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 DOI: https://doi.org/10.37547/history-crjh-02-07-03 
ISSN 2767-472X 
©2021 Master Journals 

   
  Accepted 05th July, 2021 &  Published 10thJuly, 2021  

 

 
 

 

CURRENT RESEARCH JOURNAL OF HISTORY                           
ISSN – 2767-472X 

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   https://masterjournals.com/index.php/CRJH 

 

AGRICULTURAL AND WATERING SYSTEM OF SAMARKAND IN THE SECOND HALF 
OF THE XIX CENTURY AND THE EARLY XX CENTURY 
 

U.A. Usarov 

Phd Researcher Of Department Of “History Of Uzbekistan” Of The National University Of Uzbekistan 

N.O. Alimova 

Phd, Fergana State University, Uzbekistan 

 

INTRODUCTION 

Samarkand was one of the most fertile, well-
watered areas of the Zarafshan oasis with an 
advanced farming culture from the ancient time. 
Irrigated agriculture has been developed in the 
area since the hard work of local farmers. Here, 
wheat, barley, rice, millet, sesame, corn, cotton, 
and other crops were planted and yielded 2-3 
times a year. In the middle of the XIX century, the 
territory of Samarkand was one of the most 
developed and highly productive, rich natural 
resources within the Bukhara Emirate. 

THE MAIN RESULTS AND FINDING 

A number of sources of the second half of the XIX 

century give a wealth of information on the 
traditions and sectors of agriculture, irrigated 
agriculture that form the basis of Samarkand's 
economic life. In particular, according to 
N.M.Virskiy, “Samarkand region is located in the 
upper Zarafshan and its tributaries, with 6,828 
acres of arable land, mostly adapted to artificial 
irrigation, and it was become to that shape due to 
hard work of the farmers [1, 7-8]. In the article 
“from Tashkent to Katta – Kurgana”, N.M.Maev 
also reported on the territory of Samarkand 
where the Upper Zarafshan oasis is located. “The 
peoples of this river used water for irrigation of 
their lands. The road to the Kattakurgan hill on 
the Choponata hill at the entrance to Samarkand 
is well-watered and green. The upper part of the 
Zarafshan valley was fertile and was well 

ABSTRACT  
 
This article analyzes agricultural and land-water relations in the second half of the XIX and early XX 
centuries of Samarkand region on the basis number of sources, literature and research studies. The article 
provides information about the Zarafshan River, which was the region's main source of irrigation its 
tributaries and other water systems. There were presented traditions of irrigated agriculture in the region, 
types of agricultural products, rules of their cultivation, irrigation procedures and harvest time. The article 
also analyzes the agrarian policy of the Russian Empire which is connected with colonial interests in the 
Samarkand region and its consequences. 
 
 
KEYWORDS: - Samarkand region, Russian empire, Zarafshan River, Karadarya, Akdarya, canal, ditch, 
agriculture, irrigated farming, non irrgated lands, cotton, wheat, rice, corn, gardening, grape, pood, desiatin, 
tanob, ko‘sh. 



CURRENT RESEARCH JOURNAL OF HISTORY 2(7): 09-14, July 2021      
 DOI: https://doi.org/10.37547/history-crjh-02-07-03 
ISSN 2767-472X 
©2021 Master Journals 

   
  Accepted 05th July, 2021 &  Published 10thJuly, 2021  

 

 
 

 

CURRENT RESEARCH JOURNAL OF HISTORY                           
ISSN – 2767-472X 

10 

   https://masterjournals.com/index.php/CRJH 

watered” [2,198-219]. As the above data shows, 
the existing countries have consistently strived 
to maintain this region due to its great economic 
potential. 

In the second half of the XIX century the 
population of Samarkand region was mainly 
engaged in agriculture in everyday life. 1.3% of 
the total population of Samarkand region (1868-
1870) lived in urban areas, and in 1897 only 
15.7%. In 1897 80.1% of the total population of 
the region was occupied by agriculture. In 
addition, the share of trade and industry workers 
was 15.4% [3, 310]. Consequently, livelihoods of 
the people of the region were mainly related to 
agriculture, and irrigation was the main 
occupation of the population. 

Due to the varied natural and geographical 
conditions of the Samarkand region, various 
methods of irrigation are widely used in 
agriculture. For example, water was brought to 
the fields by collecting water from pools, digging 
canals and ditches. The ditches and canals are 
taken from the Zarafshan River, the main source 
of water in the province, or from the Karadarya, 
Akdarya, Narpay and other water systems that 
have separated from it. Such measures allowed 
the fertility of the Samarkand region lands [4, 
65]. 

