Chinoz District

Setting

Chinoz District was created on 9 February 1935, merged into Yangiyoʻl District in 1962 and restored in 1973. It borders Kazakhstan to the north-west and, across the Syr Darya, Sirdaryo Region to the south and west. The land is mostly flat, turning to steppe near the Kazakh border; sand and gravel are dug where the Chirchiq joins the Syr Darya, and there are lakes such as Achchiqkol and Oydinkol. Kazakhs and Uzbeks make up most of the population.

History

In the early Middle Ages Chinanchkath stood here, an important town at a Syr Darya crossing: fortified in the 6th–7th centuries, it covered 40 hectares by the 11th–12th. A square fortress of 24 hectares guarded the Chirchiq crossing. In the 1960s a hoard of 9th–11th-century silver coins found at Chinoz went to the Museum of the History of Uzbekistan. Chinoz became a town in 1972.