Introduction
Andijan is a city in Uzbekistan. It is the administrative, economic, and cultural center of Andijan Region. Andijan is located in the south-eastern edge of the Fergana Valley near Uzbekistan’s border with Kyrgyzstan. Andijan is one of the oldest cities in the Fergana Valley.
Andijan was an important stop on the Silk Road, lying roughly mid-way between Kashgar and Khodjend.
Destroyed by Genghis Khan, Andijan was rebuilt by his grandson Kaidu Khan in the late 13th century, and became the capital of Ferghana for the next three centuries.
Andijan is best known as the birthplace of Zahiruddin Babur, who founded the South Asian Mughal dynasty in 1483.
It is an industrial center in an irrigated area that produces fruits, cotton, and silk.
In the 18th century it became part of the khanate of Kokand.
Andijan is subject to frequent earth tremors and was leveled by an earthquake in 1902 that took more than 4,000 lives.
The city is traversed by numerous irrigation canals. It was a major stop on the caravan route between the Persian and Chinese empires.
Andijan was seized by Russia in 1876, and was later incorporated into the USSR’s Uzbek SSR.
Andijan is now a road and rail junction and has engineering, electro technical, textile, and food-processing industries. Its cultural assets include teacher-training, medical, and cotton-growing institutes, an Uzbek theatre of musical drama and comedy, a puppet theatre, and a museum.
The surrounding area is the most densely populated part of Uzbekistan. Several major irrigation canals provide water for crops of cotton, grapes, and fruit.
The region is also the main petroleum-producing area of Uzbekistan. Other industries are mainly concerned with processing raw cotton and other agricultural products. The industrial sector includes metal processing, chemical production, electro mechanics, cotton refinery, and food production for human and animal consumption.
The first car factory in Central Asia was established in Andijan region by an Uzbek-Korean joint enterprise.
Gas pipelines, passing over the Khanabad-Andijan-Asaka route and other parts of the valley operate reliably. Cultivation, mainly limited to the extensively irrigated parts of the valley (man-made canals) includes cotton, wheat, fruits and vegetables.
The animal breeding industry is dominated by horned cattle and silkworm breeding. Increasing and rationalizing agricultural production is a regional priority pursued by the government by prioritizing measures to modernize and expand local small and medium private enterprises, in line with local conditions and appropriate technologies. The government is also promoting the establishment of new enterprises in processing locally produced raw materials, notably cotton, silk, wool and other textiles.