Jizzakh

Jizzakh (Uzbek: Jizzax/Жиззах, .mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}pronounced [dʒɨzzaχ]) is a city and the center of Jizzakh Region in Uzbekistan, located in the northeast of Samarkand. Jizzakh is a district-level city.[2] The population of Jizzakh is 179,200 (2020 est.)[1]. According to one version, the name of the city comes from the Sogdian word "Dizak", which means "small fortress" or "small fort".[3] Jizzakh was an important Silk Road junction on the road connecting Samarkand with the Fergana Valley. It is at the edge of Golodnaya Steppe, and next to the strategic Pass of Jilanuti (Timur's Gate) in the Turkestan Mountains, controlling the approach to the Zeravshan Valley, Samarkand and Bukhara.