Istaravshan

Istaravshan (; ; ) is a city in Sughd Province in Tajikistan. Located in the northern foothills of the Turkistan mountain range, 78 kilometers southwest of Khujand, Before 2000, it was known as Ура́-Тюбе (Ura-Tyube) in Russian, Ӯротеппа (Ūroteppa) in Tajik and O‘ratepa in Uzbek. In 2000, the Tajik authorities decided to rename the name of the city from O‘ratepa into Istaravshan, the process called as forced "Tajikization" or "Persification" by many.
Bordered by Uzbekistan in the north and west, and Kyrgyzstan in the east, the territorial area of Istaravshan stretches 1,830 square kilometers, and with an administrative population of 199,000 people, the majority of its citizens live in the outlying countryside.
The city lies on the main road connecting Tajikistan's two largest cities, Khujand and Dushanbe.
Istaravshan is a city of the museum, one of central Asia's oldest towns of commerce and crafts. 2002 saw the 2.500 anniversary of the city celebrated by Istaravshan. The city was built by an Akhemenid king Cyrus in the sixth century B.C. who defended the village with three wall lines and a citadel.
Climate.
Istaravshan has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification "BSk"). There is more rainfall in winter than in summer. The average annual temperature in Istaravshan is . About of precipitation falls annually. 
Subdivisions.
Before ca. 2018, Istaravshan was the seat of Istaravshan District, which covered the rural part of the present city of Istaravshan. The city of Istaravshan covers Istaravshan proper and ten jamoats. These are as follows: