Shymkent

Town and capital of Shymkent oblast (region), southern Kazakhstan, 120 km/75 mi north of Tashkent in Uzbekistan; population (2004) 513,100. Its heavy industries include chemical manufacturing, and the smelting of lead and zinc; there are also food-processing and textile industries here. Shymkent lies on the Turksib railway, 70 km/43 mi east of its junction with the Moscow–Samarkand line at Arys.

Shymkent was founded as a caravan stop on the Silk Route by the Tatars in the 12th century. A fortress was built here by the Kokand khanate in the 19th century, which was captured by Russian forces in 1864.

There were riots in Shymkent in 1986, when the Kazakh head of the Communist Party was replaced by a Moscow appointee.

Shymkent

Oblast (region) in southern Kazakhstan; area 114,100 sq km/44,054 sq mi; population (1996) 1,859,000. The capital is Shymkent. Industries include non-ferrous metallurgy (lead and zinc mining and smelting), engineering, and textile production. There is cultivation of cotton and livestock raising.

Shymkent is an arid region of steppe and desert. It borders on Uzbekistan to the south. Principal rivers are the Syr Darya and the Arys. There are outliers of the Tien Shan mountain range in the south. Cities include Arys and Turkestan. The province was known until 1962 as South Kazakhstan oblast.