During the past year, the strife which had always existed between the settled
and non-settled inhabitants, broke out into such a storm that the Khan
Khudoyar was obliged to flee for his life across the Russian frontier.
Khudoyar’s son was then placed upon the throne, but he, too, was unable to
maintain his position, and had soon to follow his father and seek Russian
protection. The rebels attacked the Russians for befriending the fugitive
Khans. A number of encounters took place, and in the end the Russian troops
occupied the city of Khokand—a necessity which had long been foreseen at St.
Petersburg; and as the only effectual means of restoring order, the province
was subsequently annexed to Russia, under its ancient name of Fergana, and
Major-General Skobeleff was appointed governor.
It is supposed that, with the annexation of Khokand, the advance of Russian
power eastward in Central Asia will be terminated, at least for the present,
as a natural boundary now seems to have been reached which will secure the
frontier against the incursions of the hostile nomadic tribes.
[Inclosure.—Translation.]
[Extract from the “Journal de St. Petersburg” of the 2d–14th April,
1876.]
The territory of the late Khanate of Khokand, which now forms part of the
general government of Turkistan, is bounded on the north and west by the
province of the Syr Darya, on the east by that of Semiretchinsk, and on
the south by the possessions of Kashgar, the plains of Pamyr, Karategin,
and the Zaraf shan circle. The configuration of its soil is that of a
depression surrounded on all sides by the Tian-shan Mountains, except on
the west, where these mountains sink and open a way for the Syr Darya
into the vast valley of the western Turkistan. The late Khanate
contains, according to a planimetric survey, more than 1,300 square
miles of surface; but the valley of Fergana hardly represents more than
a fifth of this extent, the rest being occupied by the mountains. Among
the latter the most elevated are the Alai, which, according to the
calculation of Mr. Fedtchenko, rise to the absolute height of 18,000
feet, while several of their summits reach an altitude of 25,000
feet.
The valley of Fergana is traversed from the northeast to the southwest by
the Syr Darya, which is formed by the confluence of two rivers, the
Naryn and the Kara Darya. It is to this course of water, and to a great
number of torrents which descend from the mountains in the valley of the
Syr, and the most of which do not even reach the river, that the late
Khanate owes the remarkable fertility of its soil. Distributed by
numerous irrigation canals their waters fertilize the cultivated
grounds, which extend to the foot of the mountains.
Like that of all the countries of Central Asia, the population of Fergana
is partly settled and partly nomadic. To the settled part of the
population belong the Tadjiks, aboriginal inhabitants of the country and
of Aryan race, who are gradually losing the purity of their type by
intermixing with the Uzbeks, a Turkish race, which spread itself over
Central Asia in the sixteenth century; the inhabitants of the towns and
villages bear the name of Sarts, whether Tadjiks or Uzbeks; and there
are to be found among them a small number of Hindoos, Afghans, and Jews.
The nomadic population is composed of Kirghiz and Kiptchaks, most of
whom lead a half-settled life, establishing their auls or encampments in the neighborhood of the towns and
villages.
The settled population is grouped principally on the left bank of the
Syr, where are situated the most important towns. The south of the
valley of this river is, perhaps, the most populated region of Central
Asia; it presents to the traveler an unbroken series of cultivated
fields and magnificent gardens, among which are to be seen villages and
farms scattered here and there. The country on the north of the Syr and
Kara Darya is occupied principally by nomads, who pass the winters at
the foot of the mountains.
The number of the population of the province of Fergana can only be
stated approximatively; according to information furnished by the Khan’s
administration, it may be estimated at 192,000 families, (132,000
settled and 60,000 nomads;) probably, counting five persons as the
average number in each family, 960,000 souls. The new province is,
therefore, the most populated of all those which constitute the general
government of Turkistan.
The town of Khokand counts from 40,000 to 50,000 inhabitants. The
principal towns, after the capital, are Marghilan, Andijan, and
Namangan, each of which has more than 10,000 inhabitants.
Under the rule of the Khan, the territory of Fergana was divided, for the
purposes of administration, into five bekats, from among which the taxes
were collected. The principal taxes were the heradj, which was a deduction in kind from the production of
the fields; the tanap, a tax paid in money on the
cultivation of the lowlands and the garden; the ziaket, received on the imports and on cattle; a bazaar tax or
a license to sell in the market, a toll at the river, a tax on salt,
&c. These taxes and a great many others, established for the purpose
of increasing the personal fortune of the Khan, weighed heavily upon the
population. Altogether they produced from 2,200,000 to 2,500,000 rubles
per year.
The rich soil of Fergana produces an abundance of wheat, rice, millet,
barley, sorghum, cotton, tobacco, madder, and several other coloring
plants, magnificent vines, mulberry trees on which are raised the most
valued silk-worms in Central Asia, and a [Page 440] great number of fruits and vegetables. These
natural riches, together with an admirable climate, have long caused the
valley of Fergana to be considered one of the most fortune-favored
countries of the East.
Industry is not yet much developed there; the principal products are
silk-stuffs and coarse carpets.
The name Fergana, which has been given to the new province, is that by
which Khokand was anciently known. This name is found mentioned in its
present form in Arabian manuscripts of the eighth and ninth centuries,
but it was even known in the fourth century, in a garbled transcription
by the Chinese. By its etymology it belongs to the Iranian languages,
closely related to Persian, and very probably means “country of
passage,” (fra-gana,) or “passage,” (from Transoxonia to Eastern
Turkistan.)
