Beruniy ( uz, Beruniy/Беруний; kaa, Biruniy/Бируний; russian: Беруни) is a city in the autonomous republic of

Karakalpakstan Karakalpakstan, / officially the Republic of Karakalpakstan, / is an autonomous republic of Uzbekistan. It occupies the whole northwestern part of Uzbekistan. The capital is Nukus (' / ). The Republic of Karakalpakstan has an area of , and ...

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...

. It is located on the northern bank of the

Amu Darya The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin name or Greek ) is a major river in Central Asi ...

near Uzbekistan's border with

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

. The city is the seat of Beruniy District. Historically, Beruniy was known as Kath (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

/ fa, کاث; modern uz, Kos) and served as the capital of

Khwarazm Khwarazm (; Old Persian: ''Hwârazmiya''; fa, خوارزم, ''Xwârazm'' or ''Xârazm'') or Chorasmia () is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, bordered on the north by the (former) Aral Sea, on the ea ...

during the

Afrighid dynasty The Afrighids ( Khwarazmian: ''ʾfryḡ'') were a native Khwarezmian IranianClifford Edmund Bosworth, The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual, Columbia University, 1996. dynasty who ruled over the ancient kingdom of Kh ...

. In 1957, it was renamed "Beruniy" in honor of the medieval scholar and polymath

Al-Biruni Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (973 – after 1050) commonly known as al-Biruni, was a Khwarazmian Iranian in scholar and polymath during the Islamic Golden Age. He has been called variously the "founder of Indology", "Father of Co ...

who was born here. Beruniy received city status in 1962. Beruniy is an important industrial city in Karakalpakstan. It is home to an asphalt plant, a brick factory, a cotton plant, and a shoe factory. There are also many textile factories.

History

Beruniy was the capital of Khwarezm from the time of the

around 305 CE, replacing the old capital of

Toprak-Kala Toprak-Kala, in modern Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan, was an ancient palace city and the capital of in Chorasmia in the 2nd/3rd century CE, where wall paintings, coins and archives were discovered. Its history covers a period from the 1st to the 5th ...

. At that time it was known as Kath (modern uz, Kos). The city underwent many name changes, including Fil and Shobboz. In 1957, it was renamed Beruniy in honor of the scholar and polymath Abū Rayḥān al-Bīrūnī who was born and raised in the town. Beruniy received the status of a city in 1962. In 1969,

Amu Darya River The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin name or Greek ) is a major river in Central Asi ...

overflew its banks. As a result, several buildings in Beruniy were badly damaged. However, they were quickly repaired.

Geography

Beruniy is located on the northern bank of the

near Uzbekistan's border with

. By road it is west of

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of 2 ...

and northeast of Khiva.

Climate

Beruniy has a

cold desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(

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 ...

''BWk'') with sharp

continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continent, the major landmasses of Earth * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' ( ...

influences. It has cold winters and hot summers. The average July temperature is . The mean temperature in January is .

Demographics

In 2016, Beruniy had a population of 55,900.

Economy

Beruniy is an important industrial city in

. It is home to an asphalt plant, a brick factory, a cotton plant, and a shoe factory. There are also many textile factories.

Education

Beruniy is home to 14 secondary schools, a music school and an athletic school.

References

{{Karakalpakstan Cities in Uzbekistan Populated places in Karakalpakstan