In the article, based on historical sources and literature, for the first time the economic development of the Fergana Valley in the early medieval centuries was studied. The development of agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry and the mining industry of the valley of this period is also highlighted

Askaraliyevich, Mahmudov Erkinjon

English

Central Asian Journal of Social Sciences and History

CENTRAL ASIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HISTORY VOLUME: 03 ISSUE: 12 | DEC 2022  (ISSN: 2660-6836)      CENTRAL ASIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HISTORY   Journal homepage: https://cajssh.centralasianstudies.org    E-mail address: editor@centralasianstudies.org (ISSN: 2660-6836) Hosting by Central Asian Studies. All rights reserved..  Copyright (c) 2022 Author (s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/  Economic Data on the Early Medieval History of Fergana in Arab Sources Mahmudov Erkinjon Askaraliyevich Senior lecturer of the Department of World History, Fergana State University, Uzbekistan _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Abstract: In the article, based on historical sources and literature, for the first time the economic development of the Fergana Valley in the early medieval centuries was studied. The development of agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry and the mining industry of the valley of this period is also highlighted.  A R T I C L E I N F O Article history:  Received 26-Sep-22 Received in revised form 27-Oct-22 Accepted 28-Nov-22 Available online 30-Dec-2022  Key word: Ferghana, Arab Caliphate, Shikit, horticulture, Kasan, animal husbandry, Sokh, Buttam, ammonia, mining industry, irrigated agriculture.  In the 5th century, the economy of the Fergana Valley, along with trade, was also agriculture. As noted in Chinese sources, at the beginning of the Middle Ages, irrigated agriculture was well developed in the valley and its lands were fertile [10: 119]. The development of the economy before the invasion of the Arabs made it possible to maintain several tens of thousands of troops [10: 123]. The fact that irrigation works were well established in the valley was also noted in his work by ibn Khavkal [3: 79]. Also, the works of Arab travelers tell about rivers with flowing water in all the cities of the valley [5: 116-117]. And the sources also say that the neighborhoods of all the cities of Fergana are surrounded by gardens up to two farsangs. If we take into account that not all cities of Ferghana are located on the banks of the river, then we can conclude that the organization of works on artificial irrigation in the valley was well established. In agriculture, the place of grain and industrial crops was placed high. As noted in the Chinese chronicles, wheat and rice were sown in Fergana since ancient times [7: 735-736]. These products were also provided to the surrounding territories. For example, since the Khojent region did not have CENTRAL ASIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HISTORY (ISSN: 2660-6836)  |  Volume: 3 Issue: 12  |  December-2022             328    E-mail address: editor@centralasianstudies.org (ISSN: 2660-6836). Hosting by Central Asian Studies. All rights reserved.   Copyright (c) 2022 Author (s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/  its own agricultural products, they were brought mainly from Ferghana and Ustrushan [3: 79]. Yakut Hamaviy also noted that wheat was brought to Khujand from Fergana [9: 88]. Another proof that a lot of grain crops were sown is given in Chinese sources, according to which the population of the valley consumed a large amount of cakes baked in the tandoor [10: 120]. Undoubtedly, wheat was in the first place among grain crops and tandoor cakes mentioned in Chinese sources were prepared from it. As indicated by Mukaddasi, rice was grown in very large quantities on the territory of Zorakon of the Miyon-Rudan region [1: 271]. From industrial crops, cotton was mainly grown. Although, of course, there is no statement in the sources that cotton was sown in Ferghana, but Chinese sources say that the population of the valley mostly wore clothes made of cotton [10: 120]. Gardening was considered one of the most widespread and highly profitable branches of agriculture in Fergana. The basins of rivers and sais flowing from the slopes of the mountains surrounding the valley were completely covered with gardens. As noted in the articles of Arab travelers, the surroundings of each city of the valley at a distance of several farsangs were surrounded by gardens [8: 141]. For example, ibn Havkal noted: “All the gates of Rabad go into dense gardens with running water, and these gardens stretch to lands located at a distance of at least 2 farsangs ” [4: 18]. In Chinese sources, along with garden products grown in Fergana, grapes, pear, jida, peach and apple are named [10: 123]. At the beginning of the Middle Ages, grapes were grown in large quantities in the valley, and each house kept up to 10,000 pounds of musallas (homemade wine) made from it [10: 96]. According to Chinese sources, this musallas did not lose its quality, although it was stored for several decades. And Arab historians say that some territories of Fergana specialized in growing only one type of fruit. For example, in the