In the second half of the XIX century, 56 canals 
were dug from the Zarafshan River, the main 
source of water in the Samarkand region, of 
which 42 irrigated the Panjikent and Samarkand 
sections and 14 the Kattakurgan section[26, -P. 
4.]. The total irrigated area of these lands 
through these canals was 9893.79 kushes (1 
kush - about 13,02 deciatine) or 128,818.75 
deciatine (1.09 ha per 1 hectare). Including, in 
the Samarkand section 7410.25 double or 
96487.5 deciles were irrigated, and in 
Kattakurgan section 2443.53 double or 32331.25 
deciles were irrigated. In 1888 a total of 142 
main canals were taken from the Zarafshan 

River. Of these, 99 provided water to the 
Samarkand region and 43 to the Bukhara 
Emirate. There were 1, 924 in the Zarafshan 
oasis, 985 out of the secondary canals, and 939 in 
the Bukhara section [5, 202]. It is clear that the 
Russian Empire has taken full control of the 
distribution of water, first and foremost in the 
Samarkand region and then the Zarafshan River. 

In irrigated agriculture, a number of 
hydrotechnical structures, such as dams and 
waterfowl, have been built in the slopes of the 
river using natural resources such as nranchess, 
turfs, boulders. Therefore, the area's agricultural 
lands were fertile and the population was 
engaged in cotton growing, grain growing, 
vegetable growing and gardening. In the 
Zarafshan oasis, especially in the Samarkand 
region, two types of crops have been cultivated, 
depending on the season. The first is “autumn or 
white”, a fall crop, which includes barley, wheat, 
flax, poppy and more. The second was the spring 
crop, which includes corn, rice, millet, moss, 
peas, beetroot, carrots, onions, turnips, tobacco 
and others. In addition, cottwere regularly 
planted in the valley. 

In the second half of the XIX century, a total of 32 
different types of agricultural crops, including 
potatoes, were cultivated in Zarafshan district 
[6,203]. Potato cultivation, like other regions of 
Central Asia, was brought to Zarafshan by 
Russian-speaking populations. 

In the second half of the XIX - beginning of the XX 
century, peasants used 'crop rotation' to increase 
the productivity of irrigated land in the 
Zarafshan oasis, especially in the Samarkand 
region. At the same time, the area under one 
sown area was cultivated and rested for a period 
of time without any other sowing. For example, 
in Bulungur district of the region, the area of 
irrigated land above the Zarafshan River was 5.5 
thousand hectares. Of this, about 3,200 hectares 
are cultivated annually and the rest of the 



CURRENT RESEARCH JOURNAL OF HISTORY 2(7): 09-14, July 2021      
 DOI: https://doi.org/10.37547/history-crjh-02-07-03 
ISSN 2767-472X 
©2021 Master Journals 

   
  Accepted 05th July, 2021 &  Published 10thJuly, 2021  

 

 
 

 

CURRENT RESEARCH JOURNAL OF HISTORY                           
ISSN – 2767-472X 

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farmland was rested [7, 16-17]. In addition, soil 
fertility in the area has been continuously 
increased through local fertilizers and crop 
rotation. 

The main occupation of the population of 
Turkestan during this period in the Ferghana, 
Syrdarya and Samarkand regions agriculture was 
well developed. Since most of the farmland is 
irrigated  the construction, maintenance and 
operation of various waterworks has been done 
with public participation. However, heavy 
manual labor was very important in agricultural 
production, modern machinery and equipment 
were virtually non-existent [27, -P. 514].  

As a result of the Russian Empire's reign, 
agricultural production in the Samarkand region 
was largely focused on cotton production. This 
was due to the increase in textile enterprises in 
Russia and the increased demand for Turkestan 
cotton. It was also intended to make Turkestan, 
including Samarkand region, a major raw cotton 
supplier. As a result, colonial industries 
expanded their activities. 

According to I.M. Slutsky, in the second half of 
the 19th century, Chelak, Yangikurgan in 
Samarkand district; 75% of the cotton grown in 
1885-1900 was given to the first grade and 25% 
to the second grade, due to good climatic 
conditions in Khatyarik, Thursday, Damarik and 
Kalghurgan districts of Kattakurgan district. It 
also highlights that in Samarkand region, the 
income of farmers from cotton is on the 4th place 
among agricultural crops [8, 55]. Cotton has been 
planted in 1/15 of the total arable land in the 
region (36,400 deci- sions account for 24,280 
decyatins) [9, 68]. In general, cotton was sown in 
the province for three years, and the land was 
well fertilized. Then the alfalfa and other plants 
were planted. In other words, a great deal of 
attention was paid to the method of crop rotation 
[10, 174-175]. 

