NAMANGAN

oblasti (province), eastern Uzbekistan, with an area of 3,100 square miles (7,900 square km), in the northern part of the Fergana Valley. It is traversed by the Syr Darya, the Severny (Northern) Fergana irrigation canal, and the Great Namangan Canal. The economy is predominantly agricultural. Because of the dry climate, almost all crops are grown on irrigated land along the Syr Darya and in the river valleys of the Chatkal Mountains. Much of the sown acreage is under cotton; grain, fruit, vegetables, grapes, and fodder are also cultivated, and sericulture (raw-silk production) is important. The pasturelands are poor, but sheep, goats, and cattle are raised, primarily in the west. Industry is concentrated in the capital, Namangan (q.v.). The ancient settlement of Chust is the home of the tyubeteyka, the traditional Uzbek square skullcap, and Chortoq spa attracts visitors from all over Russia and Central Asia. Uzbeks constitute more than four-fifths of the inhabitants, the remainder including Tajiks, Russians, Tatars, and Kyrgyz. More than three-fifths of the people are rural. Pop. (1991 est.) 1,557,800. city and administrative centre of Namangan oblasti (province), Uzbekistan, in the northern Fergana Valley. The first mention of the settlement dates from the end of the 15th century. By the mid-18th century, its many craftsmen made it one of the foremost cities in the Fergana Valley. In the same century, it became part of the khanate of Kokand and the centre of a political unit. Industry processing local agricultural raw materials, particularly cotton, began to develop after the Fergana Valley was annexed by Russia in 1876, and Namangan is now known for its food and other light industries. It is on the Fergana circular railway and has a teacher-training institute, a theatre, and a museum. Pop. (1991 est.) 319,200.