Welcome to Uzbekistan

Welcome to Uzbekistan.

Brutal external geometry, austere and functionally appointed rooms, a vast and mostly empty ballroom breakfast setup, and a top floor smoking bar - the Hotel Uzbekistan is one of the few remaining major concrete icons of the Soviet era, after Tashkent, the national capital, was levelled by an earthquake in the 1960s.

From the window, the city was not framed by the blue domes of the ancient Silk Road mausoleums and madrasahs, but instead by the seemingly non-descript yet pleasing lush green of Amir Temur Square. Paths radiate out from the centre of the park, where Amir Temur (Tamerlane), the ubiquitous Timurid conqueror is immortalised on horseback in bronze, sword drawn.

Amir Temur is an important figure in Uzbekistan. Thought to be one of history’s greatest strategists, an intellectual and a fierce warrior, Tamerlane ended Mongol rule in Central Asia and forged his own empire through extensive and brutal military campaigns that stretched from the Mediterranean all the way to the Indian Subcontinent and into Western China. A patron of the arts, Tamerlane brought architecture, technology and prosperity - uniting the ancient silk roads - with Samarkand in modern day Uzbekistan the capital.

Much like Manas in Kyrgyzstan and Ismail Samoni in Tajikistan, Amir Temur is a “national hero” of the modern state of Uzbekistan. The warlord represents a harking back to ancient history, the cultivation of a new post-Soviet national identity and a uniting symbol for a 21st century nation on the up.

Amir Temur lived in the 14th and 15th centuries, but the statue was erected and square renamed in his honour only in 1994. Prior to that, Karl Marx and the usual array of Soviet motifs occupied the square. In the immediate aftermath of the USSR’s collapse, the future of Central Asia was uncertain. The proliferation of organised terrorist groups tearing through porous borders, a long and bloody civil war in Tajikistan and a total economic collapse left many questions about the possibility of a series of sovereign nation states emerging from the chaos.

The new strongmen leaders of the “Central Asian five” understood that ideological cohesion, especially given the kafkaesque makeup of the region’s divergent ethnic communities, was vital to the longevity of their fledgling states. The role of Islam, by far the dominant belief system of the region’s populations, also had to be determined. With language the primary factor, a programme of immortalising national heroes such as Tamerlane became a secondary part of the building up the nation’s cultural heritage and shared consciousness.

The penetration of Temur into the national collective mind was multifaceted, with museums and culture centres named in his honour, children learning about the great empires as part of the national curriculum, new national anniversaries and holidays, and the naming of streets, parks and other geographic features.

In Uzbekistan’s case, Tamerlane serves to anchor modern statehood in a pre-Soviet, glorious past, providing historical legitimacy, national narrative, and a unifying figurehead for the country’s diverse populations. Bringing together a new country after hardship and reclaiming indigenous history, Tamerlane’s legacy was, as is often the case with such historic figures in the region, nicely shoehorned into a heroic story of proto-Uzbek nationalism that anchors the state in historical continuity.

As well as providing a unifying identity of a glorious ancient past in the shadow of a fallen communist regime, Temur’s legacy arguably remains a powerful force in practically shaping Uzbekistan’s modern policy agenda. Economically and geopolitically, Temur is celebrated as the restorer of the Silk Road, whose centralized control made Samarkand a hub for world trade and intellectual life. Today, Uzbekistan considers itself as the natural successor to this empire, aspiring to become the regional center for logistics, trade, and finance in Central Asia - the heart of the modern "Middle Corridor" connecting East and West. Silk road motifs are now commonplace in diplomatic narratives of the region. The first ever meeting of all five leaders of the Central Asian states and the Chinese leadership in 2023 took place in the Chinese city of Xi’an, an important starting point in the ancient silk road.

The political advantages of this narrative are not lost on the region’s leaders, with a modern renewal of the corridor through massive investment programmes such as the Chinese Belt and Road initiative acting as a catalyst for regional cooperation and increased international legitimacy.

Growing pan-Turkic identity shaped by historic narratives, increasing international significance and a new found confidence has begun to translate into normative diplomatic power. The Organization of Turkic States (comprising Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkey) is centred on promoting a shared cultural-linguistic consciousness and strategic economic, trade and political cooperation, and is a product of Russia’s dwindling ability to maintain hegemony in the region and the growing multipolarity of the international system. As demonstrated by the Washington C5+1 summit in November 2025 where the five Central Asian leaders attended a President Trump-hosted summit at the White House, Central Asia is showing signs of operating as a bloc for the first time in history. President Trump made the point that previous administrations had totally ignored the region and stressed its growing geopolitical significance. Azerbaijan and Turkey, two other Turkic states, are growing in international stature. Turkey, with its military and cultural exports, is now seen as a major player, drawing on shared historic roots with its Turkic partners.

Temur achieved his greatness through a system built on military strength and controlled trade. Modern Uzbekistan seeks to advance its international standing through strategic economic reforms, an outward-looking diplomatic agenda, and leveraging its key geographical position as a neutral, stable, and dependable partner.

By invoking the Timurid Renaissance - a period of magnificent architecture and scientific advancement under Amir Temur’s descendants, the government also champions patronage of science, education, and culture. His historical role as a great builder, diplomat, and unifier is thus strategically leveraged to encourage national pride, and legitimise the nation’s powerful executive on a journey of economic, market and financial liberalisation.