Contribution of Academician B.A. Akhmedov to the Study of the Historical Geography of Central Asia of the Modern Era (on the Occasion of the 100th Anniversary of the Scientist’s Birth)

The article discusses and analyzes the scientific works of academician B. A. Akhmedov (1924A.Akhmedov ( -2002)), addressing issues related to the study of the historical geography of Central Asia from the 17th to the 19th centuries.Most researchers are familiar with the scholarly legacy of the scientist primarily through his works, which illuminate the medieval period of Central Asia, but B. A. Akhmedov made a significant contribution to the study of various aspects of the region's history in the Modern Era as well.The authors of this article investigated the main works of the scientist, which contain valuable factual material on the historical geography of this period.Among them, notable works include Mahmud ibn Wali: Sea of Secrets Regarding the Deeds of the Noble (Geography), History of Balkh (the 16th -first half of the 18th centuries), and Historical-Geographical Literature of Central Asia in the 16th -the 18th centuries (Written Monuments).The authors of this article studied works by the scientist and presented them in the most detail.The authors provided an analysis of the information on the historical geography of the Central Asian region from the 17th to the 19th centuries contained in B.A. Akhmedov's works.First and foremost, this includes the reconstruction of the administrative-territorial division of the Balkh Khanate in the 17th-18th centuries, conducted by the scientist based on the materials of Eastern manuscript compositions.B.A. Akhmedov describes in detail the location of regions, districts, and major cities, as well as their internal structure, with descriptions of the surrounding areas, forts located on caravan routes, water channels of the khanate, etc.The scientist reconstructed and identified individual historical toponyms mentioned in the manuscripts.