Its inhabitants invented the first two-wheeled war chariots, pulled by two horses. They lived in villages, farmed the land and raised animals. They made bronze weapons and tools.

Bactria, Sogdiana, the Achaemenian Empire

Ancient states: Khorezm, Sogdiana and Bactria were in the present territory of Uzbekistan. The Sogdians lived in the region of Samarkand and Bukhara. The lands of the Bactrians were farther south between southern Uzbekistan and northern Afganistan. His capital was Bacytres (now Balkh).

Samarkand (Maracanda in Greek) was founded by the Sogdians in the 5th century BC

Zoroastrianism was developed in Bactria. According to this religion Ahura Mazda was the most powerful of the gods. Rituals and ritual sacrifices of animals were made by wizards of the purifying fire worship. Zarathustra, formerly called Zoroaster, was the founder of Zoroastrianism. He was born around the year 1000 BC. In Khorezm. Zoroastrianism glorifies the god of good Ahura Mazda and the struggle Spenta Manyu, the holy spirit against destructive Ahriman. According to Zoroastrianism the universe consists of the struggle of Good and Evil, opposed as day and night, hot and cold. The most popular deities in Central Asia were Mithra and Anahita. The Avesta is the Zoroastrian sacred book. It contained sacred texts, the gathas, the liturgical poems composed by Zoroaster. These texts date from the 2nd millennium BC. They were transmitted by the Magi orally, and then transcribed in the Sassanian epoch. They were lost and the present texts date from the thirteenth century. Zoroastrianism was practiced in Sogdiana and Bactria. There are ruins of the Zoroastrian temples in Karakalpakia. It is assumed that settled Scytho-Sakas are the ancestors of the Sogdians. Around the Aral Sea inhabited the nomadic tribes of the Sakas (or Saces) and the Massagetes. The Massagetes were valiant warriors and horsemen. They never separated from their horses and their bow. During the reign of Queen Tomyris they assassinated the Persian king Cyrus. Tomiris and Shirak are the national heroes of that time. Women played an important role. According to the data of the Greek historian Herodotus (Vth to the 5th century BC) there was an army of women soldiers called Amazones. They cut their breasts straight to better shoot with the bow. These women formed a social elite. The women of the nomadic tribes fought against enemies by the side of men.

The inhabitants of Bactria, Sogdiana and Khorezm (Kwarezm) irrigated the valleys of Syr-Daria, Amu-Dara and Zerafchan. They lived in communities, practiced handicrafts on metals and trade. In the deserts and mountains they led nomadic life.

The city of Afraciab near Samarkand was founded in 500 BC. There were found chess pawns. These are the oldest known chess pawns in the world. They are located in the museum of its archaeological site. The murals in Afrasiab are famous. According to the legends Afrasiab founded this legendary city. He was the king of all the Tourans. The Tourans are the ancestors of the Hephtalites and the Karakhanides. From 545 to 540 av. Cyrus II, founder of the Persian Empire, conquered Central Asia. In the sixth century before our era Bactria, Sogdiana, Khorezm and Parthia became provinces where the XI, XV and XV were drawn in the Achaemenian Empire.

Alexander the Great and the Seleucids

In 330 BC. Central Asia was conquered by Alexander the Great. He founded a town on the Oxus (Amu-Daria). This town is currently called Termez. It is the most southern city of Uzbekistan.

In Maracanda, now Samarkand, Alexander the Great married Roxane. She was the daughter of Oxyartes, local Sogdian leader. Alexander the Great took advantage of his marriage to defeat popular resistance in Sogdiana. Sititamenes is a national hero of the peoples of Central Asia. He directed the struggle against Alexander the Great. When Alexander the Great was on the banks of Syrdiya, Spitamenes lifted the Sogdians to the rebeillon. In 329, Spitamenes took Samarkand. On hearing this news, Alexander the Great returned in haste to crush this revolt. After the fierce struggle, Spitamenes fled to the Khorezm. The remains of the army of Spitamenes fought against invaders in Sogdiana and Bactria. There are different legends concerning the death of Spitamenes. According to one of them, the own commanders of Spitamenes killed him and offered his head to Alexander the Great. According to another, the wife of Spitamenes killed him and offered his head to Alexander the Great by believing Alexander’s promise to marry her. But the sovereign of the world did not keep his promise. Alexander married 10,000 Greeks to 10,000 Orientals in 324 BC. J.-C. Susa. In 323 BC, Alexander left Maracanda to conquer the citadel instead of the present-day Tashkent. On Jaxartes (Syr-Daria) he built a fortress city named Alexandria Eskhaté (extreme). He also built seven fortress towns. All these cities were called Alexandria. After the death of Alexander in 323 BC, General Selecos I Nikator became master of his empire. Selecos I Nikator founded the Seleucid dynasty. Under the reign of Selecos II, the state of the Seleucids was weakened. . About 250, Diodote I founded the Graeco-Bactrian kingdom around Bactria.

The invasions of the nomads

In the 1st century BC And the second century AD. The Graeco – Bactrian state declined. Yuezhi, nomadic people from China invaded the Greco-Bactrian kingdom. The Parni, known in history as the Parthians, occupied in 247 BC the western part of Bactria (between Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan today), the lands of the Sakas (or Saces). Their capital was Nisa, in present-day Turkmenistan. The Sakas set out for the present Afganistano, where the Yuezhi ruled from 126 BC The Kushan Empire, a people of Turkish origin, was founded in the 1st century BC and occupied the north of India and Central Asia. Its capital Kapisa was located near the present Bagram in Afganistan. The empire of the Kushans was one of the four powers of the time with Rome, China and Pathe. During the reign of Kanishka, the Kushan State reached its apogee. Trade, art and culture were highly developed. At that time, religions such as Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Christianity and Manichaeism cohabited in Central Asia. The Kushans imported Buddhism in Central Asia. Under the Kushans the Hellenistic arts of the East were developed.

The Persian Sassanids and the White Huns (Hephtalites)

In the 3rd and 4th centuries, the Sassanids tried to conquer the Transoxian. At the end of the 4th century the Huns, the Chionites (Red Huns) and the Kidatites established their rule. In 427, the Sassanid king Vahram V ( “Vahram Ghur”) crushed the nomadic troops of the White Huns (Hephtalites), and added their lands to the Persian Empire. In 442 his son Yazdgard II Sipahdost crushed the Kidarite kingdom. Transoxiana was under the dominion of the Sassanid dynasty for more than four centuries. Peroz, the son of the Sassanid Emperor YazdgardeII, with the aid of the Hephtalites, crushed his father’s army and became Emperor of Persia in 459-484. The Hephtalites were very cruel. People tremble with fear on the mere mention of their names. The Hephtalites adopted the Sogdian language and settled themselves and reigned over the Sogdians. It is assumed that the White Huns are the first ancestors of the Uzbek people. During a great battle of eight days, near Bukhara, between 560 and 563, the Hephtalites were crushed by the Kokturks.

The Kokturks Khanate

At the end of the 6th century, in 552 the Turks created their empire, the Turkish Khanate, a federation of Turkish tribes. In 576, Mugan (Muhan), the son of the Turkish khan Bumin, succeeded his father Istami. During the reign of the khan of the Kokturks Tardu, son of Istämi, the empire of the Kokturks was divided into two states. The state of the Eastern Turks in Mongolia was ruled by Nivar, Mugan’s brother. The state of Western Turks included the Tian Shan, Uzbekistan and eastern Kazakhstan and was led by Tardu. Vassal tribes, the Qarluq, revolted, and killed Tong, his brother. The Western Turks lost their unity. In 657 almost all of Central Asia fell into the hands of the Chinese. Under the Turks, handicrafts on metals (gold, silver, iron, lead, copper, etc.), and writing, cotton production and Silk was developed. During subsequent centuries in cities like Afrasiab, Pendjikent, Varakhcha appeared an ethnic mix of Turkish nomads and Sogdians.

The Arabs

In the eighth century the Arabs invaded Central Asia. They called it Ma-Wara-al-Nahr, the country behind the river. With the Arab invasion the life of this region changed and despite the general resistance, little by little Islam became the main religion. The Sogdians converted to Islam were exempt from taxes. The decree of compulsory circumcision and correct knowledge of the Corande was the cause of the many revolts of the population against the Arab caliphate. In 720 and 721, the Sogdians destroyed the Arab garrison of Samarkand with the help of the Turks. They revolted under the Conduct of Divashtich, king of the eastern city of Panjikent and a part of rebels took refuge in the fortress of Abargar, located on Mount Mug. Today, on this mountain, on the left bank of the Zeravshan, archaeologists have found many documents concerning the life of Sogdian society.

The Arabs besieged the fortress, and Divashtich was obliged to surrender. He was executed in autumn 722 under the command of al-Harashi, the new governor of Khorassan. In 728, Bukhara rebelled. It fell in the summer of 729, after several months of hard fighting. Despite the repression of the Arabs, the resistance of the Sogdians did not stop. During the Battle of Talas against the Chinese in 751, the Arabs were taken prisoners of many Chinese and learned the secret of making paper. Samarkand became the first paper production center in the Muslim world.

The inscriptions took place in 720-722 in Soghdiana, in 734-737 in Sogdiana and Khorassan and in 747-750 under the direction of Abu Muslim in 801-802 and in 806 throughout Ma wara’un -Nahr. The time of the Arab Caliphates, in the large cities of Samarkand, Binkent (Tashkent), Termez and Bukhara develop handicrafts, trade and irrigation techniques. From 750 to 850, the so-called “Arab-Muslim” science reaches its peak.

By the 9th century, most of the writings of Greece had been translated into Arabic. The philosopher Farabi (872-950) was born in Transoxiana, the second master (the first master is Aristotle) plays a great role in the science of that time. He is famous for his notes on the Metaphysics of Aristotle

Al-Khorezmi was the great mathematician, astronomer, geographer of great renown, author of the bases of the system of equations of the first and second degree and of a part of modern mathematics, inventor of algebraic principles. He gave his name to the algorithm. His works, especially “The Treatise on the Solar Hours” and “The Astronomical Tables” were translated into the Middle Ages in Latin.

The famous astronomer al-Fergani (805-880) was born in Ferghana. Under his leadership, two observatories were built near Baghdad and Damascus. Muhammad al-Bukhari (Imam Boukhari (810-870), a famous Sunni Muslim scholar of Persian origin, was born in the city of Bukhara.

 

The Samanids

At the end of the first quarter of the ninth century the power of the Arabs began to weaken. After the takhirid and saffarid dynasties all of Central Asia and Khorassan came under the power of Ismaïl ibn Akhmad Samani. Bukhara became its capital and the center of Islamic education.

Economic relations with the Near East, Eastern Europe and China developed. Under the reign of the Samanids, the Persian language (Farsi) and the Arabic language were the official languages. In the 10th century Bukhara had its peak. The students of the Muslim world preferred to study in Bukhara. Its famous royal library included 45,000 volumes. At the time of the Samanids, culture, science and commerce developed. Under the order of the Samanids, various canals were built, the Yaqsar dam near Samarkand being an example. High-quality glass and ceramics were produced. The paper of Samarcande, especially the paper called “quogosi abrechimi” was famous for its quality and its finesse.

In the 9th and 12th centuries, culture and sence developed. The great physician and philosopher Avicenna (Abu Ali Ibn Sina) was born near Bukhara in the village Afchona in 980. At 17 years he succeeded in healing the Samanid prince of Bukhara, Nuh ibn Mansur. Works such as “The Book of Healing”, “The Laws of Medicine”. He died in 1037.

The scholar encyclopedist al-Biruni was born in 973 in a suburb of Kath, near the present Uzbek city of Urgench. He is the author of more than 150 works on philosophy, history, astronomy, geology, ethnography.

 

The Karakhanides, the Turkish Seljuks and the Khorezm-Persian-Turkish Shahs

The Turkish dynasty desQarakhanides (Karahan) overthrew the Samanids to 999 and invade Bukhara Samarcande.Cette dynasty ruled over present-day Uzbekistan in the late tenth century in 1212. In 920, Satuq Bughra made collectively convert Karakhanids to Islam. At that time the Gaznavids seized Khorassan and Khorezm. In 1040 the Seljuk Sultan, the head of the tribes Turks ended the power of Ghaznavi.Les Seljuks another Turkish dynasty in Central Asia have crashed in 1040. Karahan Karahan and the kingdom was divided into two: the kingdom Western kingdom and the eastern kingdom. Bukhara became the capital the western kingdom, in 1042, its capital moved to Samarkand. The eastern kingdom was governed from Kashgar. Under the Karakhanides art and architecture developed in Transoxiana. Muhammad II (1102-1130) had the Po-i-Kalân (Kalyan) minaret built in Bukhara. In 1089, Bukhara and Samarkand were occupied by the Seljuks. From 1124 to 1218, the valley of Fergana found itself in the possession of the tribes of Kara-Khitans.

The khorezm monarch Ala-ad-Din Tekech (Takash) (1172-1200) conquered Persia in 1194. He dethroned the last Turkish sultan of Seljuk dynasty Tuğrul ibn Arslan, governor of a part of Transoxiane. The khorezm-shah Ala ad -Din Muhammad destroyed in 1212, the State of the Karakhanides with its capital Samarkand. The Khorezm-shah army pillaged Samarkand for three days. The khorezm-shah invaded the entire territory of this region. Thus, at the beginning of the thirteenth century, the State of Chorezmchah was one of the most important countries of the region.

The Mongols, the Tchaghataïdes and the Barlas

The reign of khorezm-shahs did not last long. In 1219, the governor of Khorezmian Otrar on the Syr Darya murdered a spy’s merchants sent by Genghis Khan. The ambassadors sent by Genghis Khan to ask for explanations were also killed. After intense struggles, in 1220, the Mongols conquered present-day Uzbekistan. They destroyed the main cities like Samarkand, Bukhara and Tashkent. Genghis Khan was ruthless with the besieged cities. He massacred the population of cities résistaient.Plus 150 years Transoxiane remained under occupation mongole.Gengis Khanpartagea his empire to his son four. The current Uzbekistan found himself in the hands of his second son, Tchagatai (Djagatai). He is the founder of the Djaghatoid dynasty.

The Khanate of Tchagataï, was founded in 1219. The Turco-Mongol State included the current four countries of Central Asia, southern Kazakhstan, western and Chinese Xinjang northern Afganistan.Le Khanate has Tchagataï existed from 1229 to 1347. in the first half of the fourteenth century, the state of Tchagataïdes had split into two, the nomad Mongolistan, and Mawara’un-Nahr, a khanate (ulus) Western, mostly sedentary. In 1347 the chief of the tribe Karnau, Kazaghan (Qazghan) assassinated the last great khan desTchaghataïdes, Kazan (Qazan) and proclaimed himself emir ( “governor”).

The Kazaghan Emir Abdullah and his son ruled over present-day Uzbekistan until 1360. After the assassination of Abdallah, the country fell into chaos. Attacks by the nomads of Mongolistan have weakened and impoverished the country.

It was then that the leader of the Barlas Turkic-speaking Mongol tribe, Hadji Barlas, took power in the region. After the escape of Hadji Barlas in Persia, his nephew Timur (Tamerlane) became the leader of the Barlas and in 1370 of the whole country.

Timur (Tamerlane) and Timurides

Timur or Tamerlane (1336-1405), son of Mokhammad Taragai, chief of the Barlas clan was born in Kesh, now Chakhrisabz near Samarkand. He was a great warrior and a protector of art and letters. He was a distant relative of Genghis khan. Even at the end of his life, without being able to walk, he always went to battle by ordering his men to carry him. Timour married Aldjai, granddaughter of Emir Qazghan and became governor of Kesh in the 1360s He allied himself with Amir Hussein, the grandson of Qazgan. Aldjai died before 1370. In 1370 he became great emir of Ma-wara-al-nahr. His capital was Samarkand. He revived Samarcande, devastated in 1220 by the Mongols. The riches and artists, craftsmen, scholars and scholars captured during his countless campaigns to Upper Asia, East Turkestan and India were brought to Samarkand. He put an end to the quarrels of the feudal lords. The Russian princes have the opportunity to free their country from the Mongols in 1395 thanks to its victory over the Golden Horde. After his marriage to the widow of his brother-in-law Mir Husayn, Saray Mulk Khanum, daughter of the late khan Qazan, he obtained the title of güregen ( “son-in-law” Imperial). It is known worldwide as Bibi Khanoum ( “eldest princess”). In Samarkand there is a mosque that bears the name of this princess.Amir Timour died on January 19, 1405 in Otrar, on Syr Daria He is buried in the mausoleum Gour Emir in Samarkand.Timour made Samarcande the most beautiful city in the world of his time, a great center of commerce with an astonishing architecture.On countless palaces and gardens have been Built under the order of Timour in Samarkand. Science and culture developed, power was centralized.Several cities established by Amir Timour around Samarcande bore the names Forich-Paris, Shiraz, Sultaniya, Baghdad, Merv.

Diplomacy was developed at the time of Timur and Shah Roukh. There are notes in Chinese documents on the embassies from Peking to Samarkand in 1391, 1395, 1404 and the Timurid embassies in China in 1388, 1391, 1394, 1412 Amir Timour ordered Jean de Syltanie, an Italian Dominican to go to Genoa, and he came there in 1398. On August 17, 1401 Timour received a diplomatic letter from Charles VI. Under the order of Henti III of Castile, Gomes of Satamayor and Hernan Sanchez set off to establish contacts with Ottomans and Timurids. They witnessed the battle between Timur and Bajazet in the spring of 1402. Timour received them very well after the battle .

A timid diplomatic mission headed by Muhammad al-Ghazi returned to Castile with them

John of Syltania left in 1403 with the replies of Timour to the letters of Charles VI. The second embassy of Henry of Castile counted in its ranks Ruy Gonzales of Clavijio. His account of his journey to the East makes him famous. After the death of this great conqueror, Shahroukh put an end to the fraternal quarrels. At the time of Shahroukh and his wife Gawharchadbeguim, their capital Herat became a center of “timurid rennaissance”. The best architects, musicians, miniaturists and poets have found shelter there.

Ouloughbeg

Ouloughbeg was the eldest son of Shahroukh and grandson of Timour. His real name was Muhammad Taragay. He was born in 1394 in Sultaniya (present-day Iran) .Shahrouk gave Samarkand to the domination of Ouloughbeg. From 1411, Ouloughbeg would reign over all the Transoxian. He loved mathematics, history medicine, music, poetry. He knew theology well. Its School of Astronomy and its Observatory of Samarkand (1424-1429) was unique.

His astronomical tables bear his name “Zij-i-Gurgani”. He invited to Samarkand great scholars of the time like Ali Kuchtchi and the Turkish astronomer Qazi Zadeh Roumi. With these astronomers he determined the coordinates of more than a thousand stars, invented the calculations necessary to foresee the eclipses and measured the stellar year with great precision. He had several madrasas constructed at Samarkand. His medersa (institute) was opened in 1420. He taught there. These scholars have succeeded in publishing the Astronomical Tables of Ouloughbek. His precision remained unequal for two centuries. He was assassinated in 1449 by his son Abdullatif. Abdulattive ascended the throne. But, he himself was killed in 1450. Ali Quchtchi left with a copy of the Astronomical Tables at Tabriz, then at Istanbul. The Madrasa of Oulugh Beg worked until the 17th century. But in the second half of the 15th century, Oulough Beg’s medersa lost its importance. In Hérat, the famous Uzbek poet and philosopher Alicher Navoi, the founder of modern Uzbek language, led his life and work. The period of Shah Rukh (1377-1447), Ouloughbegh (1394-1449), Husayn Baykara (1438-1506) is called “Renaissance timouride”.

The Chaybanides

The Chaybanids belong to the Mongolian Muslim dynasty descended from Chayban, son of Djotchi. They consisted of 15,000 families. There was a small khanate (ulus) within the Golden Horde, called the Gray Horde, in present-day Kazakhstan. The leader of the Uzbek tribe, khan Uzbek (1282-1342) had converted to Islam Horde d’Or. The Khan Abul-Khayr was able to reunite the nomadic tribes of Chaybanides living between Tobol, Ural and Syr-Daris in 1429 under the name of Ulus Uzbek. This is the first mention of the name “Uzbek” in the story. After the death of Abul Khayr in 1468, his nephews, Prince Muhammad Shaybani and his brother Mahmud founded the Uzbek khanate. Muhammad Shaybani conquered in 1500 the cities of Bukhara and Samarkand. He overthrew the Timurids in 1507. He was killed in 1510 by the Persians.

A branch of the Chaybanid dynasty founded the Khiva khanate. The Khiva khanate existed until 1920. Babur takes Samarkand twice; But in 1513, after his last defeat, he returned to India and founded the Mughal dynasty which lasted until 1858. Under the order of Abdoulla khan, in the 1540s, Bukhara was built beautiful mosques and Madrasas. In the second half of the sixteenth century, diplomatic and commercial relations were established between the Bukhara khanate and Iran, India, Moscow and China. At the end of the 16th century, Bukhara became the political and cultural center of Ma-wara-al-nahr.

The dignitaries of the court assassinated in 1598 the last khan of Bukhara and Samarkand Abd al-Mumin, of the dynasty of Chaybanides. The dynasty of Astrakhan, the Djanids, descendants of Djotchi, governs the khanate of Bukhara in the second half of the 17th century. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, literature, architecture and painting developed. The history of the khanate of Kokand began in 1732. According to a legend Chakhroukhbiy, one of the chiefs of the Ming tribe was the founder of the khanate of Kokand. He built the fortress Eski Kourgan. He was the tenth descendant of a newborn prince. This baby was left by Babur in a cradle of gold in the valley of Fergana. The tribe raised it. At the end of the 18th century Kokand Khanate included the lands of Fergana, Namangan, Andijan, Tashkent, Khodjent, Kyrgyzstan and South Kazakhstan. The Hungarian traveler Vambery mentions that the area of Kokand was six times larger than Khiva, four times larger than Tehran, twice as large as Bukhara. Under the reign of the emir Omarkhanla culture and art would prosper in the khanate and its capital. His wife Nadirabeguim was famous oriental poetess. Due to the history of its existence the khanate of Kokand was governed by 29 khans.

The reign of Bâbur in Ferghana

At the age of 12, in 1498, after the death of his father Omar Sheikh Mirza, King of Ferghana, Zahirddin Muhammad Babur, became ruler of Fergana. He was born in 1483 and died in 1530. He was descended from Amir Timour by Miran Shah and Genghis Khan by his mother. In 1497, he took Samarkand. But his nobles revolt against him and he loses his conquest. He tried to resume Samarkand. But Muhammad Shaybani, the khan of the Uzbeks hunted him in 1501. In 1504, Babur and his few faithful troops crossed the Hindu-Kush, took the city of Kabul. He became the king of a rich kingdom. In 1510Muhammad Shaybani died. After his death, Babur took Samarkand in 1511 with the help of the Turkmen Ismail Safavi. But in 1514, the Uzbek khans drove him out. After his return to Kabul, he conquered northern India and founded the dynasty of the Mughals. This dynasty reigned until the arrival of the English. Babur died in Agra in 1530. His “Memoirs” are universally known. It is the national pride of the Uzbeks.

The three khanats

Three khanates existed in the territory of present-day Uzbekistan between 1512-1920.

Khanat of Khiva is also called “State of Khorezm”. He was the oldest of the three Uzbek khanates. Because of the change in the course of the Amu-Daria (Oxus) in 1598 its capital Gurgandj (Urgench) lost its place and Khiva became its capital. In 1873 he became a protectorate of the Russian Empire.

Khanat (Emirate) of Bukhara

The Khanate of Bukhara also existed on the territory of Uzbekistan between 1599-1920. It was a persistent Central Asian State. Its capital was Bukhara. Samarkand was its component part.

The Djanid dynasty ruled over the Khanate of Bukhara from 1599 to 1785. The representatives of the Djanid dynasty had two madrasas, Sherdor and Tillakori, built on the Place du Registan in Samarkand between 1646 and 1660.

The Shah of Persia, Nadir Shah invaded the Khanate of Bukhara in 1785. And the Khanate became “emirate.” In 1868, the Emirate of Bukhara became a protectorate of Russia.

Kokand Khanat

Kokand Khanate was located in the heart of the Fergana valley in eastern Uzbekistan.It existed between 1709 and 1876 and consisted of part of the lands of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.The Kyrgyz and Kazakh nomadic tribes of East Kazakhstan was its vassal. In the early nineteenth century, Tashkent was under the domination of Kokand Khanate. In 1876 Kokand was invaded by the Russian army.

Under the Russian Empire

Because of the fratricidal quarrels between the three khanats in the first half of the nineteenth century, the country became impoverished, the economy fell into decay, and the Russians had the chance to invade Central Asia. Russia conquered first the nomad tribes of Kazakhs in 1864, then Tashkent in 1865, then the khanats of Bukhara and Khiva in 1873. In March 1876, the Khanate of Kokand fell into the hands of the Russians. The fierce and heroic resistance of Pulad Khan could not stop the troops of the Russian generals von Kaufman and Skobelev. Despite a fierce struggle, all these khanats fell one after the other. The khanats of Bukhara and Khiva became Russian protectorates in 1868. All Central Asia occupied by Russia is called the General Government of Turkestan. In 1867 Tashkent became its capital.

The peoples of Turkestan suffered from tyranny. The invaders oppressed the local people. Fergana rebelled in 1885, Tashkent in 1892 and Andijan in 1898. The peoples of Central Asia had no civil and political rights. In 1898, the national hero, Mukhammadali Echon directed the revolt in Andijan. But the forces were not equal. The Russians crushed this revolt, punished the participants, and destroyed the villages. Mukhammadali Echon and his disciples were hanged 362 people exiled in Siberia.

The Russians controlled the production and distribution of cotton in Turkestan. In 1916,

A conscription decree mobilizing Muslims in non-combatant units on the eastern front becomes the cause of Uzbek rebellion. But this uprising was severely stifled by the Russians. The Russians and Ukrainians settled in present-day Uzbekistan. This period is characterized by the modernization of the central cities of Central Asia and the appearance of parks, hotels, theaters, lighting, telephone and railways.

The Soviet era

In February 1917, the first Social-Democratic revolution in Moscow took place. In criticizing the tsarist repression and promising self-determination, it gained popular support in Central Ase. But it did not keep promise. As early as March 1917 the unions appeared. The Bolsheviks seize power in Russia on 7 November 1917.

The Third Congress of the Soviets took place from 15 to 22 November. Its aim was to form the government of the Soviets. According to the decision of this congress, Muslims should not take part in the functions of the government. This coup d’etat inspired the peoples of Central Asia. In 1917 an independent state was born in Kokand.

The aim of this government was to build a strong independent state in Central Asia. Modernization of the religious power, Westernization and education of the people were its essential principles. This state existed for 72 days. On February 21 the Red Army of the Bolsheviks crushed this state in the blood. More than 14,000 Kokands were exterminated after the capture of the city. The Uzbek people never forget their heroes. The Bolsheviks founded the Soviet Autonomous Republic of Turkestan (TASS) in 20 April 1918. This state did not defend the interests of the local people. It served the Bolsheviks. They suffered from hunger in the towns. The Bolsheviks requisitioned food, cattle, cotton, and earth. The people hated the Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks requisitioned food, cattle, cotton, and earth. The war was called “the Basmatchi movement.” Kichik Ergach, Katta Ergach, Madaminbek, Chermukhammadbek, Xolxoja echon, Omon polvon, Rakhmonkoul Toychi, and others were hated by the Bolsheviks. Aliyor were at the head of the rebellion of the “basmatchi” (brigands in Uzbek) in Ferghana. The total number of basmatchi in Ferghana was more than 24ooo people. But among them were those which plundered, reigned terror, compromised the liberation movement.

Was at the head of the rebellion of the “basmatchi” (brigands in Uzbek). Emir Alim Khan of Bukhara declared “the holy war”. In 1920 Frounze captured Bukhara and Khiva. The Emir fled to Afganistan. In October 1920 was born the popular Soviet republic of Bukhara. Former war minister of the Ottoman Empire Enver Pasha was at the head of the rebellion of the “basmatchi” in Bukhara. Under the direction of Enver Pachales basmatchis led a liberation war until the thirties. They were crushed by the Red Army. In 1922, Enver Pasha dies arms in hand in the mountains of Pamir. In 1923, the popular Soviet republic of Bukhara was transformed into a Soviet socialist republic of Bukhara. In 1923, was born the Soviet Socialist republic of Khorezm.

The Bolsheviks requisitioned food, cattle, cotton, and earth. The people hated the Bolsheviks. In 1924, the Khorezm rose against the Bolsheviks. But the Bolsheviks crushed the revolt. The “basmatchi” movement was fighting against the Russians until 1940.

The Uzbek people never forget their heroes. Trade and agricultural production declined. We were hungry. More than a million people have been victims of the famines being manipulated by Stalin. Purges were organized against all party leaders, intellectuals, democrats and nationalists.

In 1924 a Soviet Border Commission under the aegis of the Commissioner for the Nationalities of the time, Joseph Stalin fixed the contours of the States. On October 27, 1924, the Soviet Socialist Republic of Uzbekistan was born. The Soviet Socialist Republic of Uzbekistan included part of Turkestan, the Republic of Bukhara and the Republic of Khorezm, the Tajik Soviet Autonomous Republic. The Soviet Autonomous Republic of Tajikistan became a federated republic in 1929. The Autonomous Republic of Karakalpakia was separated from the Kazakhstan SSR in 1936 and became a component part of the Uzbekistan SSR.

Under Stalin

The years 1937-1938 were the years of the Stalinist “Great Purges”. According to Stalin’s policy, party leaders and intellectuals were dismissed. Former Prime Minister fayzulla khodzhayev, poets and intellectuals expressing as Fitrat Tchoulpon, Usmon Nosir, Abdulla Qodiri, Gozi Yunus Mahmud Botou Munavvar Qori Abdourachidkhonov Said Rizo Alizodasont the victims of these purges. Most of the mosques and churches were closed, destroyed, and several mullahs and priests were executed and sent to the Gulag.

During World War II, Uzbekistan received more than one million people and 200,000 children.The Uzbek families adopted thousands of children, war orphans. Factories and factories were evacuated to Uzbekistan. After their reconstruction, airplanes, bombs and weapons were produced for the front. Uzbekistan sent food, clothing, and money to the front. The Uzbek people gave 650 million rubles. Many Uzbek citizens have become heroes posthumously. The exploits of Mamadali Topiboldiev, Zebo Ganieva, Sora Choukourova and many others will remain forever in the memory of Uzbek people. In 1943, Stalin falsely accused the Volga Germans and other minorities USSR sympathy for the German invaders, and had them deported to Uzbekistan. More than 500,000 Uzbeks are lost and disappeared during this war. The contribution of the peoples of Uzbekistan to the victory of 9 May is very great.

After the war

By the late 1960s, women were no longer wearing chador. Girls studied in the same way as boys. In February 1956, the XX Congress of Soviets ͤ criticized the work of Staline.L’époque Khrushchev was the era of democracy which lasted until the mid 1964 1960.En Brezhnev becomes the head of state. He always asked for cotton. Thousands of skilled workers from all over the USSR settled in Uzbekistan in the 1960s and 1980s.

The Indo-Pakistani Conference was held on 4 January 1966 in Tashkent. Through this conference, the two countries resumed earthquake diplomatiques.Un relationships destroyed Tashkent April 26 1966.Selon a vast reconstruction program all Soviet republics have built many buildings. But Moscow decided to give 20% of apartments to local russophones.Cette decision provoked discontent in May 1969, which is called “Pakhtakor incident” .After 1966 Tashkent became the most populous city and most modern of the Central Asia. The International Film Festival of Asia, Africa and Latin America took place in Tashkent in the 1960s and 1980s.

