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STUDY OF HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL MONUMENTS OF JIZZAKH REGION
Axmedjonov Norpulat Akramovich
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in History
Associate Professor Jizzakh Regional Center for Pedagogical Mastery
Abstract:
This article presents information about the study of historical and cultural monuments
of the Jizzakh region after independence and the scientific activities of archaeologist-historians
who researched cultural heritage sites.
Keywords:
archaeological site, cultural heritage, cemetery, urbanization, open leaflet.
Jizzakh is one of the oldest cities in Uzbekistan, with references in many historical
sources indicating its emergence as early as the first millennium BCE. The city, rich in history,
traces the origins of its urbanization processes back to the Bronze Age. Archaeologist-historians
continue their research to determine the city’s age and study the remnants of its historical
monuments.
The study of Jizzakh region’s historical and cultural monuments can be summarized as
follows:
In 1992, under the leadership of A.A. Gritsina, the Zomin detachment conducted
archaeological research at Qo‘rg‘ontepa (O‘rdatepa), Jartepa, and Azlartepa (Azizoytepa) in
Zomin district.
Between mid-May and July 1993, the Zaamin unit of the Institute of Archaeology of the
Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan continued its work under a business contract extended until
the end of the year in cooperation with the administration of the Zaamin district of Jizzakh
region. The main goal of the archaeological excavations was to study an ancient settlement in the
Zaamin or Sarsanda area, as described by Arab geographers and historians. For this purpose, two
excavations were carried out (the fourth and the fifth). This site remains the oldest known
settlement in Zaamin (dating back to the 2nd–1st centuries BCE). Excavations also continued at
Jartepa, located on the northern outskirts of Zaamin district center, where a medieval rabat
existed in the 12th–early 13th centuries. Additionally, the site of Zaamin’s pottery masters was
studied. Furthermore, detailed reconnaissance work was conducted in Zaamin and its
surrounding areas.
In the year 2000, as a result of exploration work carried out in the sand quarries of
Chimqorgon village, Forish district, Jizzakh region, a stone core made from flint debris was
discovered. Based on its manufacturing technique and raw material, this core is similar to the
materials found at the Qo‘tirbuloq site. This discovery, first, indicates that the territories of
Jizzakh region were also inhabited by Paleolithic people, and second, provides evidence of
cultural and chronological similarities between them and the tribes of the Samarkand depression.
Throughout all historical stages of our country’s rich past, Jizzakh region has played an
important role in major historical processes. However, until recently, there was almost no
information regarding the presence of Paleolithic people in this area. Recent research suggests
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
ISSN: 2692-5206, Impact Factor: 12,23
American Academic publishers, volume 05, issue 03,2025
Journal:
https://www.academicpublishers.org/journals/index.php/ijai
page 1581
that the ancient Stone Age cultures of Samarkand region also extended into the neighboring
Jizzakh territories.
In May 2007, under the leadership of the Jizzakh regional administration, the Institute of
Archaeology named after Y. Gulomov of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of
Uzbekistan signed an economic contract with “PUDRATCHI” (director Pidayev Sh.R.) in
cooperation with the “Center for the Study of the Ancient History and Values of the Jizzakh
Oasis” (headed by Nosirov O.N.) to implement the scientific project “Study of the Ancient and
Medieval History of the Jizzakh Oasis”. A special expedition was organized at the Institute of
Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan to carry out this scientific project. The
expedition team consisted of the following members: Pardayev M.H. (expedition leader),
Gritsina A.A. (senior researcher), Suyunov S.S. (senior researcher), Pardayev A.H. (senior
researcher), Toshboyev F.E. (researcher), Ubaydullayev I.H. (junior researcher), G‘ofurov J.I.
(junior researcher), Hamroyev G‘.G‘. (junior researcher), Xolboyev Z.T. (junior researcher), and
Axmedjonov N.A. (laboratory assistant).
The materials obtained within the framework of this economic contract revealed several
key findings. The project aimed to address not only the urban planning culture of the Jizzakh
oasis but also broader issues of ancient and medieval history. Therefore, scientific excavations
were planned at sites such as Qaliyatepa, Qizlartepa (Jizzakh), Qo‘rg‘ontepa (G‘allaorol), and
ancient burial mounds in Baxmal and Zomin districts to shed light on various periods and aspects
of the region’s history.
