Location:
Uzbekistan is located north of Afghanistan and south of Kazakhstan.
History:
The Uzbekian culture is predominately located in what is now Uzbekistan because of the Turkish nomadic settlement of Uzbekistan during the early 14th century. The settlers came to this region when Turkic conqueror Timur Lang made this region part of his empire and named Samargand the capital of his empire. Also, during the 14th century, tribal groups of Orda, Shiban, and Manghit, made the Uzbek confederation in the southern part of Kazakhstan between 1465 and1466. This group later rebelled against the khan of the confederation, Abul Khayr. After the group killed the khan, migration started to present day Uzbekistan. During the first decade of the 16th century Mohammad Shaybani, the grandson of deposed khan - Abul Khayr, conquered Samargrand, Bukhoror, Toshkent, and Kohorezm. Shaybani then formed these areas into two different khanates, one in the Khorezm region and the other in the Bukhoro region. Uzbeks continued settling in the Uzbekistan region during the 17th century near areas already inhabited by Turkic and Persian speaking people. In the 18th century a group called Qoraqalpoghs, which settled in the west, was conquered by the new dynasty known as Khiva. During the early 1700's the Quqon khanate was formed in Fergana Valley. In 1740 Persians quickly conquered the region and quickly left when their leader, Nadir Shah, died in 1747. During the middle half of the 19th century the Russians conquered Uzbekistan and set up an imperial government. When the Soviet Union was formed, the Soviets put Uzbekistan into the Turkistan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, which also included much of the southern part of Central Asia. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 Uzbekistan became an independent republic and later joined the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Language:
The official language of Uzbekistan is Uzbek.
Culture:
The Uzbekian culture is heavily influenced by Islam. The art, music and the architecture of Uzbekistan is similar to that of the Middle East, where Islam plays a large role in their daily lives.
Economy:
During the early Soviet rule, cotton production was put as number one for the economy. This led to disastrous consequences that are still being felt today. The land was over farmed, and was ruined chemically through both pesticides and fertilizers. Because the Soviets did not pay much attention to building industry, Uzbekistan is still reliant on cotton for their major export.
References:
"Uzbekistan," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2003 http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/RefArticle.aspx?refid=761551989&pn=1#s1 - pages 2 and 4. 2 Mar. 2003
“Uzbek Dance and Culture Society” http://www.uzbekdance.org/about/about2.asp. 2 Mar 2003
Written by Chris Wagner, 2003