Marg‘ilon

Margilan is located in the south of the Fergana Valley, where trade caravans from China traveled westwards and vice versa during the days of the Silk Road. Margilan has been renowned for its silk goods as far back as the 10th century.

According to legend, Margilan was founded by Alexander the Great. While stopping for lunch there, he was given chicken and bread, from which the town took its name. More reliable records indicate that by the 9th century Margilan was an important stop on the Silk Road, along the route going across the Alay Mountains to Kashgar.

In the early 16th century Babur, the founder of the Mughal dynasty, mentioned that "the pomegranates and apricots are superb .... the game in Margilan is good; white deer may be found nearby. The people are Sarts. They are a feisty people, ready with their fists. The custom of exorcism is widespread throughout Transoxiana, and most of the renowned exorcists of Samarkand and Bukhara are Margilanis. The author of the Hidaya (Burhan al-Din al-Marghinani) was from a Margilan village called Rishtan". This reputation for toughness extends to modern times.