FERGANA VALLEY: LOST CRADLE OF CIVILIZATION’S HORSES AND STEEL

Abstract

Modern historiography has, either through neglect or intent, obscured the pivotal role of Central Asia—specifically the Fergana Valley, today’s Uzbekistan—in the origins of equine breeding and advanced metallurgy. This article challenges the sanitized global narrative that attributes premier horse breeds and ancient high-carbon steel exclusively to Arabian, Persian, or European sources. Drawing on East Asian archival records and empirical archeometallurgy, we argue that Fergana was not merely a cultural periphery but a foundational epicenter in the development of military and agricultural technology.