Everything about Tashkent totally explained
Tashkent (; ) is the
capital of
Uzbekistan and also of the
Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2006 was 2.1 million. According to unofficial data, the population is more than 3 million.
In medieval times the town and the province were known as "Chach". Later, the town came to be known as Chachkand/Chashkand, meaning "Chach City." (Tash in Turkic language means stone. Kand, qand, kent, kad, kath, kud--all meaning a city, are derived from the
Sogdian, kanda, meaning a town or a city. They are found in city names like
Samarkand, Yarkand, Penjikent etc.).
After the 16th century, the name was steadily changed slightly from Chachkand/Chashkand to Tashkand, which, as "stone city", was more meaningful to the new inhabitants than the old name. The modern spelling of Tashkent reflects Russian orthography.
Geography
Tashkent is located in a well watered plain to the west of the last
Altai mountains on the road between
Shymkent and
Samarkand. Tashkent sits at the confluence of the Chirchik river and several of its tributaries and is built on deep alluvial deposits (up to 15 metres). It is a lively tectonic area suffering large numbers of tremors and some earthquakes. One earthquake in 1966 measured 7.5 on the
Richter scale. The local time in Tashkent is
UTC/GMT +5 hours.
History
Tashkent started as an
oasis on the
Chirchik River, near the foothills of the
Golestan Mountains. In ancient times, this area contained Beitian, probably the summer "capital" of the
Kangju confederacy.
The principality of
Chach, whose main town had a
square citadel built around the 5th to 3rd centuries BC, some south of the
Syr Darya River. By the
7th century AD, Chach had over 30 towns and a network of over 50 canals, forming a trade center between the
Sogdians and
Turkic nomads. The region came under the sway of
Islam in the early parts of the 8th century.
Hsien-tsang (
Xuanzang) mentioned the name of the city as
Zhe-shi. The Chinese chronicles Sujshu, Bejshu and Tanshu mention a possession called Shi or
Zheshi with a capital with the same name since the V c. AD [Bichurin,1950. v. II].
Under the
Samanid dynasty, the city came to be known as
Binkath. However, the Arabs retained the old name of
Chach for the surrounding region, pronouncing it
al-Shash instead. The modern Turkic name of
Tashkent (City of Stone) comes from
Kara-Khanid rule in the 10th century.
The city was destroyed by
Genghis Khan in
1219, although the great conqueror had found that the
Khorezmshah had already sacked the city in 1214. Under the
Timurids and subsequent
Shaybanid dynasties the city revived, despite occasional attacks by the
Uzbeks,
Kazakhs,
Persians,
Mongols,
Oirats and
Kalmyks.
In 1809, Tashkent was annexed to the
Khanate of Kokand. At the time, Tashkent had a population of around 100,000 and was considered the richest city in
Central Asia. It prospered greatly through trade to
Russia, but chafed under Kokand’s high taxes. The Tashkent clergy also favored the clergy of
Bukhara over that of Kokand. However, before the
Emir of Bukhara could capitalize on this discontent, the Russian army arrived.
In May 1865, General
Mikhail Grigorevich Chernyayev (Cherniaev), acting against the direct orders of the
tsar, 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 priest armed only with a crucifix. Although 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, 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 that the city be made an independent khanate under Russian protection.
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 granting Tashkent its independence, Tashkent became the capital of the new territory of
Russian Turkistan, with Kaufman as first Governor-General. A
cantonment 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 rivalry between Russia and the
United Kingdom over Central Asia. The
Trans-Caspian Railway arrived in 1889, and the railway workers who built it settled in Tashkent as well, bringing with them the seeds of
Bolshevik Revolution.
20th century
With the fall of the
Russian Empire, a
provisional government attempted to maintain control in Tashkent. It was quickly overthrown and local
Muslim opposition crushed. In April 1918, Tashkent became the capital of the
Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (
Turkestan ASSR). The new regime was threatened by White forces,
basmachi, revolts from within, and purges ordered from
Moscow. Tashkent fell within the borders of the
Uzbek SSR, and became the capital of the Uzbek SSR in 1930, displacing
Samarkand.
The city began to industrialize in the 1920s and 1930s, but industry increased tremendously during
World War II, with the relocation of factories from western Russia to preserve the Soviet industrial capacity from the invading
Nazis. The
Russian population increased dramatically as well, with evacuees from the war zones increasing the population to well over a million. (The Russian community would eventually comprise nearly half of the total residents of Tashkent.)
On April 26 1966, Tashkent was destroyed by a huge
earthquake (7.5 on the
Richter scale) and over 300,000 were left homeless.
