Fergana

File:32 Скобелев. Губернаторская ул.jpg

Fergana first appears in written records in the 5th-century. However, archeological evidence demonstrates that the city had been populated since the Chalcolithic period. Like many other Central Asian places in the sixth and seventh-centuries, Fergana was ruled by the Western Turkic Khaganate. Although it was still predominantly inhabited by eastern Iranians, many Turks had also started to settle there.{{sfn|Bosworth|1999}} The city of Fergana was refounded in 1876 as a garrison town and colonial appendage to Margilan ({{convert|13+1/2|mi|km|0|abbr=off|order=flip|disp=or}} to the northwest) by the Russian Empire.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

Fergana Region is one of the centers of ancient culture in Uzbekistan. Photographs of Stone Age settlements and rocks found in the area show that stone tools have been used by people in the valley since ancient times. Excavations of the Great Fergana Canal have played an important role in the study of archaeological monuments in the region. During the excavation of the canal, monuments from the Bronze Age, slavery and land ownership were discovered and studied. Finds from the 5th century BC and early medieval period in the town of Quva are well studied. Historical sources from the 10th to 11th century state that this city was the largest and most prosperous in the valley after Akhsikath. Archaeological materials confirm that the city of Margilan was a large village in the 10th century and took on the appearance of a hamlet in the 11th and 12th centuries.

The monuments found in the settlements of the Chust culture, engaged in sedentary agriculture and animal husbandry, are important for the study of the Fergana Valley. Archaeological excavations show that the Fergana Region has long been inhabited by people engaged in hunting, farming, animal husbandry, and at later stages of the existence of human society, culture began to develop.

It was initially named New Margelan ({{langx|ru|Новый Маргелан}}), then renamed Skobelov ({{lang|ru|Скобелев}}) in 1907 after the first Russian military governor of the Fergana Valley, Mikhail Skobelev. In 1924, after the Soviet Union's reconquest of the region from the Basmachi movement, the name was changed to Fergana, after the province of which it was the centre.Dates of renaming taken from Adrian Room, Placenames of the World: Origins and Meanings of the Names for Over 5000 Natural Features, Countries, Capitals, Territories, Cities and Historical Sites, McFarland, 1997, {{ISBN|0-7864-1814-1}} (pbk) p.124

During World War I, the city was the location of a Russian prisoner-of-war camp for German and Austro-Hungarian POWs, including ethnic Polish conscripts, many of whom died to typhus.{{cite journal|last=Sula|first=Dorota|year=2017|title=Pomoc Polakom – jeńcom w Imperium Rosyjskim w okresie I wojny światowej|journal=Łambinowicki rocznik muzealny|location=Opole|language=pl|volume=40|page=94|issn=0137-5199}}

The industrial base of Fergana was developed in the 20th century. Industry in the city included textile manufacturing and a nitric fertiliser plant. Some of the industrial development was a result of Evacuation in the Soviet Union during World War II.

Fergana has been a center for oil production in the Fergana Valley since the region's first oil refinery was built near the city in 1908. Since then, more refineries have been added, and Fergana is one of the most important centers of oil refining in Uzbekistan. Natural gas from western Uzbekistan is transported by pipeline to the valley, where it is used to manufacture fertilizer. The Great Fergana Canal, built almost entirely by hand during the 1930s, passes through the northern part of the city and was completed in 1939. During its construction, the canal and the city were widely photographed by the noted photographer Max Penson. With a western loan Fergana is able to modernize its refinery and also reduce air pollution{{Cite web|url=http://www.ebrd.com/new/pressrel/1997/03jan20x.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071213080825/http://www.ebrd.com/new/pressrel/1997/03jan20x.htm|url-status=dead|title=Uzbekistan's Fergana Refinery is upgraded with EBRD finance [EBRD - Press Release]|archivedate=December 13, 2007|website=www.ebrd.com}} emissions.

Fergana has a cool arid climate (Köppen BWk). Winters are cold and short, with a daily average low temperature of {{convert|−2.6|°C|°F|1|abbr=on}} and a daily average high of {{convert|4.8|°C|°F|1|abbr=on}} in January; summers are hot, with an average low temperature of {{Convert|20.6|°C|°F|1|abbr=on}} and an average high of {{Convert|35.1|°C|°F|1|abbr=on}} in July. Annual precipitation is less than {{convert|188.1|mm|in|0|disp=or}}, and most of this falls in winter and spring.

