Özgön ( ky, Өзгөн) or Uzgen (russian: Узген) is a town in

Osh Region Osh Region ( ky, Ош облусу, translit=Osh oblusu; russian: Ошская область, Oshskaya oblast) is a region (''oblast'') of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Osh, which is not part of the region. It is bounded by (clockwise) Jalal-Abad Re ...

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...

. It is a city of district significance and the seat of

Özgön District Özgön or Uzgen ( ky, Өзгөн району) is a district of Osh Region in south-western Kyrgyzstan. Its area is , and its resident population was 282,981 in 2021.> The capital lies at Özgön (Uzgen). Demographics As of 2009, Özgön District ...

. Its population was 62,802 in 2021.

History

The town is mentioned in Chinese annals of the second century BC. It was one of the capitals of the

Karakhanids The Kara-Khanid Khanate (; ), also known as the Karakhanids, Qarakhanids, Ilek Khanids or the Afrasiabids (), was a Turkic khanate that ruled Central Asia in the 9th through the early 13th century. The dynastic names of Karakhanids and Ilek ...

, who called it Mavarannahr and left three well-preserved

mausolea A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or Chamber tomb, burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum ...

. Özgön became the abode of Muhammad b. Nasr during the Kara-Khanid split into two branches. Uzgen Minaret

Accounts of Özgön were found in the works of Arab writers like Al-Muqaddasi and Ibn Hawqal in the 10th century.

Population

Geography

Özgön is located at the far eastern end of the

Ferghana Valley The Fergana Valley (; ; ) in Central Asia lies mainly in eastern Uzbekistan, but also extends into southern Kyrgyzstan and northern Tajikistan. Divided into three republics of the former Soviet Union, the valley is ethnically diverse and in the ...

, upstream of the point where the

Kara-Darya The Kara Darya ( ky, Кара-Дарыя, Kara-Daryya, قارا-دارىيا; uz, Qoradaryo, ''Қорадарё'', قارەدەريا , russian: Карадарья, Karadar'ya - literally ''black river'')''Darya'' means "river", so Kara Darya '' ...

enters the valley. It is 30 miles northeast of

Osh Osh (Kyrgyz: Ош, romanised Osh; uz, O‘sh/Ўш) is the second-largest city in Kyrgyzstan, located in the Fergana Valley in the south of the country and often referred to as the "capital of the south". It is the oldest city in the country (e ...

, and 20 miles southeast of

Jalal-Abad Jalal-Abad (also spelled Dzhalal-Abad, Djalal-Abat, Jalalabat; ky, Жалал-Aбат, ''Calal-Abat/Jalal-Abat'', جالال-ابات, ) is the administrative and economic centre of Jalal-Abad Region in southwestern Kyrgyzstan. Its area is , and ...

on the banks of the

, on its right side.

Climate

Özgön has a hot summer Mediterranean continental climate (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Dsa''). Summers are hot and dry. Precipitation occurs mostly in winter and its adjacent months.

Famous people

1494-Abubekr Duglat attempting unsuccessfully to take Uzgend th

Salizhan Sharipov Salizhan Shakirovich Sharipov (russian: Салижан Шакирович Шарипов, uz, Solijon Shokirovich Sharipov, ) (born 24 August 1964) is a Kyrgyzstani cosmonaut of Uzbek descent. Sharipov is a co-author and investigator for the Adv ...

, born in 1964, astronaut One of the middle/high schools of Özgön was named after him.

References

External links

ÖZGÄND
Encyclopædia Iranica Archaeological sites in Kyrgyzstan Populated places in Osh Region {{Osh-geo-stub