Andijon

Andijan
Bobur Square
Andijan Location in Uzbekistan
Coordinates: 40°47′N 72°20′E / 40.783°N 72.333°E / 40.783; 72.333
Country	Uzbekistan
Province	Andijan Province
Population (1999)
- Total	323,900

Andijan (Andijon in Uzbek; also Andizhan) is the fourth-largest city in Uzbekistan, and the capital of the Andijan Province. It is located in the east of the country, at 40°47′N 72°20′E / 40.783°N 72.333°E / 40.783; 72.333, in the Fergana Valley, near the border with Kyrgyzstan on the Andijan-Say River. It has a population of 323,900 (1999 census estimate).

History

Andijan was an important stop on the Silk Road, lying roughly mid-way between Kashgar and Khodjend. Destroyed by Genghis Khan, it was rebuilt by his grandson Kaidu Khan in the late 13th century, and became the capital of Ferghana for the next three centuries. It is best known as the birthplace of Zahiruddin Babur, who founded the South Asian Mughal dynasty in 1483.^{[1] [2]}

The city was the center and flashpoint of the Andijan Uprising of 1898, in which the followers of Sufi leader Madali Ishan attacked the Russian barracks in the city, killing 22 and injuring 16-20 more. In retaliation, 18 of the participants were hanged and 360 exiled.^[3]

On December 12, 1902, much of the city was leveled by a severe earthquake, which destroyed up to 30,000 homes in the region, and killed as many as 4500 residents.^[4]

Andijan during and after Soviet rule

During the Soviet Union, Andijan was separated from its historical hinterland when the present borders were created, dividing Ferghana Valley between three separate Soviet republics. Andijan itself became part of the Uzbek SSR. The borders did not make a great deal of difference during the Soviet period, as the entire region was developed to grow cash crops such as cotton and silk.

During World War II many Soviet citizens were evacuated to Andijan and the surrounding republics.

In the 1990s, though, the Andijan and the surrounding region became much more unstable. Poverty and an upsurge in Islamic fundamentalism produced tensions in the region which resulted in riots in Andijan in April 1990 in which the homes of Jews and Armenians were attacked. The town, and the region as a whole, suffered a severe economic decline following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Repeated border closures badly damaged the local economy, worsening the already widespread poverty of Andijan's inhabitants. Islamic fundamentalists established a presence in the city. In May 2003, a local man named Azizbek Karimov was arrested and accused of carrying out terrorist bombings on behalf of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. He was convicted and executed in April 2004.

May 2005 Massacre

On May 13, 2005, Uzbekistan's military opened fire on a mass of people who were protesting against poor living conditions and corrupt government. Estimated casualties range from 187 to 5,000. The government of Uzbekistan first blamed the murders on terrorists, but after the requests for independent investigations by Western countries, the government acknowledged its fault. The number of killed people is disputed, as no independent investigations were allowed.

Economy

Andijan is an industrial center in an irrigated area that produces fruits, cotton, Uzbek Ikat and silk.

Map

Open Street Map

Notes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Andijan

1. ^ Wheeler M. (ed. & trans.) The Babur-nama
2. ^ Beatrice Forbes Manz “Central Asian Uprisings in the Nineteenth Century: Ferghana under the Russians” Russian Review Vol. 46 (1987), pp. 267-281
3. ^ Khalid, Adeeb (1998). The Politics of Muslim Cultural Reform: Jadidism in Central Asia. Comparative studies on Muslim societies. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 59. ISBN 0520213556. 
4. ^ s.v. Andijan, Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedia, cited in D. Kislov. (July 13, 2007). "Листая старые журналы: Свидетельства андижанского землетрясения 1902 года", fergana.ru.