Khujand Khujand Lyle Odelein Category="Cities in Tajikistan"Khujand (Russian: Ходженд, formerly Leninabad), also transliterated as Khojand, Khudjand, Khudzhand, and Khodjend, is a city on the Syr Darya at the mouth of the Fergana Valley, and also gives its name to the northernmost region of the Republic of Tajikistan. Its (1991) population was 164,000.

Administration

The region consists of 8 towns, 14 districts, 20 settlements and 93 villages.

History

There are a group of historians who claim that Alexander of Macedon founded a Greek settlement in the place of today's Khujand in 329 BC called the city of Alexandria Eschate or "Alexandria The Furthest" - modern Khujand. It would have formed a bastion for the Greek settlers against the Scythian tribes to the north of the Syr Darya, which the Greeks called the Jaxartes River. It became a major staging point on the northern Silk Route.

During much of its history Khujand like the rest of Central Asia was a part of the Persian Empire and its history is a part of the Persian history. Some of the famous Persian poets and scientists come from this city.

Khujand was ruined by the Arabs in the eighth century and strongly resisted the Mongol hordes five centuries later. In the year of 1866 Central Asia was occupied by Russia pushing back the borders of Persia and the local Khanates.

Between 1924 and 1929, the city was part of Uzbekistan. The city was renamed Leninabad on October 27, 1939, and re-established on December 23, 1970. It reverted to its original name in 1992 after the breakup of the Soviet Union, and is now in the state of Tajikistan.

Geography

Area: 261,000 sq. km.

The region shares a border with Jizakh, Namangan, Samarkand and Fergana regions of Uzbekistan, and Osh region of Kyrgyzstan. The Syr Darya river flows through it.

References