Quick Facts
- Also spelled:
- Transoxiana
- Arabic:
- Mā Warāʾ al-Nahr
- Key People:
- Qarakhanid dynasty
- Chagatai
- Related Places:
- Turkmenistan
- Kazakhstan
- Uzbekistan
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Transoxania
historical region, Asia
Also known as: Mā Warāʾ al-Nahr, Transoxiana
Transoxania, (“That Which Lies Beyond the River”), historical region of Turkistan in Central Asia east of the Amu Darya (Oxus River) and west of the Syr Darya (Jaxartes River), roughly corresponding to present-day Uzbekistan and parts of Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan. A great centre of Muslim civilization during the European Middle Ages, Transoxania was the centre of the Timurid empire in the 15th century, and its cities (e.g., Bukhara and Samarkand) were known worldwide. The region came under Russian occupation in the 19th century.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Noah Tesch.
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