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Chronology
of significant events
The
modern nation of Kyrgyzstan is based on a civilisation of nomadic
tribes who for centuries have been moving across the eastern and
northern sections of the present-day Central Asia. In this process
they were dominated by and intermixed with a number of other tribes
and peoples that have influenced the ultimate character of the Kyrgyz
people.
Archaeological
researches showed that a primeval man had familiarised himself here
since the Stone Age. The Kyrgyz have been known in Central Asia
since the 1st millennium BC and have carried their name
throughout the centuries.
The
earliest notable residents of what is now Kyrgyzstan were warrior
tribes of Saka (also known as Scythians), from about the 6th
century BC to the 5th century AD. Excellent warriors,
the Scythian tribes in the farther west resisted the invasion by
the troops of Alexander the Great in 328-27 BC.
The
first state formations on the territory of modern Kyrgyzstan appeared
in the 2nd century BC. In the 4th-3rd
centuries BC the ancient Kyrgyz were part of strong nomadic tribal
unions, like Saka and Usun (the 3rd-1st centuries
BC), which proved to be a serious distress to China. It was at that
time when the construction of the Great Wall of China began. In
the 2nd-1st centuries BC a part of the Kyrgyz
tribes moved to Enisey and Baikal regions of the present-day south
central Siberia.
The
region was under the control of various Turkic alliances from the
6th to 10th centuries, with a sizeable population
living on the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul. Kyrgyzstan was the scene
of pivotal battle in 751, when the Turks and their Arab and Tibetan
allies drove a large Tang Chinese army out of Central Asia.
It
was there that the Kyrgyz tribes organised their first state, the
Kyrgyz Khanate (existed from the 6th until the 13th
century AD), which became the centre for consolidation of the Kyrgyz
and formation of its culture. The Kyrgyz written language emerged
here, but it was lost after the state was dismantled by other conquerors.
The Kyrgyz tribes, spread over a vast territory, had actively participated
in the historic events of Central Asia. Ancestors of today's Kyrgyz
people probably lived in Siberia's upper Enisey basin until at least
the 10th century, when under the influence of Mongol
incursions they began migrating south into the Tian Shan.
The
Mongols' invasion into Central Asia in the 14th century
devastated the territory of Kyrgyzstan, costing its people their
independence and written language. Present-day Kyrgyzstan was a
part of the inheritance of Genghiz's second son, Chagatai.
For
the next 200 years, the Kyrgyz remained under the Golden Horde and
the Oriot and Jumgar khanates that succeeded that regime. Freedom
was regained in 1510, but the Kalmyks overran Kyrgyz tribes in the
17th century, in the mid-18th century by the Manchus,
and in the early 19th century by the Uzbeks.
The Kyrgyz made great efforts to gain protection from more powerful
neighbouring states in 1758, when some tribes sent emissaries to
China. A similar mission went to the Russian Empire in 1785. Between
1710 and 1876, the Kyrgyz were ruled by the Uzbek Kokand Khanate,
one of the three major principalities of Central Asia during that
period.
In
1876 Russian troops defeated the Kokand Khanate and occupied northern
Kyrgyzstan. Within five years, all Kyrgyzstan had become part of
the Russian Empire. After the Bolshevik revolution in Russia of
1917, Kyrgyz lands became the part of the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet
Socialist Republic within the Russian Federation in 1918, then a
separate Kara-Kyrgyz Autonomous Oblast in 1924. After state demarcation
of Soviet republics in Central Asia on October 14, 1924 Kara-Kyrgyz
(since May 25, 1925 - Kyrgyz) autonomous region was formed as a
part of the Soviet Union. On February 1, 1926 it was transformed
into the Kyrgyz ASSR and on December 5, 1936 - into the Kyrgyz SSR.
After the collapse of the USSR the independent sovereign democratic
state - the Republic of Kyrgyzstan - was proclaimed by the Declaration
of Sovereignty on August 31, 1991.
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CHRONOLOGY
OF SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN KYRGYZSTAN
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Period
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Description
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6th-3rd
centuries BC
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The
ancient Kyrgyz were a part of strong nomadic tribal unions,
which invaded northern China. The construction of the Great
Chinese Wall began.
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329-327
BC
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Alexander
the Great captured Maracanda (Samarkand) during his conquest
of southern Central Asia from Persian Achamenid Empire. On
the territory of modern Kyrgyzstan he met the stiffest resistance
from Saka (Scythian) tribes in his advance through Central
Asia.
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2nd
century BC
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The
first state formation on the territory of modern Kyrgyzstan
appeared.
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2nd-1st
centuries BC
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A
part of the Kyrgyz tribes moved to Enisey and Baikal regions.
