Özbekistan’da Milli Kimlik İnşası ve Emir Timur

The birthplace of Emir Timur and the center of the world state he founded is today within the borders of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The reign of Timur and the Timurids is considered a peak period in terms of Uzbekistan’s national history. The states in Turkestan, which are the remnants of the Emir Timur state: Bukhara (1501-1920), Khiva (1512-1920), Kokand (1709-1876) Khanates, remained loyal to the Timur legacy in politics and state affairs, culture and education, art and architecture until the Russian occupation. The Republic of Uzbekistan and the Uzbek people, which emerged as a new independent state with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, drew inspiration from the brightest period of their past to build their national identity and resorted to the legacy of Emir Timur. During the establishment of the independent Republic of Uzbekistan, the Islam Karimov government, which ruled the state, tried to shape the ideological gap that emerged after the Soviets with a new ideology based on national history and especially designed it through the personality and legacy of Emir Timur. This study will discuss the ideological transformation experienced in the Republic of Uzbekistan after it gained independence, the process of reconstruction of the Uzbek people, the use of the Timur image in the construction of national identity, and the impact and contribution of the Timurid heritage in the formation of national values.