Which capital city is the largest city in Central Asia?

Tashkent is the capital city and largest city in Central Asia.

Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and the most populous urban center in the Central Asian region. It stands in northeastern Uzbekistan near the country’s border with Kazakhstan, on a well-watered plain shaped by the Chirchiq River and its tributaries. Its position made it an important crossroads between the steppe, oasis settlements, and Silk Road trade routes.

The city has a history stretching back more than two millennia. It was known by earlier names including Chach, Shash, and Binkat, and it passed through the influence of Persian, Turkic, Islamic, Mongol, Russian, and Soviet powers. A major earthquake on April 26, 1966, destroyed much of the old city, after which Soviet planners rebuilt Tashkent with broad avenues, parks, and large public spaces.

Tashkent became the capital of independent Uzbekistan in 1991 after the Soviet Union dissolved. A common mix-up is Almaty, Kazakhstan’s former capital and largest city, or Astana, Kazakhstan’s current capital. Bishkek is Kyrgyzstan’s capital, but none of these cities surpasses Tashkent’s population.