UzbekistanUz·bek·i·stan (o?oz-b?k??-st?n?, -stän?, ?z-) Formerly also Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. A country of west-central Asia. Settled in ancient times, it was conquered by Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and Tamerlane and finally overrun by Uzbek peoples in the early 1500s. Russia conquered the area in the 1800s. Split into various administrative territories after 1917, it was consolidated as a constituent republic of the USSR in 1924. Uzbekistan declared its independence in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Tashkent is the capital and the largest city.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.Uzbekistan (??zb?k??st??n) n (Placename) a republic in central Asia: annexed by Russia in the 19th century, it became a separate Soviet Socialist republic in 1924 and gained independence in 1991. Official language: Uzbek. Religion: believers are mainly Muslim. Currency: sum. Capital: Tashkent. Pop: 28 661 637 (2013 est). Area: 449 600 sq km (173 546 sq miles)Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014Uz?bek?i?stan (?z?b?k ??stæn, -?st?n, ?z-) n. a republic in S central Asia, S. of Kazakhstan: a former constituent republic of the U.S.S.R.. 24,102,473; 172,741 sq. mi. (447,400 sq. km). Cap.: Tashkent. Former official name, Uz?bek So?viet So?cialist Repub?lic. Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.