PIONEERS OF UZBEK RENAISSANCE: FROM YUSUF KHASS HAJIB TO AHMAD AL-FARGHANI

Uzbekistan is striving to develop its Third Renaissance, aiming to become the cradle of science and literature in the Turkic-Muslim world, just as it was in the past. Indeed, the first and second scientific renaissance of the Muslim world took place in Uzbek lands. This article seeks to highlight the key figures of the First Renaissance of the Muslim world, which occurred in the Turkic Karluk territories—modern Uzbekistan. Among the most significant figures are Yunus Has Hajib, Mahmud al-Kashgari (fathers of Turkic philosophy and literature), and Ahmad al-Fergani, a great Turkic astronomer from Turkestan. These Uzbek scholars transformed Bukhara, Fergana, and Samarkand into major scientific centers, serving as examples for Uzbekistan’s Third Renaissance.