At the time of the collapse of the
Soviet Union in 1991, Tashkent was the fourth largest city in the country and a center of learning in the science and engineering fields.
Tashkent was a very Soviet city, with few reminders of its position on the Silk Road or its 2000+ years of history. At the moment, it's the most cosmopolitan city in Uzbekistan, with large ethnic
Russian minority. The city is noted for its tree lined streets, numerous fountains, and pleasant parks. As capital of the nation, it has also been the target of several
terrorist attacks since Uzbekistan gained
independence, which the government has attributed to
Islamic fundamentalists.
Since 1991, the city has changed economically, culturally, and architecturally. The largest statue ever erected for Lenin was replaced with a globe, complete with a geographic map of Uzbekistan over it. Boring grey buildings from the Soviet era have been replaced with new, modern buildings. One example is the "Downtown Tashkent" region, which includes the 22-storey NBU Bank building, an Intercontinental Hotel, International Business Center, and the Plaza Building.
In
2007, Tashkent was named the cultural capital of the
Islamic world as the city is home to numerous historic
mosques and religious establishments.
Sights
Due to the destruction of most of the ancient city during
1917 revolution and, later, to the 1966 earthquake, little remains of Tashkent's traditional architectural heritage. Tashkent is, however, rich in museums and Soviet-era monuments.
Dating back to the reign of
Abdullah Khan (1557-1598) it's currently being restored by the provincial Religious Board of
Mawarannahr Moslems. There is talk of making it into a museum, but it's currently being used as a
mosque.
Chorsu Bazaar
Near the Kukeldash Madrassa, this huge open air bazaar is the center of the old town of Tashkent. Everything imaginable is for sale.
Telyashayakh Mosque (Khast Imam Mosque)
Contains the Uthman Qur'an, considered to be the oldest extant Qur'an in the world. Dating from 655 and stained with the blood of murdered caliph Uthman, it was brought by Timur to Samarkand, seized by the Russians as a war trophy and taken to Saint Petersburg. It was returned to Uzbekistan in 1989.
Yunus Khan Mausoleum
A group of three 15th century mausoleums, restored in the 19th century. The biggest is the grave of Yunus Khan, grandfather of Mughal Empire founder Babur.
Palace of Prince Romanov
During the 19th century Grand Duke Nikolai Konstantinovich (1850-1918), a first cousin of Alexander III of Russia 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, and built with Japanese prisoner of war labor in World War II, this theatre hosts Russian ballet and opera.
Fine Arts Museum of Uzbekistan
Contains a major collection of art from the pre-Russian period, including Sogdian murals, Buddhist statues and Zoroastrian art, along with a more modern collection of 19th and 20th century applied art, 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 who died in the Russian Revolution of 1917 and to Ossipov's treachery in 1919, along with first Uzbekistani President Yuldush 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.
History Museum
Tashkent's largest museum, housed in the ex-Lenin Museum.
Amir Timur Museum
An impressive building with brilliant blue dome and ornate interior (see photo to the right). Inside, the exhibits of Timur and of President Islom Karimov vie for the visitor's attention. The gardens outside contain a statue of Timur on horseback, surrounded by some of the nicest gardens and fountains in the city.
Navoi Literary Museum
A commemoration of Uzbekistan's adopted literary hero, Alisher Navoi, with replica manuscripts, Persian calligraphy and 15th century miniature paintings.
City built environment
The only metro system in Central Asia. (Astana's and Almaty's only being in their construction stages.)
Tashkent Airport is the largest in the country, connecting the town to Asia, Europe and the American continents.
The largest city square (Independence Square) in the former Soviet Union, which once held the tallest statue of Lenin (30 meters tall) in the Soviet Union. Lenin was replaced in 1992 by a globe showing a map of Uzbekistan.
Government, trade union and private medical and dental facilities.
Offices of several American and European consulting firms like Ernst & Young Ltd, Deloitte & Touche, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Gravamen Fidelis and Fides LLP
Education
Several universities and institutions of higher learning:
Media
9 Uzbek language newspapers, 4 in English and 9 publications in Russian
Several television and cable television facilities, including Tashkent Tower, the tallest structure in Central Asia.
Public Transportation
Buses
Light rail trains/Street cars
Metro system
Trolley buses
Sister Cities
Istanbul, Turkey
Seattle, Washington, USA
Karachi, Pakistan
Berlin, Germany
Dnipropetrovsk, UkraineFurther Information
Get more info on 'Tashkent'.
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