 

 

 

Case of cotton

Uzbekistan was the producer and the second largest exporter of cotton in the world in the Soviet era.

Under the Moscow order, cotton was intensively cultivated in the years 1960-1980. Moscow demanded the production of 6 million tons of Uzbek white gold. Excessive use of chemical fertilizers and defoliants poisoned soils and waters. The use of the waters of the Amu-Daria and Syr-Daria rivers for irrigation becomes the cause of the drying up of the Aral Sea. The surface of the sea decreased by half in 40 years.

Moscow demanded even more cotton. At the end of 1983, Charof Rashidov, first secretary of the CP of Uzbekistan died of a heart attack. The Uzbek state is undergoing a severe crisis. Investigators Gdlian and Ivanov under the order of Gorbachev, first secretary of the former Soviet Union, prosecuted a legal case called the Uzbek case in March 1985. This “cotton case” is the cause of the tragedy Thousands of simple and innocent peasants, drivers of tractors, arrested without trial by the court. After Rashidov’s death, more than 2,600 people were arrested and tried, 50,000 officials lost their seats. Almost all of the Uzbek state apparatus has been replaced. The direct control of Moscow hardens. Moscow changed according to his wishes and captured Uzbek leaders until 1990. Ousmankhodjaev in 1983, Salimov in 1983-1986, Nichanov in 1986-1988, Khabiboullaev in 1988-1989, Ibraguimov in 1989-1990. This “cotton affair” and these false accusations have caused much misfortune to the Uzbek people. Cotton monoculture, poverty, a disdainful attitude towards the Uzbek people, the disaster of the Aral Sea, inequality wounded national pride and was the cause of ethnic conflicts in the Fergana valley.

Rashidov is considered a leader who has done much for the development of the republic. He was able to obtain a certain autonomy from Moscow for the benefit of Uzbekistan. He built several architectural ensembles, the magnificent subway in Tashkent. It is considered by the Uzbeks as the national glory.

The Red Army and Afganistan

In 1979, under the order of Brezhnev, the Red Army invaded Afganistan to aid a communist regime. Many young Uzbeks, Turkmens and Tajiks, children of Uzbekistan, were called into the service of the Soviet army. This war lasted ten years and killed 15,000 Soviet soldiers, including Uzbeks, and more Of a million and a half Afgans. In the Soviet army, Uzbek recruits were mistreated. This fact raised a discontent in the republic. Protests against Uzbek military service outside Uzbekistan took place. On 15 May 1988 the Soviet army withdrew from Afganistan. This war caused misery to many families. In 1989, Islam Abduganiyevich Karmov became first secretary of the CP of Uzbekistan.

 

The end of the USSR

Uzbekistan defended the maintenance of the USSR during perestroika and glastnost. The majority of Uzbekistaners replied “yes” to the referendum on the maintenance of the USSR in 1991.

Nine of the fifteen Soviet republics accepted a new treaty according to which fifteen Soviet republics were to be sovereign in a federation with a common foreign and military president and policy. But on August 18, 1991 took place the Moscow putsch that changed everything. La Rusie declared its independence. Uzbekistan also declared independence on August 31, 1991. Independence Day is celebrated on September 1. At the referendum almost all Uzbekistanis were for independence. The political slogan of those days was “The little that the Russians gave us, we would have obtained sooner or later, but the greatness from which they have dispossessed us will never come back to us.”

Uzbekistan today

As of independence, the Uzbek State establishes diplomatic relations with all foreign countries. Great urban and road reconstruction works are carried out. The Uzbek language becomes the official language and state language.

On 21 December 1991 Uzbekistan became a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (Treaty of Alma-Ata). This Commonwealth of Independent States comprises 12 of the 15 former republics of the USSR. On 2 March 1992, Uzbekistan became a member of the United Nations, UNESCO. On 27 January 2006 he joined the Eurasian Economic Community. The Republic of Uzbekistan is a member of the UN, the OSCE, INESCO, WHO, the World Tourism Organization, etc. On June 15, 2001, she became a founding member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The Collective Security Treaty Organization was also incorporated on 15 August 2006. On 18 May 2007 the Government of Uzbekistan acceded to the Cooperation Agreement on the Enforcement of Criminal Penalties in the Eurasian Economic Community. In November 2008, Uzbekistan suspended its participation in the EAEC.165 States have recognized Uzbekistan.103 States have established diplomatic relations with it. More than forty diplomatic missions are operating in Tashkent.

The death penalty has been abolished in Uzbekistan since 1 January 2008.