work “Khudud ul-olam” the following is said about Khojent pomegranates: “Khojent is a city, the area with this name is communal, there are many sown fields, generous people, many pomegranates are grown there” [6: 15]. And the surroundings of the city of Kand, which was part of Khujand , are adapted for growing grapes [3: 79]. As Yakut Hamavi notes, almonds were also grown in large quantities in the city of Kand, which was called Kandi Bodom (sweet almond), and it was so soft that a person could peel almonds with his hand [9: 85]. Al-Muqaddasi wrote that the village of Shikit of Ferghana specialized in the cultivation of nuts. According to him, Shikit was a large territory in which many nuts were grown, that for one dirham you can buy a thousand pieces of nuts [1: 271]. Also, as cited by Ibn Khavkal, during the Samanid period, Fergana was the center of horticulture and various fruits and plants were grown here. For example, there is such information: “In Ferghana, in the mountains located between it and the country of the Turks, grapes, nuts, apples and all fruits grow, as well as roses, violets and various varieties of basil. All of them do not belong to anyone, they have no owner and no one is forbidden to take them” [3: 29 ]. Yakut Hamavi also repeats this information and adds that nowhere, except for Fergana and Maverannakhr, so many pistachios are grown [11: 402]. The next branch of the economy was animal husbandry, which was significantly developed in comparison with other territories of Central Asia. For the first time, this was separately indicated in Chinese sources at the beginning of the Middle Ages, where it is said that the horse breeding branch of animal husbandry was significantly developed in the Ferghana Valley [10: 121]. Ibn Khavkal also wrote that horse breeding is developed in Ferghana, even ordinary people, although they are not in power, can have from 100 to 500 horses [3: 21]. Sheep breeding was another developed livestock industry in the valley. As cited in Chinese sources, the population of Ferghana, in addition to cotton, wore clothes made of wool and sheepskin. Camels and sheep were bred in large numbers [10: 120]. As noted in the book “Khudud ul-olam”, a large number of sheep were raised in the valley. [5: 116-117]. CENTRAL ASIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HISTORY (ISSN: 2660-6836)  |  Volume: 3 Issue: 12  |  December-2022             329    E-mail address: editor@centralasianstudies.org (ISSN: 2660-6836).. Hosting by Central Asian Studies. All rights reserved.     Copyright (c) 2022 Author (s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/  As was given by Ibn Khavkal, cattle and sheep were fattened in large quantities on the territory of Kasan [3: 79]. In the 5th century, the mining industry was also developed in Ferghana, as evidenced by various information in Chinese and Arabic sources that have come down to us. As cited in Chinese sources, there was a lot of mercury, gold and iron in Ferghana [7: 545]. Arabic sources also tell about the natural resources of Ferghana: “In Ferghana, in the vicinity of Nakod, Akhsikat and other (cities) there are gold and silver mines. Mercury is mined in the city of Suzh. Near Upper Nas there are tar (?), asbestos, gold, silver, turquoise (stone), yellow copper and tin mines. In Asbar there is a mountain consisting of black stones, which (stones) burn like coals; with the help of their ashes, clothes are bleached (washed). Asbar has colorful mountains. One part of these mountains is black, the other is bright red, the third is densely yellow. In the mountains of Fergana, tarragon bushes grow, its seeds are used as spices and taken to all other countries, as well as a plant whose name is “Kulkana”. This plant does not grow anywhere else. Ammonia is obtained in large quantities in this country and the Turkic valley [3: 82], and it is also mined in the Buttam mountains” [4: 19-20]. In addition, the author provides information that blacksmithing is developed in Ferghana and writes the following: “In the vicinity of Mink and Marasmand, iron accessories are produced, they are distributed throughout Khorasan, and [ even]are used in al-Iraq. Because the processing of Fergana iron is [before] easy that you can give it any shape and make [all kinds of] objects. [Therefore] with their mind and ingenuity they can make rare things ” [3: 29]. The work “Khudud ul-olam” provides such important information about the mining industry that the mountains of Ferghana are rich in gold, silver, copper, lead, ammonia, mercury, fluorine, magnet and [ various]minerals; there are plants that are used in the preparation of tabarkhun and rare medicines [5: 117]... Chatkal is a region of Ferghana, located in mountain gorges; there is a town, many villages, lead is mined there [6: 15]. In the era of the Samanids, the economic indicators of Ferghana were recorded in the works of Arab historians. In the sources, “black dirhams” of the Samanids are called musayabi, muhammadi and gitrifi. In Bukhara and the surrounding areas - with gitrifi coins, in Sogd, Kesh, Nasaf, Ferghana and in one part of Ustrushana - with Muhammadi coins, in Chach, Ilak, Khujand and in another part of Ustrushana – land tax, tribute (kharaj) was paid with Musayan coins [2: 27-28]. According to Ibn Khurdodbeh, Samarkand contributed to the treasury