The Stone Age was the time of the rise and establishment of the earliest forms of human society in Central Asia. According to the chronology generally accepted by scientists internationally, the Stone Age is di vided into three main periods: the Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age: 1,500,000 BP - 12,000 BC), the Meso lithic (Middle Stone Age: 12,000 - 6,000 BC) and the Neolithic (New Stone Age: 5,000-4,000 BC). These, in turn, are sub-divided into a series of shorter periods which take into account the development of material culture.

The Bronze Age (3,000-2,000 BC) was an important period in the evolution of the history of mankind characterized by the development of bronze metallurgy an alloy of copper, tin and other metals – and the transformation of it into a leading material for the manufacture of tools and weapons. The appearance of metal in the human societal life allowed new technological possibilities: casting, minting and forging. New implements and new types of craft in turn enabled the rapid development of a social hierarchy, laying the foundation of the organization of states and urbanization. Already by the beginning of the 20th century the museum received objects into its collection made in bronze, which in the main are decorated. Some of these were collected in the upper reaches of the Chirchik River (Tashkent region).

The geographical position of Uzbekistan, through whose territory important caravan routes passed connecting Asia and Europe, East and West from time immemorial, helped predetermine the rich history of this land. It contributed to the mutual tolerance of its peoples and facilitated the growth of regional economies and the development of state systems of governance. In the early first millennium BC artifacts made of iron appeared in Central Asia which became in broad use by the 7th-6th centuries BC (existing alongside tools of bronze and stone). Iron tools made it possible to irrigate larger areas. The development of crafts formed the basis for regular regional trade. In larger settlements fortifications and citadels appeared.

EphtHalite State (5th - first half 6th centuries AD). The Ephthalite state was formed between 427-484 AD and stretching from the Caspian Sea to Kashgar and from the Aral Sea to India, was a confederation of semi-independent possessions with their own hereditary dynasties under who acknowledge the suzerainity of a single king. The Ephthalites battled with Sasanid Persia. Popular legends and poetry used by Firdausi in the creation of the Shahnama preserve heroic episodes of the period of struggles between the Ephthalite ruler of Vakshunvar with the Sasanid ruler Peroz. Turkish Kaghanate (6th-7th Centuries AD). In the mid 6th century AD in Central Asia a new state arose – the Turkish Kaghanate. Wars between the former eastern and western Turkish khaghanates in Central Asia led to the disintegration of the former and its absorption into the latter. ”Never in ancient times were the northern nomads so strong”, wrote a Chinese chronicler at the end of the 6th-early 7th century, regarding the powerful state of the Turks. “Almost all the khans married the daughters of Chinese rulers and the Chinese court every year sent a gift of 100,000 pieces of silk cloth.” The Turkish khans meddled little in the life of local society, limiting themselves to the collection of tribute.

In the 7th-8th centuries AD the Muslim Arabs invaded Central Asia. The theme of their conquest of Central Asia is reflected in images in the display including a 12th century AD miniature ‘Arab Forces on Campaign’, the watercolour ‘Looting of a City by the Arabs’ by V.E. Kaidalov (1957) and the painting ‘Taking Tribute’ by L. Abdullaev (1956). Other images illustrate local Sogdian warriors. One of the central exhibits of the section is a facsimile edition (printed in 1905) of the Koran of Caliph Osman – a unique monument of Arab writing of the first half of the 7th century AD. The section also has a display of coins minted by the Arab rulers al-Makhdi, al-Mamun and al-Amin in the cities of Rayy, Baghdad, Balkh, Samarkand, Bukhara, Merv, etc in the 8th-early 9th centuries AD. Although local rulers considered themselves as representatives of, and subordinate to, the Caliphs, with time they gradually became independent of the central authorities. In 821 AD Tahir ibn Husayn established the state of the Tahirids (821-873 AD) on the territory of Khorasan and Maverannahr. From 874-999 AD the state of the Samanids dominated the region, as can be seen on the map displayed in this section.

As a result of the liberation struggles of the local peoples the supremacy of the Mongols in Central Asia was destroyed. The most powerful political figure of this period was Amir Timur (1336-1405 AD), who was born in the village of Khoja Ilgor near the city of Kish (modern-day Shakhrisabz) in Kashkadarya, southern Uzbekistan. He became famous throughout the world as a military commander and founder of a powerful centralized empire. He made a great contribution to the development of world culture and the arts and applied enormous effort to his country’s growth. Events of the period are reflected in a colourful wall panel, ‘Amir Timur in World History’, created by a team of artists headed by A. Alikulov. The image of Amir Timur, depicted on a white horse, represents the noble character attributed to the ruler with a distinctive and harmonious blending of the qualities of purposefulness, decisiveness, strong will and sincerity. Amongst the exhibits are a map (‘The State of Amir Timur’), miniatures, diagrams and various other materials. A remarkable archaeological discovery from the period are the substantial remains of a warrior’s armour found on the banks of the Syr Darya.

