The Khan's Silk Road city — a palace of 113 rooms, Fergana Valley plov, and the most ornate tilework in Uzbekistan outside Samarkand
Kokand was the capital of the Khanate of Kokand (1709–1876) — one of the three great 19th-century Uzbek khanates alongside Bukhara and Khiva — a sophisticated city of mosques, madrasas, and the magnificent Khudayar Khan Palace, which still stands at the heart of the modern city. The palace's 113 rooms, 7 courtyards, and façade of blue Uzbek tilework make it one of Central Asia's most impressive royal residences. Kokand is also the Fergana Valley's culinary capital — Fergana-style plov (the definitive version of Uzbekistan's national dish) is widely considered the best in the country.
Kokand was established as the capital of the Khanate of Kokand in 1709 by Shah Rukh Biy, a Uzbek Ming dynasty chieftain. The Khanate grew to control the Fergana Valley and at its peak extended to include Tashkent and much of present-day Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Kokand was a major centre of Silk Road trade, scholarship, and Sufi Islam — the city contained over 600 mosques and more than 35 madrasas at its 19th-century peak. Russia conquered the Khanate in 1876 and incorporated it into the Russian Empire; the last khan, Khudayar Khan, fled to Russian protection when his own subjects revolted a…