Chärjew

City in eastern Turkmenistan, capital of the welayaty (oblast) Lebap, situated on the Amu Darya River and the Trans-Caspian railway 100 km/62 mi southwest of Bukhara; population (1995) 160,000. It is the second-largest city in Turkmenistan after the capital, Ashgabat. Industries include silk and cotton weaving, chemical manufacture, and food processing.

In ancient times, Chärjew was the site of a river crossing on the Silk Route across the Oxus (Amu Darya). A settlement here was under the control of the Emir of Bukhara in the 18th and 19th centuries. The city itself first arose as a Russian military garrison in 1886. Until the 1970s, it was a major river port. However, diversion of water for irrigation from the Amu Darya has seen Chärjew's importance as a transportation centre decline markedly.