Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Fundamentals
144
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TYPE
Original Research
PAGE NO.
144-147
DOI
OPEN ACCESS
SUBMITED
29 March 2025
ACCEPTED
25 April 2025
PUBLISHED
30 May 2025
VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue05 2025
COPYRIGHT
© 2025 Original content from this work may be used under the terms
of the creative commons attributes 4.0 License.
Urban Planning And Its
Development In Central
Asia During The Early Iron
Age
Ibrokhimov Nozimjon Ikhtiyorovich
Lecturer Of The Department Of Social Sciences At Bukhara State
Pedagogical Institute, Uzbekistan
Abdurayimov Sobirjonshuhratovich
Student Of The Department Of Social Sciences, Bukhara State Pedagogical
Institute, Uzbekistan
Abstract:
This article discusses the regions where
Central Asian cities emerged during the Iron Age and
their development. The distinctive features of the Early
Iron Age include the noticeable processes of formation
of the first city-states in the territory of our country.
Based on historical sources, the article comprehensively
analyzes how the population built fortresses
surrounded by strong defensive walls, leaving behind
significant archaeological layers.
Keywords:
Iron, Turtkultepa, Elatan, Sangirtepa,
Dagistan, Jondavlattepa, Daikovo.
Introduction:
We know about the beginning of the Early
Iron Age in Central Asia in the 9th-8th centuries BC from
the tools found by archaeologists during excavations. By
the Early Iron Age, agricultural culture was formed in all
regions of Central Asia. The discovery of iron in Central
Asia at that time became the basis for fundamental
changes in tools. As a result of the use of iron, significant
changes occurred in the socio-economic life of society.
A second major division of labor occurred during the
Iron Age. As a result of archaeological excavations, it
was established that craftsmanship separated from
agriculture in the Iron Age. This, in turn, led to an
increase in labor productivity, a revival of commodity
exchange, the development of private property, and the
strengthening of the state.
At the beginning of the Iron Age, strong fortifications
were built throughout Asia and Europe, and cities
flourished. In general, people were familiar with iron as
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Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Fundamentals
early as the Eneolithic period, but did not know its
practical significance. In nature, pure iron is found only
in meteorites. We know from excavations that iron
jewelry and beads were found in the graves of tribes
inhabiting the ancient East. Until the 1st millennium
BC, iron was used as a material for making rare
ornamental items for the population. Since the early
Iron Age, cities in Central Asia have also undergone a
significant stage of development. For example, in the
region of Sogdiana, agricultural culture began to take
shape during the Early Iron Age.
This culture has been discovered in the monuments of
ancient agricultural civilizations such as Koktepa,
Sangirtepa, Daratepa, Uzunqir, and Lolazor, as well as
in the lower layers of Turtkultepa, Afrasiab, and
Yerkurgan. From the location of archaeological sites,
we know that the monuments in Sogdiana were
primarily situated along riverbanks. This is particularly
evident in the Kashkadarya oasis. Here, several oases
dating back to the Early Iron Age can be identified.
Based on the results of excavations, archaeologists
have studied settlements by categorizing them into the
following types according to their size and functions:
1. Ruins of cities with defensive walls - Ark (Uzunqir,
Yerkurgan);
2. Villages: Daratepa, Karokchitepa, Beshkutontepa;
3. Settlements with specific functions, surrounded by
defensive walls (possibly temples).
Yerkurgan is considered one of the cultural and
political centers of Sogd. Its area is 150 hectares.
During excavations in the lower layers of the
settlement, the era of the pre-millennium. The location
of residential and economic buildings dating back to
the 8th-7th centuries has been determined. In the 6th
century BC, its interior was expanded and surrounded
by a defensive wall. Luxurious administrative buildings
were erected on the inner side, but no traces of the
citadel have been found so far.
The Uzunqir monument is located in the Kitab district
of Kashkadarya region. It was formed as a small
settlement in the 8th-7th centuries BC, and in the 7th-
6th centuries BC it occupied an area of 70 hectares and
became the center of the oasis. The rectangular tower
had a strong defensive wall with loopholes. Currently,
as a result of excavations, it has been established that
part of the defensive wall has been preserved. The
thickness of the defensive wall is 1.85 meters, the
lower part is made of adobe, and the upper part is
made of adobe and adobe bricks.
