Kuva

An ancient city on the Great Silk Road, the birthplace of scholar Al Fergani

Kuva, one the oldest sities in the Fergana Valley, was situated on the Great Silk Road (Route) which connected this region with Kashgar. Kuva is located in the north-east of Fergana Province, Uzbekistan, 20 km from the city of Fergana, its administrative centre.

Kuva was, probably, established in the 3rd century BCE, and thus ranks, together with Osh, Rishtan, Uzgen and some other cities, as one the most famous ancient urban centres in the Fergana Valley. According to Chinese sources, since its foundation and until the occupation of the territory by the Arabs the city was known under the names of Kuaisang, Yuan Cheng and Hongmin.

In the medieval period Kuva was rebuilt on the site of an ancient settlement into a traditional oriental city with the ruler’s citadel, the shakhristan - a part of a city within the fortification, and a series of rabads - areas around a city occupied by tradesmen’s and craftsmen’s quarters. Kuva was surrounded by a strongly fortified wall, hence its modern name - kubo in Persian means ‘strong,’ an ‘elevated area’ or a ‘strong fortress.’ In spite of this, in the 13th century the city was damaged heavily by the Mongol troops.

In the mid-20th century archaeological excavations revealed in Kuva a 7th-8th-century Buddhist temple with clay statues of Buddha and other divinities. The research also confirmed that Kuva was a glass producing centre, which manufactured a wide range of glass items.

Kuva was the birthplace of Ahmad Al Fergani, a famous medieval scholar, astronomer and mathematician known across Europe under the name of Alfraganus. His treatise Astronomiya asoslari (The Basics of Astronomy) was translated into several languages in the 12th century to be used as a textbook on astronomy at universities across the world for a long time afterwards.

A beautiful memorial complex with a garden, a series of fountains and a statue of Al Fergani was opened in Kuva in 1998.

Places to visit and top sights in Kuva:

• Ancient settlement.
• Al Fergani memorial complex.

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