Khujand
| Khujand Хуҷанд |
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 Khujand
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| Coordinates: 40°17′00″N 69°37′00″E / 40.2833333°N 69.6166667°E | |
| Country |  Tajikistan |
| Province | Sughd |
| Area | |
| • Total | 40 km2 (20 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 300 m (1,000 ft) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 165,000 |
| Area code(s) | 00 992 3422 |
| Website | www.khujand.tj |
Khujand (Tajik: Хуҷанд,خجند) (Greek: Alexandria Eschate (Ἀλεξάνδρεια Ἐσχάτη)), also transliterated as Khudzhand, Russian: Худжанд, formerly Khodjend or Khodzhent until 1936 and Leninabad (Leninobod, Ленинобод, لنینآباد) until 1991, is the second-largest city of Tajikistan. It is situated on the Syr Darya River at the mouth of the Fergana Valley. The population of the city is 149,000 (2000 census), down from 160,000 in 1989. It is also the capital of the northernmost province of Tajikistan, now called Sughd.
The population in the city and the countryside around it, are heavily Persian speaking. Except for the towns of Kasan and Akhsikat in the Uzbek northeastern Fergana valley, and the town of Baghistan, northeast of Tashkent, city of Khujand is the most northerly Persian-speaking city in the world.
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[edit] History
This is the site of Cyropolis, or the City of Cyrus. In his last expedition against the Saka tribe of Massagetae and shortly before his death in that battle, king Cyrus the Great the founder of the Persian Empire founded a city here which he named after himself. Greek authors maintain that later in time, Alexander of Macedon built a Greek settlement near Cyropolis (Khujand) in 329 BC and named it Alexandria Eschate (Ἀλεξάνδρεια Ἐσχάτη) or "Alexandria The Furthest". It would have formed a bastion for the Greek settlers against the Scythian tribes to the north of the Syr Darya, which the Greeks called the Jaxartes River. It became a major staging point on the northern Silk Road. Some famous Persian poets and scientists come from this city. Khujand is an integral part of the Iranic world and culture.
Khujand was captured by the Muslim armies in the 8th century and incorporated into the Abbasid Caliphate In late 9th century, however, it reverted to local rule and eventually incorporated into the native Samanid empire. In AD 1220, it strongly resisted the Mongol hordes and was thus laid to waste. In the 14th century, the city was part of the ChagatayIlkhanate of Central Asia, only to be incorporated into the Timurids realm in the late 14th century. The Shaybanid dynasty of Bukhara next annexed Khojand, lasting until its takeover by the Kokand Khanate in 1802. In 1866, as most of Central Asia was occupied by Russian Empire, the city became part of the Russian Governorate of Turkestan and then Soviet Union until 1991. In the 1940s, it was incorporated into the Soviet Republic of Tajikistan (Tadzhik S.S.R.). With independence of Tajikistan, Khujand is now the second largest city in that nation.
The city was renamed Leninabad on October 27, 1939, and re-established on December 23, 1970. It reverted to its original name in 1992 after the breakup of the Soviet Union, and is now in the republic of Tajikistan.
[edit] Climate
Khujand experiences a temperate desert climate (Köppen BWk) with long, hot summers and short, cool winters.
| Climate data for Khujand | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 3.5 (38.3) |
6.2 (43.2) |
13.8 (56.8) |
21.9 (71.4) |
28.6 (83.5) |
34.2 (93.6) |
35.5 (95.9) |
32.4 (90.3) |
28.8 (83.8) |
20.6 (69.1) |
12.3 (54.1) |
5.6 (42.1) |
20.28 (68.51) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −3.2 (26.2) |
−1.8 (28.8) |
4.2 (39.6) |
10.7 (51.3) |
15.5 (59.9) |
19.6 (67.3) |
21.2 (70.2) |
18.8 (65.8) |
13.6 (56.5) |
8.1 (46.6) |
3.4 (38.1) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
9.13 (48.44) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 15.1 (0.594) |
15.4 (0.606) |
24.9 (0.98) |
26.8 (1.055) |
20.1 (0.791) |
8.6 (0.339) |
3.9 (0.154) |
1.2 (0.047) |
3.2 (0.126) |
14.9 (0.587) |
15.7 (0.618) |
17.3 (0.681) |
167.1 (6.579) |
| Avg. precipitation days | 11.4 | 11.0 | 12.7 | 12.6 | 12.0 | 6.3 | 4.1 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 6.8 | 7.4 | 10.4 | 100.5 |
| Source: World Meteorological Organisation (UN) [1] | |||||||||||||
[edit] Sister cities
Shymkent, Kazakhstan
Bukhara, Uzbekistan- Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Orenburg, Russia
Nishapur, Iran- Tabriz, Iran
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "World Weather Information Service – Khujand". United Nations. http://worldweather.wmo.int/110/c00910.htm. Retrieved 05 January 2011.
[edit] Sources
- This article incorporates information from this version of the equivalent article on the Russian Wikipedia.
- Hill, John E. 2004. The Peoples of the West from the Weilue 魏略 by Yu Huan 魚豢: A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265. Draft annotated English translation. [1] (See under the heading for "Northern Wuyi").
[edit] External links
- Official website (Russian)
- http://www.angelfire.com/pe/rudaki/khujand.html (Russian)
- Khujand travel guide
- http://www.greatestcities.com/Asia/Tajikistan/Khujand_formerly_Leninabad_city.html
- OpenStreetMap
- MSN Map — elevation = 325m
Coordinates: 40°17′N 69°38′E / 40.283°N 69.633°E