The monument was studied in 1981 by the staff of the
Department of Central Asian Archaeology of Tashkent
State University. As a result of archaeological research,
it was established that craftsmanship developed in the
city as a result of the discovery of pottery vessels made
of iron and military tools. In the 7th-6th centuries BC,
the regional center, called Nautaka, was Uzunqir. BC. In
the 3rd-2nd centuries, the regional center moved to a
new city, that is, to the place of the present-day city of
Kitab. Uzunqir is considered an example of a city in the
territory of Uzbekistan.
The Sangirtepa monuments are located along the
Shurob River in the middle reaches of the Kashkadarya
River. As a result of archaeological excavations, it was
established that the total area of Sangirtepa is 3
hectares. On its southern and western sides, there were
defensive walls. As a result of the research, a 6.85-meter
cultural layer was discovered there, and 4 construction
periods were identified. The first period of formation of
Sangirtepa is considered to be the 9th-8th centuries BC.
The influence of ancient Eastern civilization was strong
in the formation of the economic and cultural life of
Bactria and Sogdiana. Therefore, in these regions, from
the early Iron Age, ancient cities were formed, and the
first states emerged.
The Elatanian culture dates back to the Iron Age, which
dates back to BC. It dates back to the 7th-5th centuries.
Monuments of the Elatanian culture have been found in
almost all regions of the Fergana Valley. The settlement
of Elatan has a triangular shape and is surrounded by a
defensive wall 4 meters wide.
Towers were identified in several places on the
defensive walls and in the corner of the gate. People
who lived in the Elatanian culture used adobe, raw brick,
and clay in construction. In agriculture, wheat, rice, and
barley were mainly sown. Animal husbandry was also
developed, mainly small-hoofed cattle were raised.
Ceramic vessels were made by hand and on a potter's
wheel. From this period, the manufacture of tools and
ornaments from iron became widespread. Textiles also
developed in this culture from the Iron Age. The
formation of ancient cities is undoubtedly connected
with the settled agricultural culture of the population;
cities emerged as centers of the agricultural oasis.
Monuments of the Iron Age have been comprehensively
studied by archaeologists from Central Asia, partly from
the territory of Uzbekistan. For example, 46 monuments
dating back to the beginning of the 1st millennium BC
have been identified in Southern Turkmenistan, known
as the ruins of an ancient village. Such village ruins were
also studied by archaeologists from the territory of
Uzbekistan. For example, 8 such ruins were found in
Surkhandarya and 7 in Kashkadarya. Yoztepa,
Aravalitepa, Kukhnatepa, Uchtepa in the Lower
Murghab, Kuchuktepa, Bandikhan I, Kiziltepa and
Uchtepa in Surkhandarya, Yerkurgan, Chirakchitepa,
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and Sangirtepa in Kashkadarya are also among the
ruins of such cities. The most ancient cultural layers of
the monuments are characteristic of the transition
period to the Iron Age. The lower layer of the Yaztepa
city remains - the Yaz I settlement - existed in 900-650
BC. During this period, the monument consisted of 16
hectares of rural settlements and a large rectangular
building-fortress. At the site of the fortress, the
remains of a palace built from raw bricks measuring 8
meters were found. During excavations, archaeologists
also discovered and studied the ruins of ancient
settlements. The material sources characteristic of the
Yaz I, Kuchuk I, and Yerkurgan layers all belong to a
close culture with one main feature.
We can see that another Iron Age city monument is
Kuchuktepa, which is located 70 km northwest of
Termez. In 1000-750 BC, there was a small fortress
built on a platform in place of the hill. We can see that
the building consists of 6 residential and household
apartments, surrounded by defensive walls. According
to the results of archaeological research, another
important monument of the Iron Age is the
development of the Chust culture in the Fergana Valley
at the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. More than
70 ancient city ruins have been discovered and studied
in Namangan, Andijan, and Osh regions. Chust,
Dalverzin, Boztepa, Chimbay, and others are among
them. The peasants who created the Chust culture
lived in cities and villages built from basements, mud
bricks, or raw bricks. As a result of archaeological
research, we can see that the ruins of Chust and
Dalverzin were surrounded by high defensive walls.
The wall excavated in Dalverzin is 4.6 meters wide and
2.5 meters high.
Common pottery among archaeological finds testifies
to general cultural processes. Colored pottery vessels
found in Yoz I, Kuchuk I, and Chust are found in many
parts of Central Asia. We see that the ruins of the cities
of Anovtepa, Yelkantepa, Ulugtepa, located around
Kopetdag in Southern Turkmenistan, Tillatepa in
Northern Afghanistan, Djarkutan and Bandikhontepa I
in Surkhandarya, and Odoytepa in the Middle Amu
Darya region have been studied by archaeologists.
