Quqon, city in eastern Uzbekistan, in Fergana province at the southwestern edge of the Fergana Valley. Quqon is 228 km (142 mi) southeast of Toshkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, 115 km (71 mi) west of Andijon, and 88 km (54 mi) west of the city of Fergana. Quqon sits at the junction of two main routes into the Fergana Valley, one leading northwest over the mountains to Toshkent, and the other west through Khujand. As a result, Quqon is the main transportation junction in the Fergana Valley. Quqon is a center for the production of textiles, food, and chemicals.
Quqon has existed since at least the 10th century, when it was known as Khavakend and was located on a caravan route between India and China. Quqon was destroyed by the Mongols in the 13th century. The present city began as a fort in 1732 on the site of another older fortress called Eski-Kurgan. In 1740 it became the capital of an Uzbek khanate (a state ruled by khans) that reached as far as Qyzylorda to the west and Bishkek (formerly Frunze), Kyrgyzstan, to the northeast. Quqon was the major religious center of the Fergana Valley under the khans. At one time it had more than 300 mosques. Russian imperial forces captured the city in 1876. The palace of Khudayar Khan (1871) sits in the center of the city. Population (1991 estimate) 175,000.
