Portal:Uzbekistan

The Uzbekistan Portal

Uzbekistan, officially the Republic of Uzbekistan, is a sovereign, doubly landlocked country located in Central Asia. It is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Kyrgyzstan to the northeast, Tajikistan to the southeast, Afghanistan to the south, and Turkmenistan to the south-west. It is one of only two doubly landlocked countries in the world, the other being Liechtenstein. The country has a population of more than 39 million, making it the most populous Republic in Central Asia. Uzbekistan is a member of the Organisation of Turkic States. Uzbek (written in both Cyrillic and Latin scripts), spoken by the Uzbek people who form more than 89% of the population, is the official language of the country. Russian and Tajik are significant minority languages, with Russian serving as a lingua franca. Tajik is primarily spoken by Tajiks living in the southern parts of the country, such as Samarkand and Bukhara.

The first recorded settlers in Uzbekistan were Eastern Iranian nomads, known as Scythians, who founded kingdoms in Khwarazm, Sogdiana, and Bactria in the 8th–6th centuries BC, as well as in Fergana and Margiana in the 3rd century BC – 6th century AD. The area was incorporated into the Achaemenid Empire and, after a period of Greco-Bactrian rule, was part of the Sasanian Empire until the Muslim conquest of Persia in the seventh century. The early Muslim conquests and the subsequent Samanid Empire resulted in the spread of Islam among the local people. During this period, cities began to grow rich from the Silk Road, and became a centre of the Islamic Golden Age. The local Khwarazmian Empire was destroyed in the Mongol invasion in the 13th century, leading to a dominance by Mongol peoples. Timur in the 14th century established the Timurid Empire. The Timurid capital of Samarkand became a centre of science under the rule of Ulugh Beg, giving birth to the Timurid Renaissance. The territories of the Timurid dynasty were conquered by Turko-Mongol Shaybanids in the 16th century. Most of Central Asia was gradually incorporated into the Russian Empire during the 19th century, with Tashkent becoming the political centre of Russian Turkestan. In 1924, national delimitation created the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic as a republic of the Soviet Union. During the Soviet era, Uzbekistan became a leading producer of farm products such as cotton and melons, while also making significant advances in science and technology. It declared independence as the Republic of Uzbekistan in 1991 following the Soviet collapse. (Full article...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article - show another

Margilan (Uzbek: Marg‘ilon, Persian: مرغیلان, pronounced [mɐrʁɨˈlɒn]) is a city in eastern Uzbekistan's Fergana Region. As of the 2024 census, its population was 253,500.

Margilan is located in the south of the Fergana Valley, where trade caravans from China traveled westwards and vice versa during the days of the Silk Road. Margilan has been renowned for its silk goods as far back as the 10th century. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Did you know...

No recent additions

Uzbekistan news

27 June 2026 – 2026 FIFA World Cup: DR Congo qualifies for the knockout stage of a FIFA World Cup for the first time after winning 3–1 over Uzbekistan in their final group-stage match to finish as the best third-place team in the round. (The Guardian)
23 June 2026 – 2026 FIFA World Cup: In association football, Portuguese forward and captain Cristiano Ronaldo becomes the first player to score in six different FIFA World Cups and Portugal's all-time top goalscorer at the tournament after scoring a brace in the team's 5–0 win over Uzbekistan in the group stage. (AFP via RFI)
17 June 2026 – 2026 FIFA World Cup: Uzbekistan at the FIFA World Cup; Abbosbek Fayzullaev scores Uzbekistan's first goal at a FIFA World Cup during a 3–1 loss against Colombia in their opening match. (Reuters)

General images - load new batch

The following are images from various Uzbekistan-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Timur feasts in Samarkand (from History of Uzbekistan)
Image 2Ruins of Afrasiab – ancient Samarkand destroyed by Genghis Khan (from History of Uzbekistan)
Image 3The Registan and its three madrasahs. From left to right: Ulugh Beg Madrasah, Tilya-Kori Madrasah and Sher-Dor Madrasah, Samarkand, and Uzbekistan. (from History of Uzbekistan)
Image 4Map of Timurid dynasty (1370–1506) (from History of Uzbekistan)
Image 5ossuary, statue of a man, Koy-Krylgan-Kala region, first centuries BC, Khorezm (from History of Uzbekistan)
Image 6Chorasmian fresco from Kazakly-Yatkan (fortress of Akcha-Khan Kala), 1st century BC-2nd century AD (from History of Uzbekistan)
Image 7Rabati Malik's portal on the road from Samarkand to Bukhara, 11th century (from History of Uzbekistan)
Image 8A veil-burning ceremony in Uzbek SSR as part of Soviet Hujum policies (from History of Uzbekistan)
Image 9Kalyan Minaret (Great Minaret) in Bukhara, 1127 (from History of Uzbekistan)
Image 10Map of Uzbek states in 1735 (from History of Uzbekistan)
Image 11Chor Minor madrasa, Bukhara, 1807 (from History of Uzbekistan)
Image 12A group of youth in Uzbekistan, 1995 (from History of Uzbekistan)
Image 13Turk officers during an audience with king Varkhuman of Samarkand 648–651 AD (Afrasiab murals) (from History of Uzbekistan)
Image 14The Silk Road extending from Southern Europe through Africa and Western Asia, to Central Asia, and eventually South Asia, until it reaches China, and Southeast Asia (from History of Uzbekistan)
Image 15Map of Uzbekistan (from History of Uzbekistan)
Image 16A parandja, a robe worn by women until it was banned in 1927. This example is made of velvet, silk threads, and handmade embroidery. Displayed at the Museum of Applied Arts in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. (from Culture of Uzbekistan)
Image 17Djamolidine Abdoujaparov is the most famous cyclist in Uzbekistan, having won three Tour de France points classifications. Abdoujaparov is also one of the world's fastest cyclists. (from Culture of Uzbekistan)
Image 18Fayaz Tepe, Standing Buddha Uzbekistan (from History of Uzbekistan)
Image 19Russian troops taking Samarkand in 1868, by Nikolay Karazin (from History of Uzbekistan)
Image 20Skull of Teshik-Tash Neanferthal child (from History of Uzbekistan)
Image 21Triumphant crowd at Registan, Sher-Dor Madrasah. The Emir of Bukhara viewing the severed heads of Russian soldiers on poles. Painting by Vasily Vereshchagin (1872). (from History of Uzbekistan)
Image 22A group of Uzbek elders, 1890–1896 (from History of Uzbekistan)
Image 23Kushan Prince, Dalverzin-Tepe, 1st century AD, Uzbekistan, Museum of the History of the Peoples of Uzbekistan (from History of Uzbekistan)
Image 24The pharmacy building in Bukhara is a fine example of Uzbek architecture influenced by the Russian Empire. (from History of Uzbekistan)
Image 25The Defence of the Samarkand Citadel in 1868. From the Russian illustrated magazine Niva (1872). (from History of Uzbekistan)