According to 1889, the major agricultural regions 

in Samarkand province were Mitan, Chelak, 
Kattakurgan and Khujand [11, 109], and in 1900 
and 1908 Kattakurgan, Samarkand and Jizzakh 
counties were the main cotton producing 
regions. The districts of Kattakurgan, Samarkand 
and Jizzakh produced 472,282 pounds of cotton 
in 1900, 651,285 pounds in 1905, and 585,724 
pounds of cotton in 1908. At the same time, the 
crop accounts for more than half of the cotton 
grown in the whole region [12, 177]. 

Cotton planting in Samarkand region tripled 
from 1888 to 1908. If in 1888 the area under 
cotton was 8,000 deciatine, in 1907 it was 28,000 
deciats, in 1913 - 31,800, in 1914 - 30,800, and in 
1915 - 55,600. [13, 29 ], 60,300 decyatines in 
1916, and 42,000 deciles in 1917 [14, 178]. 

The amount of cotton harvested in the region 
amounted to 1,555,139 in 1900, 1,118,105 in 
1905, 901,565 in 1908, 953,000 in 1913, 621,000 
in 1914, 1,346,000 in 1915, and 826,000 in 1917 
[14, 178]. The main cotton crop grown in all 
these years was located in the European part of 
Russia and delivered to new factories and 
factories. 

Grain crops, the main food for the population of 
Samarkand region, also played a major role in 
agricultural production. The region had a large 
crop of wheat, barley, corn and rice. Prior to the 
invasion of the Russian Empire, these areas of 
the Bukhara Emirate provided themselves with 
domestic products, including wheat, corn and 
rice. In Zarafshan County, wheat was sown 
mainly in September-November and was 
irrigated once in April and twice in May [16, 202-
203]. Then, in early June, the crop was harvested. 

In the second half of the 19th century, farmers in 
the Samarkand region harvested from the 
ground up to two times a year. After harvesting 
the winter wheat, they planted melons. The 
melons were harvested in the fall and planted in 
spring. Some of the land that was sown in spring 
was sown with wheat and partly barley. Wheat 



CURRENT RESEARCH JOURNAL OF HISTORY 2(7): 09-14, July 2021      
 DOI: https://doi.org/10.37547/history-crjh-02-07-03 
ISSN 2767-472X 
©2021 Master Journals 

   
  Accepted 05th July, 2021 &  Published 10thJuly, 2021  

 

 
 

 

CURRENT RESEARCH JOURNAL OF HISTORY                           
ISSN – 2767-472X 

12 

   https://masterjournals.com/index.php/CRJH 

was irrigated up to three times. One pound of 
well-cultivated  land yields 40 poods (1 pood - 16 
kg) of wheat and an average of 32 pood per acre 
[17, 419-447]. After the farmers harvested 
barley and wheat, they prepared the soil for 
planting. Then planted peanuts, sesame seeds, 
carrots, mash, beans, peas. 

According to X.Ziyaev, in the second half of the 
XIX century, a total of 2.057.008 deciles of land 
was cultivated in Turkestan. Of these, 824.903 
have been planted with wheat. However, due to 
the intensification of the cotton monoculture in 
Turkestan, especially in the Samarkand region, 
wheat has been mainly cultivated on dry, non-
irrigated rainfed lands [18,177-178]. Farmers in 
the area paid much attention to early or late 
wheat harvest in order to get good harvest from 
rain-fed lands. He paid much attention to how 
the weather came and how it was planted. 
During the favorable weather years, 1 hectare of 
sown wheat land yielded  

100 poods of grain and more in a well-selected 
area. The amount of seeds sown in each desiccate 
does not exceed 2-3 poods. Such land has always 
been priced in the market at a higher price than 
wheat from the fields. In the eastern part of 
Samarkand province, rainfall has always been 
better than in Ziyovuddin Station [19, 41]. This 
was partly due to the fact that the agricultural 
population of the region has developed a culture 
of farming. 

