Tours on ancient settlements Kyrgyzstan.

"Once the ruler of Kashgar invaded Moghulistan to condemn and punish the Kalmyks. Two months later, following the direction from east to north, we reached some area where the roofs of tall buildings protruded from under the sand for four or five zira: minarets, palaces, arches, madrassas, and their signs were visible from a distance of four farsangs. Not far from that area we overtook the Kalmyks, and a battle took place between us. We captured many captives from among these infidels and on our return, when we reached the place where we had previously seen the remains of buildings, we asked the captives the name of this area. They said: "We know that here in the past there was a city called Balasagun".

A Kashgar traveler in Balkh.

Architectural Sights of Kyrgyzstan.

The discovery of first-class architectural monuments on the territory of the Burana settlement has given rise to a number of recent historical and archaeological literature questions: what city did they decorate and what place did they occupy in the urban planning system? Who could these majestic tombs belong to?
The results of archaeological research in the 60s and 70s on the territory of Kyrgyzstan and, in particular, at the Burana settlement, new extracts from written sources allow us to return to the question of Balasagun. The problem of localizing the capital of the Karakhanid and Khitan states has been debated for a long time.
A number of scientists, as noted above, identify the Burana ruins with the historical Balasagun, others associate the remains of the Ak-Beshim settlement with this city, others - with the Krasnorechensk ruins; finally, others generally deny the localization of this city in the Chui Valley.
There is an opinion about two cities under one name. It seems to us that initially Balasagun meant a city that was formed in the VIth - VIIth centuries, the ruins of which correspond to the Ak-Beshim settlement. However, over the course of time, urban life from Ak-Beshim moved to the Burana area.
The distance between them is so small that at the end of the XIXth century, both monuments, less ploughed than at present, were perceived as the ruins of one city. In terms of topographic structure, Ak-Beshim is close to the cities of the Maverannahr type of the early Middle Ages, the original form of the settlement is a shakhristan with a citadel.
At the Burana settlement there are no traditional manifestations of a citadel, a densely built-up shakhristan, and in a series of settlements of the Chui Valley it is a unique monument. Although L. R. Kyzlasov at one time denied the possibility of "transferring" the old city of Ak-Beshim to a new location due to the insignificance of the territory of the Burana settlement and the absence of ceramics of the XIIIth - XIVth centuries, however, such an assumption is quite acceptable. P. N. Kozhemyako proved that the Xth century is not the final date of life on Ak-Beshim and part of the settlement functioned until the XIIth century.
Excavations by L. R. Kyzlasov himself at Ak-Beshim revealed a hoard of Karakhanid coins from the middle and sixth decades of the XIth century. "At this or a close time, i.e. approximately in the middle of the third quarter of the XIth century, this hoard was buried in the ground or in some other way finally fell out of circulation.
The Buranino ruins provide material from the Xth - XIVth centuries and belong to the very last period of the existence of settlements in the Chui Valley. Thus, it can be assumed that for two centuries both settlements coexisted, but gradually one died out and the other flourished.
In addition, similar phenomena of migration of large cities are known for a number of Central Asian capitals: Samarkand, Merv, Kesh and others. The above-mentioned data of archaeological and topographic observation must be compared with information from written sources.
It is very interesting that almost all medieval authors mention the capital of the Karakhanid state under the name Balasagun only from the Xth century. Before that, in the Arab-Persian sources, in particular in Ibn-Khordadbeh and Kudama, there is a “city of the Turgesh (Turkic) Khakan” (in Kudama - “the village of the Turkic Khakan”) 4 farsakhs from the “large village” of Saryg on the road from Taraz (now Dzhambul) to Issyk-Kul.
Along with this designation of the Turkic residence in the Chui Valley, al-Muqaddasi mentions Orda, which also had the meaning of “the khan’s headquarters”. It is quite logical to assume that here the semantic meaning of the capital city is also indicated, but its name is given as a proper name, which locally sounds like “Orda”.