The budget for the economic contract was set at 23.0 million soums (twenty-three million)
for the year 2007. However, in practice, only 50% of this amount, i.e., 11.5 million soums, was
transferred to the account of “PUDRATCHI.” As a result, the contractual obligations related to
Baxmal district remained unfulfilled.
At the same time, the Jizzakh oasis served as a “relay” zone between the settled farming
population and the nomadic livestock-breeding tribes. In the oasis, there was a strong cultural
resemblance and mutual integration between these two different lifestyles. The discovery of the
Gulbo burial mounds in 2007 was a significant scientific breakthrough for the ancient history of
Jizzakh.
Additionally, research at Qizlartepa provided conclusions indicating that during the
developed medieval period (9th-12th centuries), also known as the “Eastern Renaissance”, the
Jizzakh oasis reached a high level of development. The findings suggested that economic and
cultural life flourished in both cities and rural settlements.
In the first quarter of 2007, under the leadership of the Jizzakh regional administration, an
economic contract was signed between the Institute of Archaeology named after Y. Gulomov of
the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan and the “Center for the Study of the Ancient History and
Values of the Jizzakh Oasis”. According to the program of this contract, excavation research was
conducted at Qaliyatepa 3-rabot during 2007-2008. The ruins of Qaliyatepa city are located in
the eastern part of the “Qaliya-Molkanlik” neighborhood of Jizzakh city, 700 meters north of the
“Jizzakh” bus station, near the Jizzakh-Paxtakor highway.
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During the years 2007-2008, the history of urban life in the Jizzakh oasis during the
ancient and medieval periods, located in the lower reaches of the Sangzor River, was closely
linked to the most ancient and grand archaeological monument of this cultural valley -
Qaliyatepa. The ruins of the Qaliyatepa city are located in the eastern part of the “Qaliya-
Molkanlik” neighborhood of Jizzakh city, 700 meters north of the “Jizzakh” bus station, near the
Jizzakh-Paxtakor highway.
Qaliyatepa, considered the largest archaeological monument in the Jizzakh oasis in terms of size,
consists of six interconnected hills of various shapes. This complex, extending along the north-
south axis, currently covers a total area of 50 hectares. Like other medieval Eastern cities,
Qaliyatepa traditionally consisted of three main parts:
- Ark
– the ruler’s palace;
- Shahristan
– the city quarter surrounded by defensive walls and military
towers, connected to the Ark;
- Rabats
– settlements located outside the defensive walls and trenches,
consisting of five hills.
In 2008, initial excavations were also carried out at the Korpasoy burial mounds in the Sh.
Rashidov district of Jizzakh region. The Korpasoy burial mounds are located on the northern
slopes of the Turkistan mountain range, between the villages of Uvob and Korpa, along the
mountain slopes that enclose the Korpa village from the east. Numerous burial mounds stretch
from east to west across this area, beginning from the western pass of Uvobsay leading to Korpa
village. These archaeological sites were first recorded by archaeologists M.A. Pardaev and A.A.
Gritsina.
In 2008, excavation work was carried out by the Jizzakh detachment at the third fortress
of the Gʻulbo burial mound complex in the Zomin district of the Jizzakh region. The examined
burial mound belonged to the previously studied Gʻulbo burial mound complex and was located
on its western side. The burial mound had a circumference of 42 meters and a diameter of 14
meters. The soil mound covering the burial was 110 cm higher than the bedrock. The mound was
built using the natural clay soil of the area, and traces of fire (burnt marks) were found on the
soil mound.
The excavation began on the western half of the mound. Once the direction of the dromos
(corridor) was determined, it was uncovered. The dromos had a stepped structure. As a result of
the excavation, it was revealed that the burial followed the Kenkol burial type, consisting of a
chamber tomb (catacomb) connected to a dromos that entered perpendicularly from the west.
The burial customs at the Gʻulbo burial mounds, the presence of artifacts belonging to nomads,
as well as pottery vessels associated with settled populations, indicate that intense economic,
political, and ethno-cultural interactions took place in the region at the beginning of the Common
Era. This burial site can be dated to the 1st-2nd centuries CE.
