Excursions in Zhambyl region.

“Kara Khan reigned over all the people. In the summer he lived in the Er-tag and Ger-tag mountains, which are now called Ulu-tau and Kichik-tau, and when winter came, he spent time in Kara-Kum and on the banks of the Syr river. Under Kara-Khan, his subjects became so impious that there was not a single Muslim among them."

Abu-l-ghazi, 12.

Ancient settlements of Zhambyl region.

Taraz position on the Great Silk Road made it the main city of the Talas Valley - a huge agricultural region adjacent to the caravan road. The Silk Road from Ispidzhab to Taraz passed through such points as Sharab, Budukhket, Tamdaj. Abarjaj and Juvikat.
Excavations in the Talas Valley shed light on the existence here during the VIth - XIIth centuries. “Town of Juvikat. It defended from Taraz by two farsakhs (14 - 16 kilometers) to the west. The location of Juvikat is established precisely: this is the Bektobe settlement, located 17 kilometers east of the ancient settlement of Taraz, which corresponds to two farces between the cities indicated by the sources.
Bektobe settlement is located on the southern slopes of the Ulken Burultai ridge. The central part of the settlement is a rectangular (100 x 120 meters) hillock 5 - 7 meters high, along the edge of which there is a wall with towers at the corners and perimeter.
In the northwestern corner there was a citadel in the form of an oval hillock (its dimensions at the base are 30 x 20 meters) with a platform at the top (20 x 15 meters). The central ruins are adjoined by a territory enclosed by a long wall.
There was an agricultural district here. Assignment of the Bektobe settlement to the VIth - XIIth centuries corresponds to the lifetime of the city of Juvikat and confirms their identity.

Authority:
K.M. Baypakov. “Medieval settlements on the Great Silk Road”. Almaty, "Gylym". 1998.

Photos by
Alexander Petrov.