Qŭqon

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Kokand
Khan's Palace
Kokand Location in Uzbekistan
Coordinates: 40°31′43″N 70°56′33″E / 40.52861°N 70.9425°E / 40.52861; 70.9425
Country	Uzbekistan
Province	Fergana Province
Elevation	409 m (1,342 ft)
Population (1999)
- Total	192,500

Kokand (alternative spellings: Khokand, Khokend, Kokan, Khoqand; Uzbek: Qo‘qon; Russian: Коканд; Tajik/Persian:Куканд/خوقند ;Chagatai: خوقند) is a city in Fergana Province in eastern Uzbekistan, at the southwestern edge of the Fergana Valley. It has a population of 192,500 (1999 census estimate). Kokand is 228 km southeast of Tashkent, 115 km west of Andijan, and 88 km west of Fergana. It is nicknamed “City of Winds”, or sometimes “Town of the Boar". It is located at 40°31′43″N 70°56′33″E / 40.52861°N 70.9425°E / 40.52861; 70.9425 at an altitude of 409 meters.

Kokand is on the crossroads of the ancient trade routes, at the junction of two main routes into the Fergana Valley, one leading northwest over the mountains to Tashkent, and the other west through Khujand. As a result, Kokand is the main transportation junction in the Fergana Valley.

History

Kokand: Entrance to the Palace of Khudoyar Khan, built 1871

Kokand has existed since at least the 10th century, under the name of Khavakend and was frequently mentioned in traveler’s accounts of the caravan route between India and China. The Mongols destroyed Kokand in the 13th century.

The present city began as a fort in 1732 on the site of another older fortress called Eski-Kurgan. In 1740, it became the capital of an Uzbek kingdom, the Khanate of Kokand, which reached as far as Kyzylorda to the west and Bishkek to the northeast. Kokand was also the major religious center of the Fergana Valley, boasting more than 300 mosques.

Russian imperial forces under Mikhail Skobelev captured the city in 1876 which then became part of Russian Turkistan. It was the capital of the short-lived (1917–18) anti-Bolshevik Provisional Government of Autonomous Turkistan (also known as Kokand Autonomy). Adeeb Khalid. The Politics of Muslim Cultural Reform, Jadidism in Central Asia, Oxford University Press, 2000.

Education and Culture

Islam plays large role in the cultural life of Kokand. A number of madrasah can be found with the city. It is also home to a number of notable hanafi scholars, such as Abdulhafiz Al-Quqoniy and Yorqinjon Qori Al-Quqoniy.

There are 2 institutes, 9 colleges and lyceums, 40 secondary schools, 5 musical schools, a theater, and 20 libraries. There are 7 historical and house museums located in Kokand.^[1]

Economy

The Black-market provides nearly 75% of the income generated within the borders of the city. This includes: retail, groceries, employment, money exchange, agriculture and manufacturing of many goods. A large amount of population work as small business owners working in outdoor markets.

Kokand is also a center for the manufacture of fertilizers, chemicals, machinery, and cotton and food products. Over the last two decades, new districts and public buildings have been created in the city as well as many houses, shops, cafes, restaurants and other private sector ventures. Kokand is also an educational center with 1 institute, and 9 colleges and lyceums, and numerous museums.

Tourist sights

• Palace of Khudayar Khan – built 1863-1873, one of the largest and most opulent palaces in Central Asia. 19 of the original 113 rooms survive, and are now host a museum.
• Jummi Mosque – a Friday mosque built in 1800-1812, and reopened in 198 (badword), it can hold 10,000 worshippers.
• Amin Beg Madrassah – built in 1813.
• Dakhma-I-Shokhon – necropolis of the Kokand Khans from the 1830s.
• Khamza Museum – dedicated to Kokand’s foremost Soviet hero, Hamza Hakimzade Niyazi (1889-1929), Bolshevik propagandist,^{[citation needed]} first national poet of Soviet Uzbekistan and founder of Soviet Uzbek literature.

References

External links

• Official city portal of Kokand
• Open Street Map