Termez, city, Uzbekistan, and a port of the Amu Darya (river) on the frontier of Afghanistan. The ancient town of Termez, a little to the north, flourished in the 1st century bce and was finally destroyed at the end of the 17th century ce. The present city originated as a Russian fort built in 1897 beside the small settlement of Pattagissar. It has registered some extremely high temperatures, the highest having been a temperature of 122 °F (50 °C) in July 1914. Termez has cotton ginneries, as well as food-processing and other light industries. The city and its environs have remains of a Buddhist monastery, ruined forts, and medieval mausoleums. Pop. (2014 est.) 136,200.