Hisor or Hisar (, Gissar) is a city in western Tajikistan, about 15 km west of Dushanbe. The city was the seat of the former Hisar District, and is part of the Districts of Republican Subordination. It lies at an altitude of 799–824 m, surrounded by high mountains (Gissar Range to the north, Babatag and Aktau ranges to the south). The river Khanaka, a tributary to the Kofarnihon, flows through the town. Its population is estimated at 29,100 for the city proper and 308,100 for the city with the outlying communities (2020). As of 2002, its population was composed 81.6% of Tajiks, 12.3% Uzbeks, 3.6% Russians, and 2.5% others.

History

The fort of Hisar, residence of the Bukharan governor, is said to date back to Cyrus the Great and to have been captured twenty one times. In 1504 the region was conquered by Muhammad Shaybani. Babur briefly conquered Hisar in 1511, but came back under control of the Uzbeks not long after. Hisar became a semi-independent principality in the next few decades and was ruled by a sultan, furnishing troops for Bukhara's military campaigns. In the 17th century the Tajiks became the dominant power in the region, obtaining the governorship of Hisar. During this period the Bukharan khanate was split between the khan in Bukhara and the ruler (usually one of his relatives) in Balkh, and Hisar was generally subordinate to the latter. The decline of Bukharan power after the assassination of Ubaydullah Khan in 1711 resulted in Hisor asserting its independence. Hisar was made a city on June 26, 1993.

Subdivisions

Before ca. 2018, Hisar was the seat of Hisar District, which covered the rural part of the present city of Hisar isor. The city of Hisar covers Hisar proper, the town Sharora and ten jamoats. These are as follows:

Geography

Climate

Hisar has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa). The average annual temperature is 14.1 °C. The hottest month is July with an average temperature of 23.9 °C and the coolest January with an average temperature of 1.7 °C. The average annual precipitation is 568 mm and there is an average of 90.5 days with precipitation. The wettest month is March with an average of 107.2 mm of precipitation and the driest month is August with an average of 0.8 mm.