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1st
century AD
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Han
Dynasty of China traded with Sogdians and Bactrians of Central
Asia.
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5th
century
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Feudal
society emerged in present-day Kyrgyzstan.
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6th-13th
centuries
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The
Kyrgyz Khanate was organised.
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| 751 |
Kyrgyzstan
was the scene of battle, when the Turks and Arabs drove a large
Tang Chinese army out of Central Asia. The Arabs completed the
conquest of Central Asia, imposing Islam and new culture. |
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8th-9th
centuries
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Under
Arab Abbasid Caliphate it was golden age of Central Asia.
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9th
century
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Islam
became dominant religion of all Central Asia.
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840
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The
Kyrgyz Khanate reached the greatest extent, defeating the
Uyghur Khanate in Mongolia.
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10th
century
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Under
the influence of Mongol incursions the Kyrgyz began migrating
south into the Tian Shan. Persian Samanid Dynasty replaced
Abbasids, continued cultural activity of Movaraunnahr.
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Late
10th century
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The
Kyrgyz control covered Southern Siberia, Altay and southwest
of Mongolia.
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999
AD
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The
Turkic Karakhanids overthrew Samanids, ending the last major
Persian state in Central Asia.
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11th-12th
centuries
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The
Kyrgyz territory was decreased to the Altay and the Sayan
only.
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1130s
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The
Turkic Karakitais conquered the Karakhanids, having dominated
region for 100 years.
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1219-25
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The
Mongols conquered Central Asia
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1250
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Chagatai,
the second son of Genghis Khan conquered Enisey Kyrgyz, beginning
the period of 200 years of the Mongol domination. Present-day
Kyrgyzstan was a part of the inheritance of Chagatai.
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1380-1405
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Timur
(Tamerlane) unified the Mongol holdings in Central Asia, fostered
the last cultural flowering of Movaraunnahr; Turkish for the
first time rivalled Persian as literary language.
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16th
century
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The
Decline of the Silk Route.
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1501-10
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Uzbek
nomadic tribes conquered Central Asia, established the Bukhara
Khanate.
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16th
century
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The
ethnogenesis of the Kyrgyz people was mainly completed.
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17th-18th
centuries
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Kazakh
nomads and Mongols raided and weakened the Uzbek khanates;
the Kalmyks and the Manchus overran Kyrgyz tribes.
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1710-1876
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The
Kyrgyz were ruled by the Uzbek Kokand Khanate.
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1758
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Some
Kyrgyz tribes became Chinese subjects with substantial autonomy.
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1845-1873
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Kyrgyz
tribes fought and lost four wars against the Kokand Khanate.
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1863
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The
northern part of Kyrgyzstan was joined to the Russian Empire.
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1867
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The
Guberniya (Governorate General) of Turkestan was established
as a central Russian administration, eventually including
(1899) present-day Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan,
and southeastern Kazakhstan.
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1876
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Russian
troops defeated the Kokand Khanate and occupied northern Kyrgyzstan.
Within five years, all Kyrgyzstan had become the part of the
Russian Empire.
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1890s
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Large-scale
Russian settlement began in Kyrgyzstan, diminishing Kyrgyz
nomads.
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1916
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Kazakhs,
Kyrgyz, Turkmen, and Uzbeks rebelled against Russian land
confiscation and conscription; many Kazakhs and Kyrgyz fled
to China.
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May
1917
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The
Russian provisional government abolished the Guberniya of
Turkestan.
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November
1917
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Bolshevik
Revolution established the Soviet state.
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1918
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The
Bolsheviks declared the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist
Republic, including the most of present-day Central Asia into
Russia; The Bolsheviks crushed the autonomous government
in Kokand.
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1918-19
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Widespread
famine.
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1920
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The
Kyrgyz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was established,
including Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
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October
1924
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The
Kara-Kyrgyz autonomous region was formed as a part of the
Russian Federation.
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May
1925
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The
Kazakh Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Kazakh ASSR)
separated from the Kyrgyz ASSR.
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December
1936
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Kazakh
and Kyrgyz ASSRs were given full republic status in the Soviet
Union.
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June-August
1990
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There
was a violent conflict between the Kyrgyz and the Uzbeks and
anticommunist demonstrations in Kyrgyz cities; the opposition
group, Democratic Movement of Kyrgyzstan, emerged.
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November
1990
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Askar
Akayev was elected the president of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan,
defeating communist incumbent.
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August
1991
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The
day of the Declaration of Sovereignty of the Kyrgyz Republic.
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May
1993
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The
first Constitution of the Kyrgyzstan as an independent state
was adopted.
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