Urgench
Urgench
(o͝orgyĕnch`), ancient city of central Asia, on the site of present-day Kunya-Urgench (Köhne Ürgenç), in Turkmenistan. It lies c.85 mi (140 km) NW of modern UrganchUrganchor Urgench
, city (1989 pop. 126,380), capital of Khwarazm region, S Uzbekistan, on the Amu Darya River and the Shavat canal, in the Khiva oasis. It has cotton and food-processing industries. Urganch was a trade center of the Khiva khanate.
..... Click the link for more information. , Uzbekistan. A major trade and craft center from the 10th to 13th cent., Urgench became the capital of the khanate of KhwarazmKhwarazm
or Khorezm
, ancient and medieval state of central Asia, situated in and around the basin of the lower Amu Darya River; now a region, NW Uzbekistan. Khwarazm is one of the oldest centers of civilization in central Asia.
..... Click the link for more information. in the 12th cent. The city was destroyed by the Mongols in the early 13th cent., partially rebuilt, and finally abandoned in the 16th cent. Ruins of an 11th-century minaret and mosque, mausoleums, shops, and the portal of the Caravanserai Gates (14th cent.) have been uncovered.
Urgench
(until 1929, Novourgench), a city and administrative center of Khorezm Oblast, Uzbek SSR. Situated in the valley of the Amu Darya, on the Shavat Canal. Railroad station on the Chardzhou-Kungrad line. Population, 91,000 (1976; 5,000 in 1926, 22,000 in 1939, 44,000 in 1959, 76,000 in 1970).
Industrial enterprises in Urgench include a cotton-ginning plant, a repair shop, a plant for the production of construction materials, a furniture factory, a garment factory, and a silk-spinning factory. The city also has enterprises of the food-processing industry. Educational institutions include a pedagogical institute, a technicum for studies in irrigation and soil drainage, a technicum for training in construction engineering, a school for training in preschool education, and a music school. The city has a theater of music and drama.