The same with the toponym “Suyab”. Some researchers consider the capital Turkic, Turgesh khakans and Karluk rulers (yabgu) this city. For the first time about the capital of the Turks we The Buddhist pilgrim Xuan Zang (630) reports that he calls it "Sui-e-Shui - a gathering place for merchants from all neighboring countries" and places it at the western end of Lake Issyk-Kul, in the upper reaches of the Chu River.
V.V. Bartold questions this location of the city and places it near Tokmak.We also cannot agree with A.N. Bernshtam, who considers it possible to compare Suyab with the Novorossiysk settlement. The historical and topographic study of the Chu Valley and the Issyk-Kul Basin, conducted in recent decades by Kyrgyz archaeologists in connection with the compilation of the Archaeological Map of the Republic, indicates that there are no developed early medieval settlements (which could be considered cities) to the east of modern Tokmak in the Chu Valley.
The Novorossiysk settlement is located in the depths of the narrow valley of the Chon-Kemin River, 25 kilometers from where it flows into the Chu River, away from the trade route. The pits and excavations at the settlement laid by P. N. Kozhemyako yielded a weak cultural layer of the XIth - XIIth centuries.
"There is no reason to talk about the existence of life at this settlement at an earlier time and, obviously, it should be considered a military-defensive structure" or a summer residence of one of the Karakhanid rulers. It seems that the French scientist A. Gambi and the English orientalist J. Clauson are closer to the truth, who suggested identifying Suyab with the remains of the Ak-Beshim settlement.
It should be noted that the information about the "capital of the Turkic Khakan", Suyab and Ordu is very contradictory. Some authors refer to these cities as different capitals of the Turkic rulers, while others imply one city. The location of Suyab as a capital and as a trade center is also vaguely indicated: in some sources - on the left bank of the Chu River, in others - on the right.
Therefore, it is possible that the "capital of the Turkic khakan" was implied by both "Suyab" and "Ordu" in authors of different times. Pritsak, for example, describing the history of the early Karakhanid state (840 - 992), writes as follows: "The main residence of the Karluk yabgu was Ordu on the Chu River (Suyab) near Balasagun, which is called Kara-Ordu in the sources, sometimes Kuz-Ordu."
In the Manichaean manuscript of the VIIIth - IXth centuries. "The Holy Book of the Two Foundations", written in "blessed Argu-Talas", mentions Ordukent among the cities of Semirechye where there were Manichaean communities. This is the earliest mention of a city-headquarters in the form of Ordu.
For the second half of the Xth century (985), al-Muqaddasi calls Ordu small and notes its fortress wall, citadel, and moat filled with water. Here he also mentions Balasagun, calling it large and abundant. Mahmud of Kashgar, on the contrary, considered Balasagun "Kemi Ordu" - "Little Ordu". Since it was in close proximity to Ordu, "Balasagun was also called Kuz-Ordu for this reason.
Ordu - the khan's headquarters." In this source, Mahmud of Kashgar also gives another name for Balasagun - Kuz-Ulush. During the Mongolian period, the name of the city acquired such synonyms as Karalyg, Gor-Balyk, which should be read as Kuz-Balyg (or Guz-Balyk), which corresponds to Kuz-Orda.
In the Far Eastern historical chronicles, Balasagun is called Gusy-eludo or Husy-vaerdo - as "the city of the Guzes". The simultaneous use of two or three names for the same city in medieval Central Asia was not unusual. The capital of the Kipchaks, Otrar, is mentioned in Arab-Persian literature as Barab (Farab); the capital of Shash - Tashkent is otherwise known as Binket, Isfidzhab-Sairam, etc.
The variety of synonyms for the name of the city of Balasagun is explained by geographer H. Khasanov as follows: the most ancient name of Balasagun, contained in the works "Hudud al'alam" and in Gardizi (XIth century), in his opinion, was "Beklig" or "Beklilig".
In Mongolian it sounds like "Gor-Balyk", and locally - among the Turks Argu and Chigil - "Kuzulush" and "Kuzordu". The archaeologist K. M. Baipakov also adheres to the opinion about the ancient name of Balasagun in the form "Beklig". However, his conclusions that Suyab (aka Ordu) and Balasagun (aka Beklig or Semekna) emerged and existed simultaneously and that in the VIIth - IXth centuries the Turkic capital was "Suyab-Ordu" (Ak-Beshim settlement), and Balasagun (Buraninskoye settlement) was a large settlement, are not entirely correct.
