Andijan (also Andijon, Andizhan, Andizan, Андижан) is a city of western Uzbekistan. Population 303,000. It is the capital of the province of the Andijon Province .

Geography

Andijan is located in the Ferghana Valley, near the border with Kyrgyzstan on the Andijan-Say River .

History

Andijan was an important stop on the Silk Road, lying roughly mid-way between Kashgar and Khodjend. It is best known as the birthplace of Zahiruddin Babur, the founder of the Mughal Dynasty in India, in 1483. He was fond of the place, and wrote in his memoirs that

"Game and Sporting birds are plentiful in Andijan. The Pheasants get extremely fat, and it is said that not even four people can finish eating a stew made from just one" The Baburnama Ed. & Trans. Wheeler M. Thackston (New York) 2002 p4

He is also very complimentary about the melons and apricots.

Andijan was seized by Russia in 1876, in the course of a campaign led by General Skobelev to suppress an insurrection directed against the Khan of Kokand, and became part of the new Ferghana Oblast. In 1898 it was the scene of another uprising, this time against the Russians, led by an Ishan from the nearby village of Min-Tyube. A thousand of his Murids attacked the Russian garrison in the early hours of the morning, killing a few soldiers, but the rebellion was easily suppressed. In 1902 most of Andijan was levelled by a severe earthquake, and consequently there are few buildings of interest.

Economy

Andijan is an industrial center in an irrigated area that produces fruits, cotton and silk.