Uzbekistan Facts

Uzbekistan Facts and History

Asia

Uzbekistan – the former Soviet republic is located in the desert regions of Central Asia.

In the country, which is around 20% larger than Germany, the oriental culture has left its most important mark. The legendary Silk Road to China once ran through Uzbekistan.

The most famous cities of Uzbekistan, Samarkant, Bukhara and Khiva owe their existence and splendor to this ancient trade route. They are the most attractive tourist destinations in Uzbekistan today.

The Name of the country goes back to the Uzbek people and is derived from the Mongolian Khan Özbeg, who united a number of Turkic tribes under his rule in the 14th century, from which the Uzbek people emerged.

Interesting note In

July 2016, an employee of Goruma was in the country with a friend for a few weeks. Their experiences there are remarkable and worth mentioning:

According to the two of them, they encountered an almost otherwise unknown friendliness and huge interest. Since both of them can hardly speak Russian and most of the Uzbeks hardly speak a foreign language, there were unfortunately communication limits.

One taxi driver did not want to accept any money, another stopped at an ice cream stand to buy them an ice cream. And several times they were invited to eat in restaurants by the guests there. You had never been intrusive or approached, the interest was in the guest and the German.

By the way, taxis are dirt cheap here and available everywhere. In addition, the people here live a moderate and tolerant Islam.

Name of the country Republic of Uzbekistan
Form of government Parliamentary democracy
Location Central Asia
National anthem Serquyash, hur olkam, elga bakht najat
Population approximately 31.6 million (Credit: Countryaah: Uzbekistan Population)
Ethnicities 75% Uzbeks, 5% Russians, 5% Tajiks, 4% Tatars, 3% Kazakhs as well as Karakalpaks, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, Koreans, Ukrainians, Armenians and around 5,000 of German descent.
Religions 88% Islam (mostly Sunnis), also Christians, Jews, Buddhists, followers of Bahaism and the teachings of Krishna.
Languages Uzbek and Russian
Capital Tashkent with about 2.4 million residents
Surface 447,000 km²
Highest mountain Manas at 4,488 m
Longest river Amu (Amu Darya) with a length of 2,540 km
Largest lake in area The Aral Sea, which has meanwhile disintegrated into three parts, has a total area of around 8,500 km²
International license plate UZ
National currency Sum = 100 tiyin
Time difference to CET + 4 h
International phone code +998
Voltage frequency 220 volts, 50 hertz
Internet TLD (Top Level Domain) .us

Uzbekistan: history

Uzbekistan until around the year 1000

In ancient times, nomads and oasis farmers shaped what is now Uzbekistan.

According to Abbreviationfinder website, Greek influences came through the Alexander empire in the 4th century BC. BC to Uzbekistan, Buddhist influences again due to the famous Silk Road, the most important land route between Europe and the Middle East to East Asia and also due to the proximity to India.

After the Arab wars of conquest, Islam prevailed in Uzbekistan from the beginning of the 8th century. After the victory of the Arab-Persian Caliphate over the Chinese in 751, the area finally belonged to the Islamic world. The following period was determined by the Samanids in Bukhara (819 to 1005), a dynasty that belonged to the Arab-Persian caliphate.

Uzbekistan from the year 1000 to the 16th century

From 999 Turkish khans ruled Bukhara.

From 1040 the Seljuks resettled in Khorassan.

With the defeat of the Seljuk Sultan Sandjars (r. 1118 – 1157) in 1141 near Samarkand, the Khorezm Shahs determined politics.

In 1220 the Mongols invaded the country. Despite many rivalries among the tribes, the era before the Mongol storm was considered to be culturally very advanced, with flourishing cities and extensive trade.

The Mongol period shattered the country. The last of these Mongol rulers was Timur Lenk (Tamerlan) (ruled 1370-1405), who generously supported Bukhara and Samarkand with money, artists and craftsmen from foreign countries. His works can still be admired today. After him, his grandson Ulug Beg ruled, under whom the country flourished.

The Uzbeks themselves were originally a Turkic people with common roots with the Kazakhs. Together they came from (West) Siberia. Her name is derived from Uzbek Khan.

Abu’I-Chair’s grandson Mohammed Scheibani founded the Uzbek Empire and conquered Bukhara and Samarkand from the descendants of Timur Lenk in 1500. But only the victory over Babur near Gajdiwan/Bukhara in 1512 secured the Uzbeks possession of the land between the rivers Amu-darja and Syr-darja, the north remained with the allied Kazakhs.

In the 16th century, the economy, architecture and painting flourished.

The Uzbek Empire benefited from the caravans in the 16th century. In the long run, however, the Uzbeks were cut off from developing world trade. There were also internal problems. Abdullah (II.) (R. 1556/83 – 1598) was not only a great builder, but also an Orthodox Muslim who ushered in a period of intellectual stagnation.

Uzbekistan in the 17th to 19th centuries

In the second half of the 17th century, the country flourished again under the princes of the Janid dynasty from Astrakhan.

In the 19th century it got into the conflicts of interest of England and Russia. Russia eventually gained colonial rule over Uzbekistan. In 1868 Russian supremacy had to be recognized.

While the Emirate of Bukhara and the Khiva Khanate had to cede territories to Russia, but were able to remain as independent states under the Russian protectorate, the third state previously existing on the territory of today’s Uzbekistan, the Kokand Khanate, was completely annexed by the Russian tsar. The General Government of Turkestan was formed from the areas in Central Asia conquered under Russian rule.

As the capital, Tashkent became the administrative and economic center of Central Asia.

20th century until today

After the revolution of 1917, the Bolsheviks took power in Tashkent as well as in the Russian heartland, and in 1918 the former General Government of Turkestan became the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Turkestan ASSR).

In 1920, with the support of the Bolsheviks, the rulers of the Khiva Khanate and the Bukhara Emirate were overthrown, the People’s Republic of Khorezmia and the People’s Republic of Bukhara were proclaimed and cooperation agreements were signed with the USSR.

In 1924/1925 the Soviet republics in Central Asia were restructured and all three of the above-mentioned state structures were dissolved. The Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (Uzbek SSR) was formed from parts of all three areas and became a member of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1925.

Tajikistan, which was initially an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the Uzbek SSR, was separated from Uzbekistan in 1929 as an independent Tajik SSR. The Karakalpak Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Karakalpak ASSR), which was initially part of the USSR, was incorporated into Uzbekistan in 1936.

In 1991 Uzbekistan was declared independent and the economy recapitalized. In the 1990s there were repeated nationality conflicts in the Fergana Valley in the east of the country and conflicts with Islamic fundamentalists. The president exercises an authoritarian style of government.

In 1992 a democratic constitution was introduced that guarantees respect for human rights, the separation of powers and other rights.

In 2001, Uzbekistan granted the Americans the right to station troops for the Afghan war. Uzbekistan is successfully trying to deepen relations with Germany, for example President Shavkat Mirziyoyev made a state visit to Berlin in January 2019 and Federal President Steinmeier in Uzbekistan in May of the same year.

Uzbekistan Facts