Uzbekistan
History: Uzbekistan occupies the heart of the area of Central Asia historically known as Turkestan. Some of the earliest known inhabitants of this region were Indo-Iranians, who are thought to have migrated to the region around the second millennium b.c. By the 4th century b.c., after the campaigns of Alexander the Great, trade along the Silk Road increased, and the area emerged as an important trading center; cultural contact intensified, and a variety of religions flourished.
After the Arab campaigns of the 7th and 8th centuries, Islam replaced Buddhism as the dominant religion, and by the 10th century the area had become an important center in the Muslim world. The Mongols, led by Genghis Khan, invaded in the 13th century and caused great destruction. During this time, migrations of nomadic Turks from the northern steppe areas increased. In the late 14th century the tribal prince Timur (Tamerlane) created a vast empire with Samarkand as its capital, but the political stability he established crumbled after his death. Shaibani Khan, in the early 1500s, led a major invasion by Uzbek tribes from the north. From this time on, Uzbeks dominated the political life of central Turkestan. Three independent khanates, centered in Bukhara, Khiva, and Kokand, dominated Turkestan between the 16th and the 19th century. But by the second half of the 19th century, Russian forces had subjugated the khanates, which were annexed or made into protectorates. Toshkent became the administrative center of Turkestan, and a colonial relationship was established. Cotton began to supplant other crops.