However, the finds of ancient Dagestan, located in
southwestern Turkmenistan, differed significantly
from material sources of the Yaz I type. The
monuments of Dagestan, consisting of ruins of cities
and villages, occupied a large area. Archaeologists have
discovered and examined traces of ancient canals from
the city-states of Dagestan and the Atrek River. It is
well-studied around the ruins of the central city of
Dagestan - Madov and Izatkuli.
In the Southern regions of Central Asia during the Early
Iron Age, a culture of the Yaz II, Kyzyl II, and Afrasiab
types developed. Only excavations conducted by Soviet
archaeologists during the colonial period made it
possible to determine the urban states and material
culture of the early Iron Age tribes living in Central Asia.
Only in the cities of Bactria, Margiana, and Sogdiana,
350 archaeological monuments have been discovered
and studied. The urban layers of Yaztepa, Kuchuktepa,
Kiziltepa, and Tillatepa, dating back to the 7th-4th
centuries BC, have been extensively studied. (Summer II
belongs to 650-450 BC, Summer III to 450-350 BC, Red II
to 700-550 BC, Red III to 550-400 BC). The area of the
ruins of the city of Kyzyltepa is 22 hectares
(Surkhandarya, Shurchinsky district). The ruins of the
fortress are located in the northwestern part of the city.
The city wall stands 10 meters tall. The city fortifications
and walls, constructed with adobe, were built thick and
sturdy. A special military defensive tower, 1.5 meters
wide, was built atop the defensive walls for soldiers to
patrol. Embrasures were left every 2 meters along the
walls.
Bronze arrowheads and stone cores used as projectiles
were discovered during archaeological excavations.
Archaeological research has revealed that the
population around Kyzyltepa engaged in agriculture.
The family community of the Early Iron Age formed the
economic foundation of society, jointly governing the
city-states on clan lands. Members of the household
community lived in large patriarchal families, sharing
common dwellings (Kyzylcha I, Kyzylcha VI) and jointly
owned property.
Archaeological findings indicate that architectural
construction techniques and craftsmanship flourished
in Surkhandarya (the northern part of Bactria) during
the Early Iron Age. The territory of the centralized city-
states was very large, encompassing one or more vast
regions. By this time, cities began to be divided into
categories based on their political position. The
presence of such urban-type archaeological monuments
as Bolo Hissar, Altindiler (Northern Afghanistan),
Kyzyltepa,
Jondavlattepa,
Khaitabadtepa
(Surkhandarya), Baytudasht (Southern Tajikistan) has
been established in the territories of the ancient cities
of Bactria. Research on the dating and classification of
monuments of the Iron Age in Uzbekistan was
conducted by S.P. Tolstov, A.I. Terenozhkin, and Ya.
Gulyamov. Cities and state monuments of the Early Iron
Age in the territory of Uzbekistan. It dates back to the
8th-6th centuries.
In the 1960s and 70s, the lower layers of Kuchuktepa,
Jondavlat, and Kyzyltepa, as well as Pachmoktepa and
Kyzylchatepa
monuments
were
studied
in
Surkhandarya. L.I. Albaum discovered remains of
dwellings dating back to the 6th-4th centuries BC,
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pottery, iron household items, and agricultural tools at
Kuchuktepa. In the 60s, the Khazora monument and
Sarmishsay petroglyphs were examined in the Bukhara
region.
Urban monuments of the Iron Age in Kashkadarya have
been studied by archaeologists. Among them, the
Chimkurgan site (1972) was examined. In 1973, the
Chardara fortification (Konimekh district) and
Romushtepa (Jondor district) were investigated. In
addition, cities and fortresses of the Iron Age have
been extensively studied through comprehensive
archaeological and anthropological research not only
in Uzbekistan but also in the northeastern regions of
Central Asia. For example, iron objects in the ruins of
Diakovo city, as well as Bronze Age settlements and
ruins, have been thoroughly examined through
extensive archaeological research.
We know from archaeological findings that during the
excavation of cities and city ruins from the Iron Age,
various types of unique finds were found, as well as
iron weapons and household items. During the
excavations of Iron Age cities, the ruins of cities and the
remains of defensive buildings and defensive walls
were discovered.
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