{{Weather box

|width = auto

|location=Fergana (1991-2020, extremes 1881-present)

|metric first=yes

|single line=yes

|Jan record high C = 16.3

|Feb record high C = 23.1

|Mar record high C = 29.0

|Apr record high C = 34.4

|May record high C = 39.2

|Jun record high C = 41.3

|Jul record high C = 42.2

|Aug record high C = 41.4

|Sep record high C = 37.1

|Oct record high C = 32.6

|Nov record high C = 29.0

|Dec record high C = 17.6

|year record high C = 42.2

|Jan high C = 4.8

|Feb high C = 8.0

|Mar high C = 15.4

|Apr high C = 22.5

|May high C = 28.1

|Jun high C = 33.2

|Jul high C = 35.1

|Aug high C = 33.9

|Sep high C = 29.2

|Oct high C = 21.4

|Nov high C = 12.9

|Dec high C = 6.3

|year high C =

|Jan mean C = 0.5

|Feb mean C = 3.2

|Mar mean C = 9.9

|Apr mean C = 16.3

|May mean C = 21.4

|Jun mean C = 25.9

|Jul mean C = 27.8

|Aug mean C = 26.3

|Sep mean C = 21.2

|Oct mean C = 14.1

|Nov mean C = 7.1

|Dec mean C = 1.9

|year mean C =

|Jan low C = -2.6

|Feb low C = -0.5

|Mar low C = 5.3

|Apr low C = 10.6

|May low C = 15.0

|Jun low C = 18.7

|Jul low C = 20.6

|Aug low C = 19.1

|Sep low C = 14.3

|Oct low C = 8.4

|Nov low C = 2.8

|Dec low C = -1.2

|year low C =

|Jan record low C = -25.8

|Feb record low C = -25.5

|Mar record low C = -17.9

|Apr record low C = -4.8

|May record low C = 1.2

|Jun record low C = 7.4

|Jul record low C = 10.1

|Aug record low C = 7.8

|Sep record low C = 0.5

|Oct record low C = -7.4

|Nov record low C = -22.8

|Dec record low C = -27.0

|year record low C = -27.0

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 16.0

|Feb precipitation mm = 21.6

|Mar precipitation mm = 25.1

|Apr precipitation mm = 22.5

|May precipitation mm = 21.4

|Jun precipitation mm = 13.6

|Jul precipitation mm = 4.5

|Aug precipitation mm = 3.8

|Sep precipitation mm = 4.0

|Oct precipitation mm = 13.9

|Nov precipitation mm = 18.9

|Dec precipitation mm = 22.0

|year precipitation mm =

|Jan rain days = 4

|Feb rain days = 7

|Mar rain days = 10

|Apr rain days = 10

|May rain days = 13

|Jun rain days = 10

|Jul rain days = 8

|Aug rain days = 5

|Sep rain days = 4

|Oct rain days = 6

|Nov rain days = 7

|Dec rain days = 6

|year rain days =

|Jan snow days = 7

|Feb snow days = 5

|Mar snow days = 1

|Apr snow days = 0.1

|May snow days = 0.03

|Jun snow days = 0.03

|Jul snow days = 0.03

|Aug snow days = 0

|Sep snow days = 0

|Oct snow days = 0.3

|Nov snow days = 1

|Dec snow days = 5

|year snow days = 19

|Jan humidity = 81

|Feb humidity = 76

|Mar humidity = 67

|Apr humidity = 61

|May humidity = 56

|Jun humidity = 48

|Jul humidity = 48

|Aug humidity = 52

|Sep humidity = 56

|Oct humidity = 66

|Nov humidity = 74

|Dec humidity = 82

|year humidity = 64

|Jan sun = 90.0

|Feb sun = 105.3

|Mar sun = 162.3

|Apr sun = 214.6

|May sun = 269.9

|Jun sun = 314.3

|Jul sun = 340.4

|Aug sun = 315.6

|Sep sun = 276.2

|Oct sun = 206.5

|Nov sun = 128.4

|Dec sun = 89.7

|year sun =

|source 1 =Pogoda.ru.net

{{cite web|url=http://www.pogodaiklimat.ru/climate.php?id=38618|script-title=ru:КЛИМАТ ФЕРГАНЫ|publisher=Pogoda.ru.net|language=ru|access-date=4 January 2015}}

|source 2 =NOAA{{cite web|title=Climate Normals for Fergana|url=https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-2-WMO-Normals-9120/Uzbekistan/CSV/Fergana_38618.csv|publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|access-date=1 November 2023}}

|date=November 2023

}}

As of January 1, 2014, the city had a population of 340,600,https://web.archive.org/web/20141014235825/http://www.stat.uz/upload/str2.jpg {{bare URL image|date=February 2024}} making it the 3rd largest city in the Fergana Valley.

The town was Russian for the first time after its foundation. In 1911 its population consisted of 11,892 people. Of them Russians were 7,534 (63%), Sarts were 2,590 (22%).Статистический обзор Ферганской области за 1911 год. Скобелев. 1914. According to the 1926 census, of the 14,275 inhabitants in the city, there were 7,942 Russians (55%), 667 were Ukrainians (4.6%), and 514 were Jews (3.6%), while there were only 3,011 Uzbeks (21.0%).Цыряпкина Ю. Н. Русские в Узбекистане: языковые практики и самоидентификации (на примере полевых исследований в Фергане)//Томский журнал лингвистических и антропологических исследований. 2015 год. № 3(9), с. 20

As of 2013, Fergana is virtually mono-ethnic - of the city's 350,600 residents, 316,268 are Uzbek (90.0%).

