The Siege of Tashkent (1865)

By the mid-19th century the Russian Empire was advancing south from the Kazakh steppe towards the khanates of Central Asia. Tashkent, then the richest trading city in the region, belonged to the Khanate of Kokand. In the spring of 1865 General Mikhail Chernyayev marched on Tashkent with a small force and without clear orders from St Petersburg.

Alimqul, the commander and de facto ruler of Kokand, came with a large army to defend the city. On 9 May 1865, in a battle outside the walls, Alimqul was mortally wounded. The city remained under siege, with part of its people hoping for help from the emir of Bukhara.

On 15-17 June 1865 Russian troops scaled the walls in a night attack and Tashkent surrendered. In 1867 it became the seat of the new Governorate-General of Turkestan. The Khanate of Kokand was weakened and was annexed by Russia in 1876.