In 2009, under the leadership of Gritsina, de la Vesier, Abdulgaziyeva, and Gaybullayev,
archaeological excavations were conducted at the Turtkoltepa caravanserai in the Zomin district
of the Jizzakh region. Unusually shaped vessels were discovered at the site, which were dated to
the 12th century.
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At the end of October 2010, the Jizzakh expedition of the Y. Gulomov Institute of
Archaeology under the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan conducted urgent, unplanned search
and excavation research in the Tepa-Mulkush village area, which belongs to the Mullabuloq
village citizens’ assembly in the Gallaaral district. This decision was prompted by the accidental
discovery of a collection of ceramic ossuaries in the orchard of a farm owned by Saodat
Davurboyeva, located in the northern part of Tepa-Mulkush village. The collection consisted of
10 ossuaries, which were recognized as a significant find for historical science. This was the first
large set of “classical” ossuaries discovered in the Jizzakh region, where previously only two
isolated ossuaries had been found by chance. Additionally, the poor state of preservation of
archaeological sites in the area was specifically noted.
In the spring of 2013, a team of Paleolithic specialists from the Institute of Archaeology
under the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan and the Department of Archaeology at Samarkand
State University conducted exploration work in the Forish district of the Jizzakh region. Several
new archaeological sites were discovered and studied. The findings from Chashma, Jom,
Bulungur, and the Forish district in Jizzakh confirmed that Paleolithic communities had widely
spread throughout the entire Zarafshan valley and neighboring areas.
In 2013, the Dashtobod archaeological team of the Institute of Archaeology continued
research in the Karatepa settlement and its surroundings. The expedition, which worked in
September, included the following members: the expedition leader, A. A. Gritsina, a senior
researcher at the Institute of Archaeology; architect V. R. Gaybullayev; and S. S. Qoraboyev, the
Chief Inspector for the Protection and Use of Cultural Heritage Monuments in the Jizzakh region.
Additionally, effective support was provided by local authorities.
On July 1, 2013, Open Permit No. 041 was issued for conducting all types of
archaeological work at the Kultepa and Karatepa (Zomin district) sites in the Jizzakh region
under the project “Urbanization Processes in Sogdiana and Ustrushana during Antiquity and the
Early Middle Ages”. The permit was granted to A. A. Gritsina, a senior researcher at the Institute
of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan and the head of the Dashtobod
expedition. The excavation work began on September 16, 2013, and was completed on
September 23, 2013. The small-scale excavations revealed that the settlement had developed
rapidly and had survived through multiple construction phases. Despite the inability to reach the
virgin soil layer, three residential horizons and an equal number of construction phases were
identified within a relatively shallow cultural layer.
In the second half of June 2013, the Jizzakh expedition of the Y. Gulomov Institute of
Archaeology under the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan initiated planned excavations at the
Kaliyatepa urban site in Jizzakh city, Jizzakh region. The excavations focused on the ark section,
located east of the southern gate of the Kaliyatepa shahristan.
The expedition team consisted of M. Pardayev (expedition leader), A. A. Gritsina (senior
researcher), Sh. M. Pardayev (senior research fellow), as well as other researchers and over 15
field assistants. The planigraphic excavations were conducted in the southwestern part of the ark,
specifically in the highest, most prominent area where central buildings were located, near the
southern defensive wall. The external structure of the Kaliyatepa ark extended longitudinally
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Journal:
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from east to west. The southern defensive walls of the shahristan simultaneously served as
fortifications for the ark itself.
In 2015, the Uzbek-American archaeological expedition carried out field research at the
Toshbuloq site in the Jizzakh region as part of the “Archaeological Study of the Qarakhanids”
project. The Toshbuloq archaeological site was first discovered in 2011 using satellite imagery
as part of the Zomin Archaeological Experimental Project, led by F. Maqsudov and M. Frachetti.
The site is located at an altitude of 2,100 meters above sea level, in the high mountains of the
Malguzar range, within a border zone protected by the Uzbekistan Border Troops. Permits to
conduct field research at the site were obtained in 2012, 2013, and 2015.
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