About Uzbekistan

Historical documents of Uzbekistan are included in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register
28 May 2023
Historical documents of Uzbekistan are included in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register

Within the framework of the 216th meeting of the UNESCO Executive Board, held on May 10-24, two documents put forward by Uzbekistan were included in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.

Established by UNESCO in 1992, the Memory of the World Register is a program aimed at preventing the irreversible loss, preserving and making available to the public documents or sets of documents of significant and enduring value, whether on paper, in audiovisual, digital or electronic form, or in any other format. To date, the total number of collections included in the register has reached 494. At the 216th meeting of the Executive Committee of the organization, 64 sets of documents were adopted.

Among the documents provided by Uzbekistan are a collection of archives of the Kushbegin administration of the Bukhara Emirate and a complete collection of works by Mavlono, a poet, philosopher, scientist and theologian of the 13th century.

The collection of archives of the Kushbegin administration of the Bukhara Emirate is the largest archive of the rulers of Central Asia in Bukhara. It contains documents reflecting the historical events that took place on the territory of present Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and partly Afghanistan for over 200 years. The archive also contains important information about the diplomatic relations of the Emirate of Bukhara with Russia, Great Britain, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Japan, the USA, as well as the Khiva and Kokand khanates. Currently, the collection, stored in the Central State Archive of the Republic of Uzbekistan, consists of about 9.5 thousand folders and about 200 thousand individual documents written in Arabic, Persian, Uzbek, Chagatai, Russian and other languages.

“Mavlono Kulliyati” is a complete collection of works by the poet, philosopher, scholar and theologian Mavlono Jaloliddin Rumi, who was considered one of the great Sufi teachers who lived in the 13th century.

The collection includes the complete works of the philosopher - "Masnavi", "Diwan-e Shams", "Fihe ma fih" ("Competitions"), Majales-i Sab'a ("Seven Sermons"), Maktubat ("Letters") . All of Mavlono's works are written in Persian, but some of them also contain Arabic, Turkish and Greek expressions. They have been translated into many languages in thousands of handwritten copies around the world. These works are of great scientific importance for the study of the history and culture of the peoples of the eastern countries.

These collections of documents are of great importance for the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. First of all, the titles of works related to Uzbekistan and information about them were immortalized at the international level. In addition, their inclusion in the register will serve to increase the popularity of the above collections in the world, including in terms of the number of scientific studies on them.

Uzbekistan became a member of UNESCO back in 1993. The Convention of the organization on Protection of Cultural and Natural Heritage was ratified by Uzbekistan on 22 December 1995. So far, Ichan Kala, which is the inner town located in Khiva, city of Samarkand as “Crossroad of Cultures”, The Historic Center of Bukhara, Historic Center of Shakhrisabz, the Western Tian-Shan mountains, historical centers of Bukhara, Shakhrisabz and Chatkal Biosphere have been included to the UNESCO World Heritage List as a part of the agreement.

 

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Did you know?

Uzbekistan is one of only two countries in the world to be ‘double landlocked’ (landlocked and totally surrounded by other landlocked countries). Liechtenstein is double landlocked by 2 countries whilst Uzbekistan is surrounded by 5!

Did you know that Uzbekistan lies in the very heart of Eurasia, the coordinates for Uzbekistan are 41.0000° N, 69.0000°

Uzbekistan is home to the Muruntan gold mine, one of the largest open pit gold mines in the world! The country has 4th largest reserves of gold in the world after South Africa, USA and Russia

Uzbekistan is the world capital of melons. They have in excess of 150 different varieties, which form a staple part of the local diet, served fresh in the summer and eaten dried through the winter.

It is Uzbek tradition that the most respected guest be seated farthest from the house’s entrance.

Tashkent’s metro features chandeliers, marble pillars and ceilings, granite, and engraved metal. It has been called one of the most beautiful train stations in the world.

The Uzbek master chef is able to cook in just one caldron enough plov to serve a thousand men.

When you are a host to someone, it is your duty to fill their cups with for the whole time they are with you.  What you must not do, however, is to fill their cup more than half-full.  If you do that as a mistake, say it is a mistake immediately.  Doing it means you want them to leave.  Wow!  Amazing, right?

To Uzbeks, respect means a whole lot.  For this reason they love it if, even as foreigners, you endeavour to add the respectful suffix opa after a woman's name; and aka after a man's.  Example: Linda-opa and David-aka.  You could also use hon and jon respectively.

Having been an historic crossroads for centuries as part of various ancient empires, Uzbekistan’s food is very eclectic. It has its roots in Iranian, Arab, Indian, Russian and Chinese cuisine.

Though identified with the Persia, the Zoroastrism probably originated in Bactria or Sogdiana. Many distinguished scholars share an opinion that Zoroastrianism had originated in the ancient Khorezm. Indeed, today in the world there were found 63 Zoroastrian monuments, including those in Iran, India, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Thirty-eight of them are in Uzbekistan, whereas 17 of these monuments are located in Khorezm.

One of Islam's most sacred relics - the world's oldest Koran that was compiled in Medina by Othman, the third caliph or Muslim leader, is kept in Tashkent. It was completed in the year 651, only 19 years after Muhammad's death. 

Tashkent is the only megapolis in the world where public transport is totally comprised of Mercedes buses. And due to low urban air polution it is one of the few cities where one can still see the stars in the sky.

You would be surprised to know that modern TV was born in Tashkent. No joke! The picture of moving objects was transmitted by radio first time in the world in Tashkent on 26 of July 1928 by inventors B.P. Grabovsky and I.F. Belansky.

Uzbekistan is the only country in the world all of whose neighbours have their names ending in STAN. This is also the only country in Central Asia that borders all of the countries of this region

Uzbeks are the third populous Turkik ethnicity in the world after Turks and Azeris (leaving both in Azerbaijan and Iran)

Did you know that there was silk money in Khiva? Super interesting right? Of course, but the best part of having silk money was that it could be sewn into your clothing.

Famous Islamic physician Ibn Sina (Avicenna in the Latin world) who was born near Bukhara was the one of the first people to advocate using women’s hair as suture material – about 1400 years ago.

Uzbekistan has a long and bloody history. The most notorious leader of Uzbekistan was Timur (or Tamerlane) who claimed descent from Genghis Khan. His military campaigns have been credited for wiping out some 5% of the world’s population at the time.

If you have thought that some of the Islamic architecture in Uzbekistan resembles that from Northern India, then that is because Timur’s great great great Grandson, Babur Beg, was the founder of the Moghul Empire that ruled much of India for almost four centuries! Babur’s great great Grandson was Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal.

Uzbekistan was once a rum producig country. There is still a real arboretum in Denau (city near Termez on the border with Afghanistan), grown from a selection station that studied the prospects of plant growing in the unusual for the Soviet Union subtropical climate of Surkhandarya region: only here in the whole of the USSR sugar cane was grown and even rum was produced!

Uzbekistan has been ranked one of the safest countries in the world, according to a new global poll. The annual Gallup Global Law and Order asked if people felt safe walking at night and whether they had been victims of crime. The survey placed Uzbekistan 5th out of 135 countries, while the UK was 21st and the US 35th. Top five safest countries:

  • Singapore
  • Norway
  • Iceland
  • Finland
  • Uzbekistan
Exchange rates
100 RUR
13090.68 UZS
100 USD
1282297.99 UZS
100 EUR
1372587.06 UZS
100 GBP
1659165.7 UZS
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