Qarshi

Originally the Sogdian city of Nakhshab (which could be possibly named Eucratideia during the rule of Greco-Bactrian Kingdom[3]), and the Islamic Uzbek (Turkic) city of Nasaf, and the Chagatay city of Qarshi (pronounced Kharsh), Qarshi was the second city of the Emirate of Bukhara. It is in the center of a fertile oasis that produces wheat, cotton, and silk and was a stop on the 11-day caravan route between Balkh and Bukhara. The Mongol Chagataid khans Kebek and Qazan built palaces here on the site of Chinggis Khaan's summer pasture.[4] In 1364, Timur also built a fortified palace with moats in what is now the southern part of the city. The modern name "Qarshi" means fort.

Karshi developed steadily from the 14th century. During the Sheyban dynasty the town grew violently (16th century). It was the second largest town of Bukhara Khanate in the 18th century. During these centuries much of the city's magnificent architectural monuments were built.[5] With the decline of Shahrisabz in the 18th century, Qarshi grew in importance, and was the seat of the Crown Prince to the Emirate of Bukhara. The city had a double set of walls, 10 caravanserais and 4 madrassahs during this time. By 1868, the Russians had annexed the Zarafshan Valley, and in 1873, the treaty turning Bukhara into a Russian protectorate was signed in Qarshi, much to the dismay of the Emir's son, Abdul Malik, who took to the hills in rebellion.

In the early 1970s, the first section of a major irrigation project was completed to divert water from the Amu Darya River in Turkmenistan eastward into Uzbekistan in order to irrigate the land surrounding Qarshi. Almost all of these irrigated lands around Qarshi are planted with cotton.

Köppen climate classification system classifies its climate as cold semi-arid (BSk).[8]

A gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant, located 40 km south of Qarshi, is under construction. This plant will be based on Sasol’s GTL technology and will have a capacity of 1.4 million metric tons per year, with following product slate: GTL diesel, kerosene, naphtha and liquid petroleum gas. The total cost of the project is around $4 billion and it is the first such a high-tech plant on the Eurasian continent. The joint project GTL Uzbekistan, where Sasol and Uzbekistan's state oil company Uzbekneftgas each hold 44.5% interest, and the rest 11% belonging to Malaysian Petronas, was founded in 2009. The plant will be built on the basis of the Shurtan gas and chemical complex.[11]

• One university and one institution of higher learning:
  • Karshi State University[12]
  • Karshi engineering-economics institute[13]

• Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Nasafi (d. 943 CE), Isma'ili missionary and theologian
• Abu al-Mu'in al-Nasafi (d. 508 AH/1114 CE).
• Abu Hafs Umar an-Nasafi was a Muslim jurist, theologian, mufassir, muhaddith and historian. A Persian scholar born in Transoxiana, he wrote mostly in Arabic.
• Abu al-Barakat al-Nasafi (d. 710 AH/1310 CE).

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• Grousset, René. The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia. Trans. Naomi Walford. New Jersey: Rutgers, 1970. ISBN 0-8135-1304-9