page_title: Isfana
section_title: Early history
hierarchical_section_title: Isfana / History / Early history
caption_attribution_description: English: An artistʼs rendition of the Isfana (Asbanakent) Fortress at the Alisher Navoiy Secondary School Museum in Isfana, Kyrgyzstan.
context_page_description: Isfana is a small town in the extreme western end of Batken Region in southern Kyrgyzstan. Isfana is on the southern fringe of the Fergana Valley in a region surrounded on three sides by Tajikistan.
  The word "isfana" is believed to have come from the Sogdian word "asbanikat", "asbanikent" or "aspanakent" which means "the land of horses". Isfana has been inhabited since at least the 9th century. It underwent significant changes during the Soviet period. The selsoviet of Isfana was established in 1937. The selsoviet was transformed into a village administration in 1996. In 2001, Askar Akayev issued a presidential decree to make Isfana into a town.
  Isfana is the administrative center of Leilek District. The villages Myrza-Patcha, Samat, Chimgen, Taylan, Ak-Bulak, and Golbo are also governed by the Isfana mayor's office. According to data published on the town's official website, the population of Isfana and the subordinated villages is about 28,085. The population of Isfana itself is about 18,200.
context_section_description: The history of Isfana dates back to the 9-16th centuries. In 1957, archeologist Y. A. Zadneprovskiy found items dating back to the 14-16th centuries in the territory of the town. According to Numon Negmatov, Isfana corresponds to the medieval town of Asbanikat. The town was first part of Osrushana and was later conquered by the Samanids. In 1221, Isfana was sieged and conquered by the Mongol Empire. The northwestern part of Isfana through which the Mongols invaded is still known as "Moʻgʻul bosgan" which means "conquered by the Mongols".
  The medieval town of Isfana was in the central part of modern Isfana. It was home to a large fortress which was built in the 12th century. The last remaining walls of the Isfana Fortress were demolished in the 1970s.
caption: An artistʼs rendition of the Isfana (Asbanakent) Fortress (12th century)
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