A MAJOR TRADE CENTER OF THE GREAT SILK ROAD In the western part of the Fergana Valley there is one of the ancient cities of Uzbekistan – the city of Kokand. In ancient times, Kokand had another name – Hukand or Havokand. For the first time in such a mention, he appeared in the chronicles of the 10th century. Kokand played an important role in the life of the trade center on the Great Silk Road in the XIII century, but unfortunately, like most Central Asian cities, it was destroyed by the Mongols. Kokand achieved its greatest glory in the 18th century, when it became the capital of the developed and rich Kokand Khanate. In the first half of the XVIII century, not far from the present city (then the territory of the Bukhara Emirate), the ancestor of the Kokand Khans dynasty laid the fortress of Eski Kurgan (1732), from which the new Kokand actually began, soon received the old name, which now sounded like "Khuk-Kand" — "Kabaniy city". Initially, it was a small, isolated from the Bukhara Emirate, possession, but gradually it expanded geographically. Kokand reached its peak of development and power in the first half of the 19th century, it was at this moment that the Kokand Khanate included part of modern Uzbekistan, part of southern Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and China, as well as Tashkent and Shymkent. The Kokand Khanate was a powerful state and a promising commercial and religious center. There were more than 300 mosques and dozens of madrasahs. During its existence, the Kokand Khanate was ruled by 29 rulers, one of whom was the last khan – Khudoyar Khan. Unfortunately, he became famous only for his cruelty and greed. During his reign, he lost his throne four times and won it back again. In his era, great works were carried out on the improvement of the city: guzars, mosques, madrassas were built. In the second half of the XIX century, a power struggle began between the Bukhara, Khiva and Kokand khanates. Taking advantage of this, Russia began a campaign of conquest in Central Asia. In 1868, on the basis of the treaty, the Kokand Khan was equated with his rights to a vassal of the Russian Empire. This was the end of the history of the Kokand Khanate,