Margilan (, , ) is a city in eastern Uzbekistan's Fergana Region. As of the 2024 census, its population was 253,500.
Margilan is located in the south of the Fergana Valley, where trade caravans from China traveled westwards and vice versa during the days of the Silk Road. Margilan has been renowned for its silk goods as far back as the 10th century.
According to legend, Margilan was founded by Alexander the Great. While stopping for lunch there, he was given chicken (murgh; in ) and bread (nan; in Persian: ), from which the town took its name. More reliable records indicate that by the 9th century Margilan was an important stop on the Silk Road, along the route going across the Alay Mountains to Kashgar.
In the early 16th century Babur, the founder of the Mughal dynasty, mentioned that "the pomegranates and apricots are superb .... the game in Margilan is good; white deer may be found nearby. The people are Sarts. They are a feisty people, ready with their fists. The custom of exorcism is widespread throughout Transoxiana, and most of the renowned exorcists of Samarkand and Bukhara are Margilanis. The author of the Hidaya (Burhan al-Din al-Marghinani) was from a Margilan village called Rishtan". This reputation for toughness extends to modern times. Margilan merchants were key players in Central Asian commerce, and were said to be a law unto themselves during Soviet days, when the city was the heart of Uzbekistan's black market. Margilan today is also a stronghold of conservative Islam, as is much of the Fergana Valley.
History
In antiquity
There is a legend about the origin of the name of the city, associated with the invasion of Alexander the Great. Local residents, having learned of Alexander's intention to visit their city, prepared a red carpet for him. One of the elders of the town offered to welcome the guest with chicken and bread. After the feast, Alexander the Great asked what the dish was called. He was answered: "Murjinon", which means "chicken and bread". On his way back, he tasted the dish again and then called the place "Murjinon". Since then, the city has been named Margilan.
Margilan is one of the ancient cities of the Fergana Valley. In 1994-2004, employees of the Institute of Archaeology of Uzbekistan worked in the city, which revealed the existence of irrigated agriculture in Margilan oasis since no later than IV-III centuries BC.
The settlement appeared in the II-I centuries BC, when one of the roads of Silk Road passed through Fergana. In the sources the settlement is known from the 9th century. The name Margilan has been known since the 10th century.
It is reliably known that Alexander the Great was not in Fergana, and the extreme point of his expansion in Central Asia was the city of Khujand. Near or on its place he erected the fortress-city of Alexandria Eschate.
During World War II, in 1942, the 9th Infantry Division of the Polish Anders' Army was stationed and organized in Margilan, before it was evacuated from Uzbekistan to fight against Nazi Germany. There is a Polish military cemetery in Margilan.
Margilan Silk Factory
Margilan Silk Factory is a huge, state-run facility for industrial silk production. At its peak, it employed 15,000 workers, who produced up to 22 million square metres of silk each year.
The Kumtepa Bazaar
The Kumtepa Bazaar is one of the most vibrant markets in Central Asia. It takes place on Sundays and Thursdays in a location 5 kilometers west of the city centre, and offers textiles, fresh produce, and household goods.
Khonakhan Mosque
The Khonakhan Mosque (also known as the Khonaqoh Mosque) was built in the 16th century and has been renovated by the Ministry of Culture. The mosque has two impressive minarets, each 26 meters high, and original carved wooden pillars made from cedar by master craftsmen in Margilan.
Margelan, according to the general population census of the Russian Empire, conducted on January 28 (February 9), 1897 by direct survey of the entire population on the same date, in accordance with the "Regulations on the First General Population Census of the Russian Empire" approved by the Emperor of Russia in 1895, was one of the major cities of Central Asia.thumb|Pur Siddik in Margilan, Uzbekistan
thumb|Margilan, Uzbekistan
See also
- Nurkhon Yuldasheva