The Khanate of Kokand was the youngest and easternmost of Uzbekistan's three khanates, founded by the Uzbek Ming dynasty in 1709 and extinguished by Russian General Skobelev in 1876.
Territory at peak (c. 1850): - The entire Fergana Valley. - Northern Tajikistan (Khujand). - Much of modern Kyrgyzstan. - Southern Kazakhstan (Shymkent, Turkestan). - Tashkent (controlled 1809–1865).
Key events: - 1809: Kokand conquers Tashkent. - 1842: Madali Khan briefly takes Bukhara, making Kokand the dominant power in Central Asia. - 1865: Russia takes Tashkent from Kokand. - 1873: Khudayar Khan builds his palace in Kokand — the most lavish 19th-century palace in Central Asia. - 1875: Popular revolt by Nasriddin Bek deposes Khudayar Khan. - 1876: Russia annexes the khanate outright. Fergana becomes a Russian oblast.
Legacy: - Khudayar Khan Palace (1863–1873) — 27 surviving rooms of vivid Fergana tilework. - Silk and pottery traditions of Margilan, Rishton and Kokand flourished under khanate patronage. - The Kokand literary court produced Uzbek-language poets and chroniclers.
The brief Kokand Autonomy of 1918 was a failed attempt by local leaders to restore independence; it lasted 60 days before the Red Army dissolved it.
Uzbekistan in photos
A short visual companion to this entry — photographs from our Uzbekistan travel archive.
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