Already by the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. Several civilizations existed on the territory of modern Uzbekistan, the largest of which were Sogdiana and Khorezm. Khorezm was located south of the Aral Sea, along the Amu Darya River, and Sogdiana – in the basins of the Zeravshan and Kashkadarya rivers. In the 6th c. BC. these territories were conquered by the Persian power of the Achaemenids. In the 4th century BC. the state was captured by the troops of Alexander the Great. Later, nomadic Kushan tribes came here. The Kushan state included Central Asia, part of modern Afghanistan and Northern India. Through its territory in the 2nd century BC. for the first time, caravans with silk from China passed, opening the Great Silk Road. The Chinese emperors sought to establish dominance along the entire length of this path. In 90 AD the Chinese commander Ban Chao defeated the Kushans and imposed tribute on them. In the 4th century, the weakened Kushan state was captured by the nomadic Ephthalites, and in the 6th century, the Ephthalites were defeated by the Turkic troops. In the 7th century, Arabs began to penetrate into Central Asia. In 709-712 they conquered the main centers of the region – Bukhara, Khorezm and Samarkand. Together with the carts, Islam came to the region: local residents were forcibly converted to a new faith.
In 1219-1222, Central Asia was captured by the armies of the Mongol ruler Genghis Khan. In 1227, before his death, Genghis Khan divided the possessions between his heirs and the territory of modern Uzbekistan was transferred to his son Chagatai. The Mongol rulers constantly fought among themselves for land, only under the famous commander Amir Timur (Tamerlane) in the 14th century, Central Asia was united again. Timur declared Samarkand the capital of his empire. He undertook a number of successful campaigns of conquest in the Golden Horde, India and Turkey. After the death of Timur in 1405, the state began to disintegrate. In 1499, the Timurid state was conquered by the Uzbek Khanate formed as a result of the collapse of the Golden Horde. From that moment, a people began to form, whose representatives are called Uzbeks. In the 16-18 centuries, a frequent change of khans took place in the Uzbek state. Check a2zdirectory for old history of Uzbekistan.
Starting from the 18th century, the Russian Empire and Great Britain began to show interest in the lands of Central Asia. In the 19th century, after a series of campaigns by Russian troops, a part of the Bukhara Khanate was captured and in 1867 the Turkestan Governor-Generalship was formed here, with Tashkent as its center. In 1873, Russian troops captured Khiva, and in 1876 liquidated the Kokand Khanate. As a result of the conquests, the territory of modern Uzbekistan was divided into three regions of the Turkestan Governor-General (Syrdarya, Samarkand and Fergana) and two vassal khanates – Khiva and Bukhara. Russian peasants began to move here, which caused discontent among the local population. At the beginning of the 20th century, the indigenous population was deprived of voting rights, “surplus” land was confiscated from them, and during the First World War, all local Muslims were sent to the army for rear work. All this led to numerous uprisings.
Shortly after the February Revolution of 1917, Turkestan was proclaimed a Soviet Republic and in April 1918 became an autonomous republic within the RSFSR. In subsequent years, Soviet troops fought against Islamist and nationalist detachments, united in an armed nationalist movement (“Basmachi”), which fought for the independence of the Uzbek people. But by 1924, the lands of the former Khorezm and Bukhara khanates were still attached to the Turkestan Republic. Thus, the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic appeared. Also in 1936, the Karakalpak Autonomous Republic became part of it. The republic became the cotton granary of the USSR, in addition, industry developed rapidly in Uzbekistan. Artificial irrigation was used to grow cotton.
In 1991, after the collapse of the USSR, Uzbekistan declared its independence and in 1992 became part of the Commonwealth of Independent States. In the next decade, the country experienced an economic recession, however, by the end of the 1990s, the economic situation somewhat stabilized. One of the main problems of the republic is terrorism. In 1999 and 2000, Islamic groups tried to overthrow the government, and the beginning of the 21st century was marked by a series of high-profile riots and terrorist attacks.
