Major Cultural and Economic Centres
Cities within the possible boundaries of Central Asia
| City | Country | Population | Image | Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Astana | Kazakhstan | 7005708794000000000708,794 (2010) |
The capital and second largest city in Kazakhstan. After Kazakhstan gained its independence in 1991, the city and the region were renamed Aqmola. The name was often translated as "White Tombstone", but actually means "Holy Place" or "Holy Shrine". The "White Tombstone" literal translation was too appropriate for many visitors to escape notice in almost all guide books and travel accounts. In 1994, the city was designated as the future capital of the newly independent country and again renamed to the present Astana after the capital was officially moved from Almaty in 1997. | |
| Almaty | Kazakhstan | 70061421868000000001,421,868 (2010) |
It was the capital of Kazakhstan (and its predecessor, the Kazakh SSR) from 1929 to 1998. Despite losing its status as the capital, Almaty remains the major commercial center of Kazakhstan. It is a recognised financial centre of Kazakhstan and the Central Asian region. | |
| Bishkek | Kyrgyzstan | 7005865527000000000865,527 (2009) |
The capital and the largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative center of Chuy Province, which surrounds the city, even though the city itself is not part of the province, but rather a province-level unit of Kyrgyzstan. | |
| Osh | Kyrgyzstan | 7005243216000000000243,216 (2009) |
The second largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Osh is also the administrative center of Osh Province, which surrounds the city, even though the city itself is not part of the province, but rather a province-level unit of Kyrgyzstan. | |
| Dushanbe | Tajikistan | 7005679400000000000679,400 (2008) |
The capital and largest city of Tajikistan. Dushanbe means "Monday" in Tajik and Persian, and the name reflects the fact that the city grew on the site of a village that originally was a popular Monday marketplace. | |
| Ashgabat | Turkmenistan | 7005909000000000000909,000 (2009) |
The capital and largest city of Turkmenistan. Ashgabat is a relatively young city, growing out of a village of the same name established by Russians in 1818. It is not far from the site of Nisa, the ancient capital of the Parthians, and it grew on the ruins of the Silk Road city of Konjikala, which was first mentioned as a wine-producing village in the 2nd century BCE and was leveled by an earthquake in the 1st century BCE (a precursor of the 1948 Ashgabat earthquake). Konjikala was rebuilt because of its advantageous location on the Silk Road, and it flourished until its destruction by Mongols in the 13th century CE. After that, it survived as a small village until the Russians took over in the 19th century. | |
| Bukhara | Uzbekistan | 7005237900000000000237,900 (1999) |
The nation's fifth-largest city and the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. Bukhara has been one of the main centres of Persian civilization from its early days in the 6th century BCE, and, since 12th century CE, Turkic speakers gradually moved in. Its architecture and archaeological sites form one of the pillars of Central Asian history and art. | |
| Kokand | Uzbekistan | 7005209389000000000209,389 (2011) |
Kokand (Uzbek: Qo‘qon / Қўқон; Tajik: Хӯқанд; Persian: خوقند; Chagatai: خوقند; Russian: Коканд) is a city in Fergana Province in eastern Uzbekistan, at the southwestern edge of the Fergana Valley. It has a population of 192,500 (1999 census estimate). Kokand is 228 km southeast of Tashkent, 115 km west of Andijan, and 88 km west of Fergana. It is nicknamed “City of Winds”, or sometimes “Town of the Boar". | |
| Samarkand | Uzbekistan | 7005596300000000000596,300 (2008) |
The second largest city in Uzbekistan and the capital of Samarqand Province. The city is most noted for its central position on the Silk Road between China and the West, and for being an Islamic centre for scholarly study. | |
| Tashkent | Uzbekistan | 70062180000000000002,180,000 (2008) |
The capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. In pre-Islamic and early Islamic times, the town and the province were known as Chach. Tashkent started as an oasis on the Chirchik River, near the foothills of the Golestan Mountains. In ancient times, this area contained Beitian, probably the summer "capital" of the Kangju confederacy. | |
| Kabul | Afghanistan | 70063895000000000003,895,000 (2011) |
The capital and largest city of Afghanistan. The city of Kabul is thought to have been established between 2000 BCE and 1500 BCE. In the Rig Veda (composed between 1700–1100 BCE), the word Kubhā is mentioned, which appears to refer to the Kabul River. | |