If Ak-Beshim really provides archaeological material from the Vth - Xth centuries, then at the Burana settlement no cultural layer earlier than the Xth century has been recorded. Therefore, one cannot agree with the author's conclusion about the identity of Beklig (VIIth - VIIIth centuries) with Burana (Xth - XIVth centuries).
V. V. Bartold believed that the city received its name from the material from which its buildings were erected (“balyk” in Turkic means “clay”). K. Makhmudov explains it as an abbreviation of “balik” with the omission of the final “k” and “sagkun”, which means “sitting on the right hand”.
Both terms, in his opinion, are of pre-Turkic origin. Balasagun, therefore, can be define as "City of the Bek", "City of the Khan". It is obvious that Kuz-Orda (Balasagun) and Ordu were not one city, but were located so close that they were perceived (or called?) during the time of Mahmud of Kashgar as one city.
After the XIth century, the city of Ordu was no longer mentioned in written sources. V. V. Bartold provides a detailed summary of historical information about the eastern capital of the Karakhanids and Khitans up until the XVIth century. However, some additional information about the city can be gleaned from subsequent works of orientalists and archaeologists in connection with the discovery and translation of works by medieval authors, monuments of local epigraphy and coins.
For example, such data are contained in a recently published translation of the "geography" of Mahmud ibn Wali (1634 - 1641): "Balasagun - from the cities of Turkestanzamin, known (under the name) Mogolistan. Before the Mongol invasion it had a purely Muslim population.
Many scholars came from it. Mustaufi says: (Balasagun) is a vast and pleasant country; from the sixth-seventh climates. Its climate is very cold. Some chronicles report that the width of its fortress wall was two and a half (gyazes). (Balasagun) had forty cathedral and two hundred everyday mosques, twenty khanakas and ten madrassas.
The people of Balasagun are Sunnis and from the Hanifite community. In that city, the sciences of fiqh and hadith were more widespread than other knowledge. After the Mongol invasion, until the customs of the Mongols damaged it, it was well-organized and flourishing.
And from that time until today it is in a devastated and abandoned state. A certain traveler from Kashgar, during the compilation of this book in Balkh, told: once the ruler of Kashgar invaded Mogolistan to condemn and punish the Kalmyks. After two months, following the direction from east to north, we reached some place where the roofs of tall buildings protruded from under the sand for four or five zira: minarets, palaces, arches, madrassas and their signs were visible from a distance of four farsangs.
Not far from that place we overtook the Kalmyks (and between them) a battle took place. They seized many captives from among these infidels and on our return, when we reached the place where (earlier) we had seen the remains of buildings, we asked the captives the name of this area.
They said: we know (only) that here (in the past) there was a city called Balasagun. During the reign of some descendants of Genghis Khan it remained under the sand, and at present in some places from under the sand you can sometimes see rooms with all the household utensils: cauldrons, clay cups, vessels and vases, and the rugs and (other) belongings have disappeared.
In some rooms people are also buried. In a word, this city in the past was one of the best cities of this region, but at present (even its name) has been forgotten... "And although the information in the source somewhat exaggerates the merits and number of buildings, they provide interesting material on the history of this city and the region as a whole.
The evidence of written sources supplements the data of numismatics. It has been archaeologically established that such an abundance of Turgesh coins is not observed at any other settlement in the Chui Valley, much less beyond its borders, as at Ak-Beshim.
Undoubtedly, they were cast and circulated mostly at the Khakan's headquarters. Later, during the Karakhanid period, over 30 mints are known in the state of the Ilekhans, but there are almost no coins with an indication of the mint in the form of Balasagun.
But there are a lot of coins issued in the Horde and Kuz-Orda. Finds of gold coins and numerous hoards, including gold minting of the XIIth - XIIIth centuries, registered at Burana in much greater quantities than at any other settlement in Northern Kyrgyzstan, testify to the major economic role of this city.
