The terms "Uzbek" and "Uzbekistan" are used in written sources
The article discusses the use of the term “Uzbek” and the toponym “Uzbekistan” in medieval written sources. The name Uzbek is first encountered in the sources of the 12th century; this name was borne by some of the Turkic rulers of the Near and Middle East. The origin of the toponym Uzbekistan is associated with the name of the ruler of the Golden Horde, Uzbekkhan. In the fourteenth century. the name of Uzbekistan was understood as the Golden Horde. In the fifteenth century. after the collapse of the Golden Horde into several khanates, the name Uzbekistan was attached to the Uzbek Ulus, i.e. the state of nomadic Uzbeks, formed in the eastern part of the Golden Horde. From the beginning. XVI century the toponym Uzbekistan began to be applied to the whole of Central Asia, on the territory of which the state of the Shaybanids was formed. This name was used as a synonym for the place names Turan and Turkestan up to 1865, when Central Asia was conquered by the Russian Empire. Based on these data, we have every reason to believe that the toponym Uzbekistan, used for 365 years (from the beginning of the 16th century to 1965) in relation to the whole of Central Asia, was one of the historical names of the region.