Osh. Through the Pages of Geographers' Writings

First Mentions of Osh

Osh is mentioned as a "city" of Fergana by the first Arab geographer whose works have survived to this day — Abul-Qasim Khordadbeh (820—912/13 AD). In his "Book of Roads and Kingdoms," compiled in 232 AH (846/47), it is reported: from the city of Osh to Uzgen (Uzgend — in medieval authors) is seven farsakhs or one long journey (1 farsakh equals 6—7 km).

Following him, another Arab geographer Abu-Bakr Ishaq al-Hamadani (nicknamed Ibn al-Faqih) — the author of the "Book of Countries" ("Kitab al-Buldan," written around 902 AD) repeats the information of Ibn Khordadbeh, specifying that in the city of Osh "there are fortified towers."

However, perhaps the most detailed and substantial information about Osh from the works of Arab geographers is provided by the famous traveler Ibn Hawqal (10th century). He notes, in particular, that Osh is a large city, and Uzgend is a third smaller in comparison. Osh is a populated medina, or shahristan (inner city), and a citadel, in which are located the emir's palace and a prison (which is symptomatic!). The medina has a rabat (suburb), surrounded by walls that connect with the mountain (Sulaiman). On the mountain is a watchtower, from which the surrounding nomadic Turkic population is monitored, which, unlike the townspeople, was still non-Muslim. The city had three fortified gates, called the Gates of the Mountain, the Gates of Water (or River), and the Gates of Mugkede (i.e., "Gates of the Fire Worshippers' Temple"). Nearby Osh was another small town, Medva (Mady).

The neighboring Uzgen, which had a citadel, fortified wall, and rabat, was a border city — "a trading point at the gates of the Turks."

The city of Osh stood on one of the branches of the ancient trade route connecting East and West — the Great Silk Road. The trade of the cities of Fergana with Eastern Turkestan went along this branch through the city of Osh, its satellite city (or fortress?) Malestnitsy of the feudal city of Central Asian East.

The history of Osh and other cities of the Fergana Valley in the 9th-10th centuries is connected with the growth of productive forces, the development of crafts and trade during that period. The earliest mentions of Osh with information about distances between it and nearby settlements along trade-caravan routes are found in the works of Arabic-speaking authors (travelers, historians, geographers) — mentioned Ibn Khordadbeh, Ibn al-Faqih, Qudama ibn Ja'far, and others. Moreover, the latter stated about Osh: "... and this is a large settlement."

The distance from the city of Kuba to Osh was determined to be one long journey, or 7 farsakhs, to Mady — only 2 farsakhs, to Uzgen — one day's journey.

Relatively more detailed information about the city of Osh, as well as about the role and place of such urban centers in the political structure of early medieval Fergana, can be found in the works of other authors of the Arabic so-called classical school, in particular, in the brief Arabic edition of the "Book of Roads and Kingdoms" by al-Istakhri: "In Fergana, there are several regions, each of which has a large number of cities, each of these cities has a rustaq (rural district, rabat. — ed.), in which there are numerous villages."