The latter circumstance was noted by V.V. Bartold during his visit to Burana in 1894. By the way, in the hoard of gold coins found in 1966, there were mugs minted by Khorezmshah Muhammad and earlier. According to B. D. Kochnev, they were buried during the Mongol invasion.
Local epigraphic monuments may also testify in favor of identifying the Burana settlement with Balasagun. In addition to the well-known inscriptions on the Syro-Turkic Nestorian tombstones within the central ruins, most likely in a Muslim cemetery, several kayraks with Arabic text of epitaphs were raised at the end of the XIXth century.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to make out the entire text from the lithograph placed in the Works of the Eastern Commission: only the religious formula and the name of Mahmud-Hadji are clearly legible. The kayraks discovered at the Burana settlement in 1965 and 1970 were once on the graves of sheikhs who died at the end of the XIIth century, eminent persons, pilgrims to both holy cities for Muslims; one of them was called the Mufti of the East and China, the protector of his equals, Ahmad, the son of Mas'ud Nurallah, who died in 592 - 1194 - 1195.
In this regard, it is worth mentioning the famous message of Muhammad Haider about the ruins of Monar, its buildings and the inscription on the kayrak: “In the country of Chu,” it is noted in “Ta'rikh-i Rashidi,” There are traces of a large city in this place; its minarets, gumbeses and madrassas have been preserved in some places.
Since no one knows the name of this city, the Mongols call it Monara. In addition, there is a dome and a stone slab on which the inscription is carved in the naskh script: “This is the grave of the most glorious imam, the immutable, the most perfect sheikh, who embraced both contemplative and experimental sciences, an expert in both the branches and the foundations of jurisprudence, Imam Muhammad faqih Balasagunsky; may the tree of his communication with God never cease to blossom on his grave, and may the gaze of worthy men be forever directed to him.
He died in 711. This was written by the blacksmith Omar-hajja.” The identity of Monara with Burana is indisputable; this opinion has been expressed for a long time. In addition, in the Chui Valley (within the Kirghiz SSR), finds of kayraks have been registered only for the Burana settlement.
True, according to N. F. Petrovsky, Burana could not be Balasagun, since the grave of the aforementioned imam and legends about him have not survived. But even if, the author of the article stated, the grave of the imam had been found, then he could have been called Balasagunsky in a foreign city where he died and was buried.
These arguments are unconvincing. Firstly, the aforementioned kayrak from the grave of the lawyer Muhammad might not have survived for the simple reason that over the course of many years the local population took out bricks and stones for construction needs; secondly, there might not have been legends about the imam, since the Mongols, and later the nomadic Kirghiz, did not profess Islam for several centuries.
One of the striking confirmations of this is the forgotten purpose of the minaret, perceived by the Kyrgyz for many centuries as a watchtower. The same can be said about the nisba (or laqab) of the lawyer Muhammad. Usually, nisba was affixed to visiting persons, but we know of many exceptions to this rule.
For example, Dzhemal Karshi, listing in his work "Mulhakat as-Surakh" famous people of the XIth - XIIth centuries, sometimes gives a double nisba - both by place of birth and by place of burial; in the Shah-Fazil mausoleum, three kayraks have been preserved, belonging to the burials of sheikhs who have a laqab for their place of residence and burial - "Isbidbulani" (see below).
In Kasane, for example, there is a mazar of Sheikh - Seyyid Ahmad Kasani, where the kayrak was installed not even on the grave, but only in memory of him. In the famous Termez mausoleum, there is a marble slab that was made many years after the death of the sheikh, but the nisba is placed at the place of residence of the "holy" Sufi.
Some monuments in Azerbaijan also record the fact of indicating the nisba to people who died in their hometown. The discovery of monuments of monumental religious architecture, as well as repeated finds of gravestones on the territory of the settlement testify in favor of the information provided in "Ta'rikh-i Rashidi" about the ruins of Monara-Buran and the localization of the historical Balasagun here.
In this regard, we consider it appropriate to present some information on the historical topography of the city, which has not yet been touched upon in the literature, and also, to some extent, on the history of Kyrgyzstan in the medieval period. When deciding on the place of architectural monuments in the city's layout, one cannot help but note their special position.
