"Essays" by P. P. Ivanov are known to many historians of Central Asia not only due to references to them in literature, but also because this manuscript was transferred to the disposal of the authors of the 2nd volume of "History of the Peoples of Uzbekistan" and was partially used by them in compiling this collective work. "Essays" were conceived back in 1938. The first part, from the Arab conquest to the beginning of the 16th century, was taken over by the late A. Yu. Yakubovsky, and the second part, from the 16th to the 19th centuries, - P. P. Ivanov. By the beginning of 1941, both parts were completed, but resulted in essentially two independent monographs. This was the first experience of Marxist coverage of the history of Central Asia. At the request of the publisher, the authors agreed to give their Essays a popular science character so that they would be useful to a wide range of historians and teachers. In June 1941, the State Political Publishing House accepted "Essays on the History of Central Asia of the 16th-19th Centuries." P. P. Ivanov for publication, but the war began, printing was postponed.