Fergana Valley

Fergana Valley (Farg‘ona vodiysi, Фергана өрөөнү, водии Фaрғонa, Ферганская долина, وادی فرغانة)
Valley
Fergana Valley near the Kamchik Pass in Uzbekistan
Country	Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan
River	Syr Darya river (Naryn and Kara Darya)
Length	300 km (186 mi), E
Area	22,000 km2 (8,494 sq mi)
Population	14,000,000 (2014)
Density	636/km2 (1,647/sq mi)
Fergana Valley (highlighted), post-1991 national territories color-coded.

The Fergana Valley (alternatively Farghana or Ferghana; Uzbek: Farg‘ona vodiysi, Фарғона водийси, فەرغانە ۉادىيسى; Kyrgyz: Фергана өрөөнү, Ferğana örőnü, فەرعانا ۅرۅۅنۉ [ferʁana œrœːny]; Tajik: водии Фaрғонa, vodi‘i Farğona/vodiji Farƣona; Russian: Ферганская долина, Ferganskaya dolina/Ferganskaja dolina; Persian: وادی فرغانه‎‎, vādi-ye Ferġāna/vâdiye Ferqâna) is a valley in Central Asia spread across eastern Uzbekistan, southern Kyrgyzstan and northern Tajikistan.

Divided into three republics of the former Soviet Union, the valley is ethnically diverse and in the early 21st century was the scene of ethnic conflict. A large triangular valley in what is an often dry part of Central Asia, the Fergana owes its fertility to two rivers, the Naryn and the Kara Darya, which run from the east, joining near Namangan, forming the Syr Darya river. The valley's history stretches back over 2300 years, when its population was conquered by Greco-Bactrian invaders from the west.

Chinese chroniclers date its towns to more than 2,100 years ago, as a path between Greek, Chinese, Bactrian and Parthian civilizations. It was home to Babur, founder of the Mughal Dynasty, tying the region to modern Afghanistan and South Asia. The Russian Empire conquered the valley at the end of the 19th century, and it became part of the Soviet Union in the 1920s. Its three Soviet republics gained independence in 1991. The area largely remains Muslim, populated by ethnic Uzbek, Tajik, and Kyrgyz people, often intermixed and not matching modern borders. Historically there have also been substantial numbers of Russian, Kashgarians, Kipchaks, Bukharan Jews and Romani minorities.