At the end of XIX century Zarafshan district was 
divided into 13 districts. Of these, there were 
many ditches in Miyanqol district. Here, 
agriculture was prosperous and was the 
foremost producer. Sogdian Kalon and Shovdor 
districts occupy the next post-Miyonkol issue. In 
Samarkand, cotton, wheat, rice, millet, corn, 
barley, flax, moss, peas were planted. The most 
productive area of Zarafshan district iwas 
Ofarikent [20,60]. 

Due to the sufficiency of water supply in the 

Samarkand region, cultivation of high-water rice 
was specific. The rice was grown in Shavdor, 
Shiroz, Ofarinkent, Sughut, Kattakurgan, 
Yangikurgan and Payshanba districts of 
Zarafshan district [21, 203]. Here, in May, two 
pods of seeds were sown in a rice field and 
watered continuously for 90 days. The crop was 
harvested in late September - early October, with 
32 to 80 poods harvested from each well [22, 
76]. The main areas for rice cultivation in 
Samarkand and Kattakurgan districts were the 
Miyankol lands, located between the Akdarya 
and Kara-Darya, which separated from the 
Zarafshan River. For example, 21 out of 26 
districts in Samarkand, 11 out of 17 in 
Kattakurgan district, and 6 in Khujand district. In 
1907, rice was planted on 43,513 desyatin lands 
in the region. Of these, 4112 were in Kattakurgan 
district, 36935 in Samarkand district, and 2666 
in Khujand district. This accounts for 6.2% of the 
total irrigated land in the Kattakurgan district, 
14.3% in the Samarkand district, and 8% in the 
Khujand district [23, 1-2]. In addition, corn, 
millet, beetle, and flax have been planted in 
Zarafshan District, which require high water 
consumption. 

In the second half of the XIX century, gardening 
was well established in the region, among which 
viticulture was the first and most profitable. 
According to AI Shahnazarov, 6,225,000 puds 
were harvested from the 19,282 land plots in 
Turkestan during the same period. Of these, 
5,197,000 pods are grown in the Samarkand 
region [24, 240]. In 1894, 252979 poods of 
grapes were transported from the Samarkand 
region to the markets of the Russian Empire by 
rail, and 150,000 poods of grapes were 
transported by caravan. Samarkand region also 
played an important role in exporting dried fruit  
to Russia. In 1907, for example, 1,915 tonnes of 
plum tons were seized. Samarkand region was 
the leader in the production of dried fruit, 
especially black raisins [25, 146]. 



CURRENT RESEARCH JOURNAL OF HISTORY 2(7): 09-14, July 2021      
 DOI: https://doi.org/10.37547/history-crjh-02-07-03 
ISSN 2767-472X 
©2021 Master Journals 

   
  Accepted 05th July, 2021 &  Published 10thJuly, 2021  

 

 
 

 

CURRENT RESEARCH JOURNAL OF HISTORY                           
ISSN – 2767-472X 

13 

   https://masterjournals.com/index.php/CRJH 

CONCLUSION 

Generally, in the second half of the XIX century, 
the Russian Empire established its rule in 
Turkestan, particularly in the Samarkand region. 
He implemented agrarian policy in the region 
based on colonial interests. Samarkand region 
had access to water from large tributaries from 
the upper part of the Zarafshan River. As a result, 
irrigated agriculture was developing in the 
region. However, these successes served the 
interests of more colonialists. The region's 
agricultural products were exported to the 
Russian Empire. The demand for Turkestan 
cotton has increased as Russian industrial 
enterprises increase. As a consequence, the 
Samarkand region's specialization in cotton 
cultivation on irrigated land has developed 
rapidly. This has had a negative impact on other 
agricultural sectors of the region. 

Continuous expansion of cotton growing in 
Turkestan, especially in Samarkand region, 
resulted in economic crisis in the first decade of 
the twentieth century as a result of one-sided 
approach to agriculture [15, 242]. This has 
worsened the social situation of not only the 
farmers but also the entire population. Demand 
for food and cereals has been increasing day by 
day. In the markets, however, prices have 
increased. In spite of these difficulties, local 
farmers have been trying to satisfy the demand 
of the population by producing as many products 
as possible. 

 

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CURRENT RESEARCH JOURNAL OF HISTORY 2(7): 09-14, July 2021      
 DOI: https://doi.org/10.37547/history-crjh-02-07-03 
ISSN 2767-472X 
©2021 Master Journals 

   
  Accepted 05th July, 2021 &  Published 10thJuly, 2021  

 

 
 

 

CURRENT RESEARCH JOURNAL OF HISTORY                           
ISSN – 2767-472X 

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