Jizzakh

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Jizzakh (also spelt Jizzax, Djizak and Джизак) is a city (pop 126,400 in 1999) and the capital of Jizzakh Province in central Uzbekistan, northwest of Samarkand. It is located at latitude 40° 6' 57 N; longitude 67° 50' 32E, at an altitude of 378 meters.

Jizzakh was an important Silk Road junction on the road connecting Samarkand with Fergana Valley. It is at the edge of the Hungry Steppe, and next to the strategic Pass of Jilanuti (Tamerlane's Gate) in the Turkistan Mountains, controlling the approach to the Zeravshan Valley, Samarkand and Bukhara.

The name “Jizzahk”, derives from the Sogdian word for “small fort”, and the present city is built of the site of the Sogdian town of Usrushana. After the Arab conquest of Sogdiana, Jizzakh served as a market town between the nomadic raiders and settled farmers. The Arabs built a series of rabats (blockhouses) at Jizzakh, housing ghazis to protect the people. By the 19th century, these blockhours had evolved into a major fortress for the Emirate of Bukhara. Russian General Chernaiev, the “Lion of Tashkent” failed in his first attempt to take Jizzakh, but succeed in his second try, with a loss of 6 men, against 6000 dead for the defenders. The old town was mostly destroyed, its remaining inhabitants evicted, and Russian settlers brought in.

In 1916, Jizzakh was the center of an anti-Russian uprising, which was quickly suppressed. In 1917, Jizzakh most famous native son, Sharaf Rashidovich Rashidov, future Secretary of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan, was born.

Modern Jizzakh is quietly tree-lined European, with almost nothing remaining of the pre-Rashidov era. The city has two universities, with a total of approximately 7,000 students, and is home to a football team, Sogdiana Jizzakh, which plays in the Uzbek Leagure (Oliy Liga).

Main Tourist Sights