History UsefulNotes / Uzbekistan

Their glory came to an abrupt end when the Mongols invaded in the 13th century and basically reduced Transoxiana to rubble. The Chagatai Khanate emerged from the Mongol Empire, but was conquered shortly thereafter by the most important person to hail from Transoxiana: UsefulNotes/TimurTheLame, a Turk-Persian who had the ambition to restore the Mongol Empire. He embarked on a conquest of Central Asia, the Iranian Plateau, and the Middle East in the 14th century and encouraged/forced many artisans and scholars to come to Samarkand. Like his inspiration's dominion, Timur's empire fractured not long after his death. Still, Central Asians, especially Uzbeks, regard him as a national hero, credited for rebuilding Central Asia after the Mongol devastation. In the 16th century, Transoxiana was ruled by three principal khanates: Kokand in the Fergana valley, Bukhara in the Sogdian heartland, and Khiva in Khwarezm. UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia invaded in the 19th century, though they were content enough to turn Bukhara and Khiva into protectorates.

Among the legacies of the Soviets was the promotion of separate ethnicities for the Central Asians. Before the 20th century, ethnicity was a rather fluid concept in the region and people were differentiated mostly by way of life (settled vs nomadic). The Uzbeks were quite enthusiastic in playing along, since they have the strongest identity among Central Asian Turks and have been a settled community far longer than the others. The other, unfortunate, legacy, was the rapid disappearance and desertification of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aral_Sea Aral Sea]], thanks to a futile plan to make the Kyzylkum desert into an agricultural area. This never-rectified disaster forced a large-scale evacuation not only because of the loss of the region's fishing industry, but also because the area is slowly turning into [[DeathWorld a poisonous salt marsh]].

->The flag's sky blue, white and green stripes symbolize the skies and water, peace and purity, and hope and joy, respectively; the red fimbriations symbolize the blood that flows in every human; the crescent at the canton is a Turkic symbol; and the twelve stars denote the months of the year, as well as the astronomical achievements of the land during the Islamic Age.

* '''Highest point:''' Khazret Sultan (4643 m/15,233 ft) (34th)

Uzbekistan, officially known as the Republic of Uzbekistan ('''Uzbek:''' ''Oʻzbekiston Respublikasi'') is a Central Asian country, formerly part of the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet Union]]. It shares borders with UsefulNotes/{{Kazakhstan}} to the west and to the north, UsefulNotes/{{Kyrgyzstan}} and UsefulNotes/{{Tajikistan}} to the east, and UsefulNotes/{{Afghanistan}} and UsefulNotes/{{Turkmenistan}} to the south, being the only one to border all five. It's also one of the only two countries in the world, alongside UsefulNotes/{{Liechtenstein}}, to be doubly-landlocked (i.e. you need to cross two states to find sea).

* '''Highest point:''' Khazret Sultan (4643 m/15,233 ft) (53rd)

* '''Country calling code:''' 41

* '''ISO-3166-1 Code:''' UZ