Alexander of ancient Greece, the first ruler of the world, traveled through Uzbekistan on his campaign that took him all the way to India. Alexander’s Asian campaign started in 334 B.C.E with the conquering of Asia Minor. This included Egypt as well as the Phoenicians. He then set out to move against Persia, and after his success there, entered Central Asia in 329 B.C.E..

Moving through what is now Afghanistan, but called Bactria by the Read the rest of this entry »

Emir Timur, or Tamerlane as he is better known in the west, was a controversial figure of the 14th century whose bloody reign of terror reshaped the face of Asia for centuries. Born in a small town called Kesh, near Samarkand, in 1336 in what was then part of the Chagatai Khanate, now modern Uzbekistan, but scarce little else is known about his childhood and early adolescence.
This son of a minor chief would rise to control an Read the rest of this entry »

Genghis Khan was spurred on by his father’s poisoning at the hands of the Tartars under a flag of conciliation when he was just nine years old. Khan went on to become one of the most fearsome tribal leaders in history, but began with many early troubles. Until the age of 20 Khan had numerous problems with rival tribes including the kidnapping of his pregnant wife and his own capture and enslavement by the Taichi’uts.The whole Read the rest of this entry »

Samarqand, way station along the silk road, is an ancient city in Uzbekistan.

At the present day, the land-locked country of Uzbekistan is surrounded by the countries of Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. (Indeed, Uzbekistan has the distinction of being only one of two “double-landlocked” countries in the world, meaning that someone in Uzbekistan actually has to cross the borders of two countries before reaching the ocean.)

Samarqand, Read the rest of this entry »

On August 31st, 1991 Uzbekistan declared their independence from the former Soviet Union. This marked the end of a very tumultuous relationship with the Soviet Union. Uzbekistan is located Northeast of Iran and Northwest of India and Pakistan. The people of Uzbekistan are called Uzbeks and make up more than 80 of the total population. Other groups are Russians, Tajiks, and Tartars. Under the Soviet Union there were many disasters and general unrest. The Bolsheviks, the Read the rest of this entry »