The construction of fortress walls in the center of the city, which in turn was surrounded by a Double Ring of fortifications, is the only example for the settlements of Kyrgyzstan and other monuments of Central Asia. At the same time, the central part of the city was sparsely populated.
Since its main territory had an area free of buildings and at the same time was surrounded by a wall, it can be assumed that the central part of the settlement could have developed as a suburban (or new) residence of the Turkic prince Ordu (Ordukent) around the middle or second half of the Xth century.
Archaeological materials earlier than the Xth century have not been found in the central part of the settlement, except for Turgesh coins, which were in circulation on the local market in the Xth - XIth centuries. The construction of religious Muslim buildings on the territory of the khan's residence can be associated with the adoption of a new religion by the Karakhanids.
Since the policy of the first representatives of this dynasty was aimed at spreading and strengthening Islam among the Turks, it is clear that the former capital of the Turkic khagans (Suyab-Ordu) with its Buddhist and Christian temples and quarters, densely populated shakhristan could not include Muslim buildings associated with the practice of the new religion.
That was the time of the dominance of Islam in the East, and there was no need to convert Christian churches and pagan temples into mosques, as was practiced throughout Central Asia during its Arab conquest. Therefore, it seems that the “Burana” residence, surrounded by fortress walls and which became a reserved khan’s estate (kuruk?) from the middle of the Xth century, included religious buildings associated with the performance of Muslim rituals - a mosque with a minaret, possibly a madrasah, and then a dynastic cemetery began to form on this square.
Archaeological data indicate an unusual structure of the city of Balasagun. As noted above, there are no parts typical of an early medieval city: a citadel, a densely built-up shakhristan and rabad. The foundation of the city can be associated with the gradual resettlement of the inhabitants of the city located on Ak-Beshim and their Islamization, with the new policy of the feudal elite of the Karakhanids.
As noted by O. G. Bolshakov in a collective work on the medieval city of Central Asia, the nomadic feudal nobility was interested in expanding urban development and replenishing the urbanized artisan population - the main productive force, and in urban buildings they had a source of constant income from real estate ("mustagall").
The city of Kyrgyzstan in the Xth - XIIth centuries, as everywhere in Central Asia, was an administrative and political center; a significant part of large landowners now lived in cities. The final clarification of the historical topography of the entire city territory at this stage is a difficult matter.
However, it can be assumed that its formation took place gradually. The construction of the outer city walls, as shown by archaeological sections in different parts, falls on the end of the Xth or the beginning of the XIth centuries; they were erected together with the estates of feudal lords within the city.
It is difficult to say whether the walls reflected the configuration of the already established buildings or were built arbitrarily before the formation of the city. Judging by other settlements in the Chui Valley, they were erected as an administrative border and to protect city buildings along with the surrounding crops, gardens and vegetable gardens from enemies.
For whom were the uncovered Buranino buildings intended? Archaeological data indicate that they were erected in the second half of the Xth century for the minaret and in the late XIth - early XIIth centuries - for the mausoleums. The legend about the tower can be seen as a hint at the construction of a minaret (with a mosque) by the supreme ruler himself.
It is known that the title of Arslan Khan in Balasagun was already borne by the first representatives of the Karakhanid dynasty. The father of its founder (Satuk Bogra Khan) was already the ruler of Balasagun and bore the title of Arslan Khagan.
Satuk himself, having accepted Islam, began a "sacred struggle" with the "infidel" Turks, which was continued by his son Musa, who was a co-ruler. Having won this struggle, Musa proclaimed himself Arslan Khan and carried out the Islamization of the entire country in 349 - 960.
The above archaeological facts and evidence from written sources about Balasagun allowed us to connect the construction of the city itself and its monumental Muslim buildings with these events. Stationary excavations currently underway in the central part of the Burana settlement are revealing new monuments of religious and civil architecture from the XIth - XIIth centuries.

Authority: 
V. D. Goryacheva. "Medieval urban centers and architectural ensembles of Kyrgyzstan (Burana, Uzgen, Safid-Bulan)”. Popular science essay Ilim Publishing House. Frunze. 1983. Academy of Sciences of the Kirghiz SSR. Institute of History.