| Mazar-e Sharif | Afghanistan | 7005375181000000000375,181 (2008) |
The fourth largest city in Afghanistan and the capital of Balkh province, is linked by roads to Kabul in the southeast, Herat to the west and Uzbekistan to the north. | |
| Hohhot | China | 70062866615000000002,866,615 (2010) |
The capital and largest city in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and the cultural center of the Mongols in China. | |
| Lanzhou | China | 70063616163000000003,616,163 (2010) |
The capital and largest city in Gansu Province and one of the economic centers of western China. Two thousand years ago, Lanzhou was an important town on the Silk Road, a vast network of trade routes that also facilitated cultural exchanges throughout Eurasia. | |
| Ürümqi | China | 70063110280000000003,110,280 (2010) |
The capital and largest city in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and the cultural center of the Uyghurs. Two thousand years ago, Ürümqi was an important town on the northern route of the Silk Road, a vast network of trade routes that also facilitated cultural exchanges throughout Eurasia. | |
| Yinchuan | China | 70061993088000000001,993,088 (2010) |
The capital and largest city in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and the cultural center of the Hui in China. | |
| Mashhad | Iran | 70062907316000000002,907,316 (2006) |
The second largest city in Iran and one of the holiest cities in the Shi'a world. At the beginning of the 9th century (3rd century AH), Mashhad was a small village called Sanabad situated 24 km away from Tus. It was not considered a great city until Mongol raids in 1220 caused the destruction of many large cities in the Greater Khorasan territories, leaving Mashhad relatively intact. Thus, the survivors of the massacres migrated to Mashhad. | |
| Nishapur | Iran | 7005270972000000000270,972 (2006) |
The city is located in the Razavi Khorasan province in northeastern Iran, situated in a fertile plain at the foot of the Binalud Mountains, near the regional capital of Mashhad. It is the hometown of several respected Persian poets and artists, including Omar Khayyám, Attar Neyshapuri and Kamal-ol-molk. | |
| Tus | Iran | N/A | An ancient city in the Iranian province of Razavi Khorasan. To the ancient Greeks, it was known as Susia (Gr. Σούσια). It was captured by Alexander the Great in 330 BC. The city was almost entirely destroyed by Genghis Khan's Mongol conquest in 1220. | |
| Ulaanbaatar | Mongolia | 70061172400000000001,172,400 (2011) |
The capital and largest city in Mongolia and the cultural center of the Mongolians. The city was founded in 1639 as an initially nomadic Buddhist monastic centre. Since 1778, it has been located in the Tuul River valley. In the 20th century, Ulaanbaatar grew into a major manufacturing centre. | |
| Peshawar | Pakistan | 70063625000000000003,625,000 (2010) |
Peshawar is the capital of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, located on the edge of the Khyber Pass near the Afghan border. In ancient times, a major settlement called Purushpur (Sanskrit for "city of men") was established by Kanishka, the Kushan king, in the general area of Modern Peshawar. Purushpur emerged as a major center of Buddhist learning, and the capital of the ancient Gandhara was moved to Peshawar in the 2nd century CE. During much of its history, Peshawar was one of the main trading centres on the ancient Silk Road and was a major crossroads for various cultures between Central Asia, South Asia and the Middle East. | |
| Gilgit | Pakistan | 7005216760000000000216,760 (1998) |
Gilgit is the capital of the Gilgit–Baltistan territory of Pakistan, located in the staring of the Himalayas. The city is known for its tourist economy. | |
| Novosibirsk | Russia | 70061473700000000001,473,700 (2010) |
Novosibirsk is the capital of Novosibirsk Oblast, located on the edge of Siberia near the Kazakhstan border. Novosibirsk is the largest city in Siberia and third largest city in Russia. | |
| Omsk | Russia | 70061154000000000001,154,000 (2010) |
Omsk is the capital of Omsk Oblast, located on the edge of Siberia near the Kazakhstan border. Omsk is the second largest city in east of the Ural Mountains in Russia. | |
| Leh | India | 700427513000000000027,513 (2001) |
Leh was the capital of the Himalayan kingdom of Ladakh, now the Leh District in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India. The town is still dominated by the now ruined Leh Palace, former mansion of the royal family of Ladakh, built in the same style and about the same time as the Potala Palace. Leh is at an altitude of 3,524 meters (11,562 ft). |
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