By the end of the 15th century AD, Timurid power in Central Asia had split into a number of independent and semi-independent principalities. In the early 16th century AD the Uzbek Shaybani Khan seized Samarkand, Bukhara, Tashkent and Andijon leading to the Shaybani dynasty’s control from Bukhara of much of the territory of Uzbekistan under Khans such as Ubaydullah (r. 1533-1539 AD) and Abdullahkhan (r. 1593-1598). At the end of the 16th century AD power passed to the Janid (Astarkhanid) Khans and subsequently, following the invasion of much of the region by the Persian Nadir Shah in 1740 AD, to the Manghits who ruled the Emirate of Bukhara until its abolition by the Soviets in 1920. From the late 15th- late 19th centuries Khorezm in the west constituted an independent khanate with an often volatile political history which stabilised under the rule of Muhammad Rakhim Khan (1805-1825) only to fall to Russian forces in 1873. In the east the Khanate of Kokand became the dominant power by the late 18th century, Alim Beg officially taking the title of Khan in 1805. Russia conquered the Khanate in 1876.

The endless conflicts in the first half of the 19th century between Bukhara, Khiva and Kokand caused their economic and military decline, which contributed to the colonization of the khanates by the Russian empire and the loss of national statehood. One of the museum’s unique displays is a copy of a map of Uzbekistan which is possibly the first separate printed cartographical representation of the territory where the Uzbek people lived. The map is titled ‘Nova Maris Caspi et regions Uzbeck’ and was made in 1735 by Johann Peter van Gelen on the basis of a map drawn by Abraham Maas – a Dutch cartographer, who had served in Russia. The original is preserved in the Szechenyi National Library, Budapest, Hungary. The section includes displays illustrating the events connected with the organization of the first military expedition of Prince A. Bekovich-Cherkasski in Khiva in 1717 and a second strong but unsuccessful expedition against the Khivan state in 1839-1840 (under the command of V.A. Perovski) in which the forces of Bekovich-Cherkasski were almost all totally annihilated. On the map are laid out the principal Tsarist military campaigns against Kokand in 1853, 1864-1866 and 1873-1876, against Bukhara in 1866-1868 and against Khiva in 1873. Other images record the places of battles and the capture by Tsarist forces of Tashkent (1865), Samarkand (1868), Khiva (1873) and Makhram (1875). The events of the Khivan campaign were recorded in paintings by an eye-witness and participant, the military artist N.N. Karazin. Also displayed are photographs of the opening of the Russian political agency in Bukhara in 1886, documents recording the payment of contributions to Russia by Khiva, apportionment to Russian citizens of parcels of land in accordance with agreements dictating the inclusion of Bukhara within the Russian ‘customs boundary’, together with other materials which graphically confirm the vassal status of the Emirate of Bukhara and khanates of Khiva and Kokand.

On 31 August 1991 Uzbekistan attained real statehood - the most prominent event in the many centuries of the history of the Uzbek people. The exhibition complex ‘The Formation of the Sovereign Democratic State – the Republic of Uzbekistan’ displays documents laying the foundations of sovereignty, among which are the important Constitutional Law ‘On the Foundations of State Independence of the Republic of Uzbekistan’ and the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Here also are presented the symbols of the independent state flag, crest and national anthem together with a map of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Also displayed are other important state foundation documents: Communication of the Supreme Soviet of Uzbekistan Concerning the Declaration of Independence on 31 August 1991; ‘Decree of the Supreme Soviet of Uzbekistan Concerning the Proclamation of the Sovereign State of Uzbekistan’; ‘On the Flag of the Republic of Uzbekistan’; ‘On the Crest of the Republic of Uzbekistan’ and ‘On the Hymn (National Anthem) of the Republic of Uzbekistan’. Also exhibited is the musical score of the National Anthem of the Republic of Uzbekistan by the composer Mutal Burkhanov. As symbols of the state there are also exhibited national orders and medals which have been established in the period of Independence. Great attention is allotted to exhibits demonstrating the strengthening of the defense of the republic and the enormous role of Uzbekistan in the struggle against international terrorism. Among the exhibits are photographs of soldiers and officers killed during the liquidation of terrorist bands and of weapons used by terrorists.