of the Arab Caliphate 328 thousand muhammadi dirhams, Bukhara 1,189,200 gitrifi dirhams (according to Yakubi, Bukhara 1,000,000 misli dirhams) [12: 27]. Ferghana 280 thousand dirhams muhammadi [2: 27-28], Chach 607.1 thousand dirhams musayabi, Khojent 100 thousand dirhams musayabi, Ustrushana 48 thousand dirhams and 2 thousand dirhams musayabi, cities located along the middle and lower reaches of the Sirdarya rented 46.4 thousand dirhams of Musayabi and Khorezmi. The natural conditions of Maverannahr and Khorasan had a great influence on the development of agriculture. After the establishment of the Samanid state, great positive changes also took place in the economic life and the agricultural sector. In conclusion, it must be said that despite the fact that in the 8th century - in the era of the domination of the Arabs, along with other regions of Central Asia, agriculture also fell into decay in Ferghana, during the era of the Samanids, it began to develop again. As in the beginning of the Middle Ages, irrigated agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry and the mining industry began to develop in the CENTRAL ASIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HISTORY (ISSN: 2660-6836)  |  Volume: 3 Issue: 12  |  December-2022             330    E-mail address: editor@centralasianstudies.org (ISSN: 2660-6836). Hosting by Central Asian Studies. All rights reserved.   Copyright (c) 2022 Author (s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/  valley. We can notice that some areas specialized in growing only one product. Therefore, we can say that the economic ties between the interior regions of Fergana were much more developed during this period than at other times. Sources and literature: 1. Al Makdisi. Descriptio imperii moslemici auctore Schamso'd-din Abu Abdullah Mohammed ibn Ahmed ibn abi Bekr al-Banna al-Basschari al-Mokaddasi. Ed. MJ de Goeje, Lungduni Batavorum, 1877; ed. 2: 1906. R.271. 2. Ibn Khordatbeh. Book of ways and countries. Translation from Arabic, comments, research, indexes and maps by N. Velikhova . - Baku : Elm, 1986. S.27-28. 3. Ibn hawkal. Kitab surat ul-ard. Arab tilidan tarjima va isoqlar muallifi Sh. S. Kamoliddin. - Tashkent: Uzbekistan Million Encyclopediasi, 2011. B.79. 4. Ibn Haukal . Kitab surat ul-arz. (translated from Arabic by O. IBN Florova) // Materials on the history of Central and Central Asia in the X-X- I X centuries. - T .: Fan, 1988 . P.18. 5. Hudud al-'Alam. The Regions of the World.A Persian Geography 372 AH – 982 AD Translated and explained by V. Minorsky. - London, 1937. P.116-117. 6. Hudud ul-olam / Fors tilidan tarzhima, suz boshi, isoqlar va zhoy nomlari kursatkichi muallifi O. Buriyev - T .: Uzbekiston. 2008. _ 527-527. 4102شىنجان خەلق نەشرىياتى. تىكى غەربىي يۇرت تارىخىغا ئائىت ماتيرىيلالر. « تارىخ 42.»جىننامە  .7  8. Mamadaliev H. IX-X asrlar Arab manbalarid Fargona shaharlarining tavsifi // “Fargona vodiysi tarihi yangi tadqiqotlarda” Mavzusidagi republic ilmiy-nazari conference and materiallari. - Fargona, 2009. B.141. 9. Hamavi Yakut. Mujam al-buldan (translated from Arabic by O. B. Frolova and B. Vakhabova) // Materials on the history of Central and Central Asia in the 10th-19th centuries. - Tashkent: Fan, 1988. P.88. 10. Khzhaev A. Fargona tarihiga oid ma'lumotlar (Kadimiy vailk ўrta asr Khitoy manbalaridan tarzhimalar va ularga sharkhlar). - Fargona, 2013. B.119. 11. Yakut. Mujam al-buldan. T.3. - Beirut, 1956. P.402. 12. Yakubi. Book of countries (Kitab al-buldan). Intro., pp., trans., comments and indexes by L.A. Semenova. Rep. ed. D.V.Mikulsky. - Moscow: Vost. lit., 2011. P.27. 13. Yuldashev S.B. Ferghana in the VII century: It’s development as a powerful state and its collapse // History Reseach Journal. 2019 vol. 5. Issue 6. – P. 2952–2964. 14. Yuldashev S.B. Samanids of Ferghana // International journal for social studies. 2020. vol. 6. Issue 01. – P. 120–135. 15. Yuldashev S.B. The impact of the Aksu battle on Ferghana // ERPA International Journal of Research and Development. 2020. Vol. 5 (8). P. 60–64. DOI: https://doi.org/10.36713/epra4917 16. Yuldashev S.B. Early arab invasions of Fergana // «Евразийский Союз Ученых» научный журнал. – Москва, – 2020. – № 8 (77/4). – Р. 31–35. CENTRAL ASIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HISTORY (ISSN: 2660-6836)  |  Volume: 3 Issue: 12  |  December-2022             331    E-mail address: editor@centralasianstudies.org (ISSN: 2660-6836).. Hosting by Central Asian Studies. All rights reserved.     Copyright (c) 2022 Author (s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/  17. Yuldashev S. Visit of chinese ambassador dung wan to Fergana //Конференции. – 2021. 18. YS Baxromjon og'li. Study of the History of the Fergana Valley of the Karakhan Period in the Works of BD Kochnev and MN Fedorov // American Journal of Social and Humanitarian Research. 2022/6/15 19. YS Baxromjon og'li. Studying The History Of The Epthtalite Period Of The Fergana Valley In Foreign Studies // Gospodarka i Innowacje. 2022/6/15 

Economic Data on the Early Medieval History of Fergana in Arab Sources

https://cajssh.casjournal.org/index.php/CAJSSH/article/download/576/548

Economic Data on the Early Medieval History of Fergana in Arab Sources

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Central Asian Journal of Social Sciences and History