An influx of Turkic-speaking people into the region, starting in late medieval times, led to turkification.

While Namangan still had a Tajik majority until the middle of the 19th century, identification of its residents with Turkic rather than Iranian cultures has increased.

By the late 20th century, most residents of Namangan speak Uzbek,[citation needed] albeit with a significant Tajik-speaking minority.

[10][11] Endless intrigues, coups and ensuing unrest led Namangan to join the uprising against Muhammad Khudayar Khan between 1873 and 1876.

Then Skobelev pulled up additional forces and subjected Namangan to an artillery bombardment, knocking the rebels out of the city and finally joining it to the Russian Empire.

After the territory of the Khanate of Kokand was incorporated into the empire, the city became the center of Namangan district of Fergana Oblast.

With the accession to Russia, industrial, commercial and banking capital began to penetrate Central Asia at a rapid pace.

The largest scale of production was characterized by 20 cotton ginning plants, which produced 81.5% of the total gross industrial output.

[12] Since Uzbekistan's independence in 1991, Namangan has gained a reputation for Islamic revivalism, with many mosques and schools funded by organizations from Middle Eastern countries, including the extremist Wahhabi sect from Saudi Arabia that produced jihadist terrorists like Juma Namangani who fought and died in support of the Afghan Taliban and the Al Qaeda.

[7] Located in the centre of the city, Babur Park was created in the late 19th century as the private garden of Namangan's Russian governor, but it is now open to the public.

Founded by a wealthy cotton magnate from Namangan, it was closed by the Soviets and spent much of the 20th century as a literary museum.

The madrassa's minarets and portal have been completely restored, and the white, blue, yellow, and green mosaic tiles are particularly beautiful.

The Khodjamni Kabri Mausoleum and neighbouring Khodja Amin Mosque both date from the 1720s and are the work of local architect Usto Muhammad Ibrahim.

Opened on all four sides, the portal-domed mosque hosts intricate terracotta tilework which was produced using a method which was commonplace in the 12th century but had disappeared in the Fergana Valley.

This mosque was linked with the controversial Wahhabi sect during the 1990s and received funding from Saudi Arabia before it was closed by the Uzbek government.

After annexation by the Russians in 1867, cotton production and food processing became the dominant economic activity, as it did in many other places in the country.