Khujand

For places in Azerbaijan with the same exonym, see Leninabad, Azerbaijan (disambiguation).
Khujand
Хуҷанд, Uzbek: Хўжанд, Xo'jand
Khujand — Historical Museum of Sughd
Khujand is located in Tajikistan
Khujand
Location in Tajikistan
Coordinates: 40°17′00″N 69°37′00″E / 40.28333°N 69.61667°E / 40.28333; 69.61667
Country Flag of Tajikistan.svg 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, Uzbek: Хўжанд, Xo'jand Russian: Худжанд Khudzhand), 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.

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 Macedonian 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. It was passed to Kara-Khanid Khanate in 999. After division of Kara Khanids in 1042, it was initially part of Eastern Kara Khanids, but was passed to western one. Karakhitans conquered it in 1137, but was passed to Khwarazmshahs in 1211. 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 Chagatai Khanate 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. But, Bukhara regained it in 1842. 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 1929, it was incorporated into the Soviet Republic of Tajikistan (Tadzhik S.S.R.) after bounding to Uzbek SSR between 1924 and 1929. 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.

↑Jump back a section

Climate

Khujand experiences a temperate desert climate (Köppen: BWk) with long, hot summers and short, cool winters. Precipitation is light, and it generally falls in winter and autumn.

Climate data for Khujand
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 15.7
(60.3)		 19.5
(67.1)		 28.8
(83.8)		 36.5
(97.7)		 39.9
(103.8)		 43.5
(110.3)		 45.9
(114.6)		 43.8
(110.8)		 38.2
(100.8)		 33.8
(92.8)		 24.4
(75.9)		 18.6
(65.5)		 45.9
(114.6)
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)
Daily mean °C (°F) −0.4
(31.3)		 2.2
(36)		 8.2
(46.8)		 15.7
(60.3)		 21.7
(71.1)		 26.8
(80.2)		 28.7
(83.7)		 26.4
(79.5)		 20.9
(69.6)		 13.6
(56.5)		 6.6
(43.9)		 1.5
(34.7)		 14.33
(57.8)
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
(48.45)
Record low °C (°F) −22.8
(−9)		 −22.2
(−8)		 −13.6
(7.5)		 −3.9
(25)		 0.8
(33.4)		 8.7
(47.7)		 10.5
(50.9)		 7.0
(44.6)		 1.4
(34.5)		 −6.8
(19.8)		 −18.8
(−1.8)		 −20.0
(−4)		 −22.8
(−9)
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
(6.578)
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
 % humidity 77.8 75.4 64.0 56.3 48.7 34.8 33.8 38.4 43.3 55.4 75.2 76.4 56.63
Mean monthly sunshine hours 124.0 127.1 167.4 210.0 294.5 357.0 381.3 359.6 300.0 223.2 156.0 102.3 2,802.4
Source #1: World Meteorological Organisation (UN) [1]
Source #2: climatebase.ru (temperature mean & extremes, humidity)[2]
↑Jump back a section

Sister cities

↑Jump back a section

See also

Portal icon Tajikistan portal
↑Jump back a section

References

  1. ^ "World Weather Information Service – Khujand". United Nations. Retrieved 5 January 2011. 
  2. ^ "Leninabad, Tajikistan". Climatebase.ru. Retrieved 30 January 2013. 
↑Jump back a section

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").
↑Jump back a section

External links

Coordinates: 40°17′N 69°38′E / 40.283°N 69.633°E / 40.283; 69.633
Capital: Khujand
Aini District
Khujand.jpg
Tj1-kaart.png
Asht District
Ghafurov District
Ghonchi District
Isfara District
Istaravshan District
Konibodom District
Kuhistoni Mastchoh
District
  • Mehron
  • Langar
  • Ivan Tajik
Mastchoh District
Panjakent District
Jabbor Rasulov
District
Shahriston District
Spitamen District
Zafarobod District
↑Jump back a section
Last modified on 19 May 2013, at 01:57