Tashkent

Tashkent was built around 190 B.C. It has grown from a small ancient settlement to become one of the largest metropolitan areas in Central Asia. The freedom loving population of Uzbekistan has fought for its independence continuously against all foreign invasions throughout the centuries. It emerged as an important trading center after the campaigns of Alexander the Great as it was located on the crossroads of the Great Silk Route. The earliest known people who settled down in Tashkent were the Indo-Iranians. Buddhism had also reached and made its mark in the middle ages but after the Arab campaigns of the eighth century, Islam replaced Buddhism as the dominant religion. By the tenth century, Tashkent had become an important center in the Muslim world. In the fourteenth century, Timur Lang created a vast empire around Tashkent. After his death, Shahbani Khan took over and the rule of the Uzbeks started until the Russians dominated in the middle of the nineteenth century. It has now gone back to the Uzbeks after a long struggle. The Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Lal Bahadur Shastri, died here while visiting for a conference in January 1966.