Travel & Tours in Uzbekistan - A Brief History of Uzbekistan

Central Asia is an ancient region inhabited by man and one of the oldest centres of human cultures, as attested by numerous relicts that have been excavated.

Uzbekistan has been home for many ancient civilisations, such as the Bactrian and the Khorezm, Sogdiana and the Parthian. The Great Silk Road stretched across this land, running from China to the Mediterranean. Thousand of years ago, fabulous cities with beautiful palaces, grand mosques, high minarets and madrasahs were built on this land.

The territory of modern-day Uzbekistan and its close neighbours have witnessed many empires rise and fall. The Sogdians, the Macedonians, the Huns, the Mongolians, the Seljuks, the Timurids and the Khanates of Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva and Khorezm all held sway here at one time or another. The history of Central Asia is a story of endless wars and conquests. Let us mention a few of them.

In the 6^th century BC Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Persian Empire, conquered Central Asia.
In 330 BC Alexander the Great destroyed the Persian Empire.
In the 6^th century AD the Turks ruled the whole of Central Asia.
The Arabs followed them in the 7^th and 8^th centuries. The arrival of Arabs affected the social structure of the whole of Central Asia converting the local population to Islam.

The rise of the Samanids in the 9^th century inaugurated a different period for the region. This land saw the invasion of the Mongols under the leadership of Genghis Khan in 1220. Towns and settlements were ravaged, burnt and depopulated. Much of damage was repaired and Timurlane erected new cities in the 14^th century. He built a huge empire with its capital in Samarkand and brought artisans and men of learning to his court. Palaces, madrasahs, mausoleums and public gardens were erected. The dynasty of Timurids is associated with the development of architecture, science and arts. Soon after Tamerlane's death his empire disintegrated into several Khanates and different clans wrested for power. His grandson Ulugbek, known for his great works in astronomy, soon fell victim to the forces of jealousy. Tamerlane's great grandson Zaheruddin Mohammad Babur gave rise to the famous Moghul Dynasty in India.

The period of struggle for power and consolidation among various Uzbek clans, resulted in the establishment of khanates like Khorezm, Bukhara and Kokand. But the continuous warfare among them brought the weakness of the authority of governing system.

The centuries old feudal disintegration and internecine wars led to the annexation of Turkestan (the name of the land used in that time) to Russia between 1868 and 1876, the Bukhara and Kokand Khanates recognised their vassalage to the Russian Empire.

The Bolshevik revolution in Russia also affected Central Asia giving rise to the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic in 1924. Being one of the fifteen republics of the Soviet Union it was governed by the Communist Party.

Uzbekistan proclaimed its independence from the Soviet Union on 31^st August 1991and since then it has been reviving its national statehood.

CHRONOLOGY OF SIGNIFICANT EVENTS
Period	Description
5th century BC	The Bactrian, Sogdian, and Parthian states dominated the area of present-day Uzbekistan, and benefited from trade on the Silk Route. The province of Movaraunnahr entered upon a long period of prosperity in the eastern territory.
1st century BC	Bactria, Khorezm and Sogdiana were conquered and became parts of the Persian Achaemenid Empire
329 BC	Alexander the Great captured Maracanda (Samarkand) from the Persian Achaemenid Empire during his incursion into southern Central Asia
End of 1st-beginning of 2nd centuries AD	The South of present-day Uzbekistan was the part of the Kushan Empire
6th century AD	The Turkic tribes extended their rule over the territory of Central Asia, the formation of the Turkic Kaganate
750	The Arabs completed the conquest of Central Asia. Islam became a new religion dominating culture and life
8-9th centuries	Under the Arab Abbasid Caliphate, it was the golden age of Central Asia; Bukhara rose as a cultural centre of Muslim world
874 AD	The conquest by Samanid dynasty from Balkh
9th century	Islam became a dominant religion of all Central Asia
Late 10th century	The Seljuk Empire was founded, originating from Oghuz tribes, including Turkmen
999 AD	The Turkic Karakhanids overthrew the Samanids, erasing the last major Persian state in Central Asia
11th century	The Seljuks and Karakhanids upset the reign of the Ghaznavid Empire in the south of Central Asia, dominating west and east, respectively
1100	Persian replaced Arabic as a standard written language, and remained in official use through the 15th century
1130s	Turkic Karakitais conquered Karakhanids and dominated the region for 100 years
1200	Khorezm split from the Seljuk Empire; the consolidated empire including Movaraunnahr and the most of Central Asia arose
1219-25	The Mongols conquered Central Asia
14th - 15th centuries	The State of Timurlane and Timurids was set up
The end of 15th century	The invasion of Shaybani Khan (the Shaybanid dynasty)
16th century	The Uzbek empire was fragmented by fighting among the khanates; the decline of Silk Route
1501-10	Uzbek nomadic tribes conquered Central Asia, established the Khanate of Bukhara
17-18th centuries	Kazakh nomads and Mongols raided and weakened Uzbek khanates; conflict with Iran isolated Uzbeks in the Muslim world
1700	The Khanate of Bukhara lost Ferghana region; Kokand Khanate was founded, locating in Ferghana Valley
Mid-18th century	Turkmen Yomud tribes invaded Khorezm
18th-early 19th centuries	Three Uzbek khanates were revived by strong dynasties, centralised states (Bukhara Emirate, Khiva and Kokand Khanates) sprung; British and Russians claimed rivalry for Central Asia
1865-68	The Russians conquered Tashkent, Bukhara, and Samarkand; the Khanate of Bukhara became Russian protectorate
1867	Governorate General of Turkestan was established by central Russian administration, eventually including (1899) present-day Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan , and south-eastern Kazakhstan; the remainder of Kazakhstan became Steppe District
1873	The Russians captured Khiva
1876	Incorporation of Kokand Khanate; the whole Uzbekistan and northern Kyrgyzstan were joined to the Russian Empire
1890s	The Uzbeks revolted against the Russian rule, but they were quelled
May 1917	Russian provisional government abolished Guberniya of Turkestan; the power was divided among various groups, including Tashkent Soviet
1918	The Bolsheviks declared Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, including the most of present-day Central Asia into Russia; the Bolsheviks crushed the autonomous government in Kokand; the Jadidists and others launched decade-long Basmachi revolt. The Republic of Turkestan was proclaimed
1924	The Soviet Socialist Republic of Uzbekistan was founded
1930	Tashkent became the capital of the Republic
1941	Following the invasion of German Nazis, many European Soviet plants were transferred to Central Asia to avoid their capture by intervening army
1959-82	The tenure of Sharaf Rashidov as the leader of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan
Period	Description
1989	Islam Karimov was promoted first secretary of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan
August 1991	Uzbekistan declared its independence from the Soviet Union
December 1991	Uzbekistan elected a new parliament and Islam Karimov as its first president
March 1992	At the Session of General Assembly, Uzbekistan became a UNO member
December 1992	Uzbekistan adopted a new constitution

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