In addition to Uzbeks, 12,084 Russians (3.4%), 3,114 Tajiks (1.1%), 2,028 Koreans (0.7%), and 626 Tatars (0.2%) also live in Fergana. There are also Azerbaijanis, Armenians, Jews, Germans and representatives of other nations.

The population of Fergana city is approximately 321,800 as of 2024, was 314,400 as of 2023, and 299,200 as of 2022. Uzbeks are the largest ethnic group, with Russian-speakers comprising about 25% of the city's population.{{cite journal|author1=Flynn, Moya|author2=Kosmarskaya, Natalya|author3=Sabirova, Guzel|title=The Place of Memory in Understanding Urban Change in Central Asia: The Cities of Bishkek and Ferghana|journal=Europe-Asia Studies|volume=66|number=9|date=November 2014|pages=1501–1524|doi=10.1080/09668136.2014.957926|s2cid=153602375}}

File:Fergana Samo Sports Complex.jpg

Thanks to independence, Uzbek sport is developing. Sports are becoming more and more popular in all regions of the country. The fact that in recent years world and Asian champions in various sports have appeared in Fergana Region testifies to the fact that physical culture and sports are becoming more and more popular among Fergana residents, especially among the youth. In 1991 there were only 17 stadiums in Fergana region, now there are 46,759 football fields and 33 modern tennis courts. Many sports facilities have been built in Fergana, such as Istiklol tennis complex, Kimyogar complex, swimming pool and Istiklol stadium, equipped with equipment that fully meets the world standards.

• FC Neftchi Fergana
• FK Istiqlol Fergana

Fergana has a high proportion of Russians, Koreans and Tatars compared to other Fergana Valley cities. With its wide, tree-lined boulevards and Russian Empire-era buildings, and the Russian language spoken frequently on the streets, the city has a distinctly different feel from the rest of the region.{{Cite web|url=https://caravanistan.com/uzbekistan/ferghana-valley/fergana/|title=Fergana travel guide|website=Caravanistan|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-26}}

File:Church of St. Sergiuy Radonezhkogo in Fergana 02-01.jpg|Uzbeki Eastern Orthodox Church of Sergius of Radonezh

File:Chapel of Alexander Nevskogo 01-03.JPG|Chapel to Alexander Nevsky

File:Аллея в центре.jpg|City center

File:Фергана 2013.jpg|River

• Museum of Local Studies — with displays of natural history, photographs, and local handicrafts
• Regional Theatre — in 1877 the house of General Mikhail “Old Bloody Eyes” Skobelev
• Fergana State University — built in 1902

• Shamshad Abdullaev — male Soviet and post-Soviet Uzbek author and poet
• Anastasiya Miroshnichenko — female artistic gymnast
• Xudoyberdi To'xtaboyev — male Soviet and post-Soviet Uzbek author
• Ziroat Mirziyoyeva — First Lady of Uzbekistan
• Peter Mikhailovich Kulakov — male Soviet and post-Soviet television evangelist for the Seventh-day Adventist Church
• Ida Mayrin — Uzbek-Israeli Olympic rhythmic gymnast
• Yadgar Nasriddinova — female Soviet Uzbek engineer and member of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union
• Abdulla Qahhor — Soviet Uzbek writer
• Hamza Hakimzade Niyazi — Imperial Russian and Soviet poet and playwright
• Saida Mirziyoyeva — politician, eldest daughter of the President of Uzbekistan
• Furqat — poet in the Russian Empire exiled to Chinese Turkestan

• Babur
• Nurkhon Yuldashkhojayeva

• Hill, John E. (2009) Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty, 1st to 2nd Centuries CE. John E. Hill. BookSurge, Charleston, South Carolina. {{ISBN|978-1-4392-2134-1}}.
• Watson, Burton. Trans. 1993. Records of the Grand Historian of China: Han Dynasty II. Translated from the Shiji of Sima Qian. Chapter 123: "The Account of Dayuan," Columbia University Press. Revised Edition. {{ISBN|0-231-08166-9}}; {{ISBN|0-231-08167-7}} (pbk.)
• Jean-Marie Thiébaud, Personnages marquants d'Asie centrale, du Turkestan et de l'Ouzbékistan, Paris, L'Harmattan, 2004. {{ISBN|2-7475-7017-7}}.

{{reflist}}

• {{cite encyclopedia | title = Farḡāna | last = Bosworth | first = C. Edmund | authorlink = Clifford Edmund Bosworth| url = https://iranicaonline.org/articles/fargana | encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition | pages = | location = New York | year = 1999 }}

• [https://ferghana.uz/ Official website] {{in lang|uz}}
• [https://fergana.uz/site/setLang/en Official website] {{in lang|en}}

{{Fergana Region}}

{{Cities in Uzbekistan}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Populated places in Fergana Region

Category:Cities in Uzbekistan

Category:Populated places along the Silk Road

Category:Fergana Oblast