City of Zhankent(Yangikent) and Sygnak(Sunuk-ata)

Zhankent(Yangikent)Geographical location: The site of ancient settlement of Zhankent is 20km from Kazalinsk, on right river bank of Syr-Darya. Type of the monument: Settlement Cultural/ethnical membership: Kangyuy, Oguz, Kypchak, Kazakh

Dating:Zhankent is dated by the first centuries B.C. – XVIII century. In the first centuries of our era - XII century it was situated in the ancient settlement of Zhankent, in XIII-XIV centuries it occupied the territory of Myntobe ancient settlement of.

The ancient settlement has subdirect shape in the size of 375х225m

• There is a citadel in the size100х100m and height of 7-8 meters in a northwest corner. The topography of ruins shows the direction of the main street Connectingthe gares ineast andwestern walls. Intra-quartersmall streetsdepart from this.

Wall of the citadel and towers 1 and 2Currently Zhankent preserved sites of more than 40 towers. As the archaeological excavations show, a tower located at the gates differs by extreme durability which allowed to reflect the attacks of enemies. According to experts, the citadel could be the location of military garrisons. Interestingly that the lower internal floor is faced by strong brickwork which was widespread in the Central Asia.

Brick and utensils found during excavations is the evidence of the culture of sedentary and nomadic tribes. The diversity of these cultures suggests to say about the close ties of the Turkic tribes with different cultural and economic forms in the Oguz ethno-political association.

Historical reference Zhankent (Yangikent) was not only capital and

residence of Oguz governors but also the largest shopping centre in lower reaches of Syr-Darya. It is explained by its geographical position – it settled down in the original corridor connecting steppes of the Central Kazakhstan with Central Asia and the Near East, on the one hand, by Khoresm, Priaralem, Caucasus, and the Mediterranean – on the other side. The city was the centre of overland and river trade: vessels, loaded with grain and bread came downwards across Syr-Darya from the Central Asian cities to these lands according to ibn-Haukal. In XVII-XVIII centuries it was a residence of the Kazakh khans. Also Zhankent had close connections with Khoresm. Colonists lived in a city from Khoresm, and there is an opinion that the city existing long before Oguz and in X century has been built up from the zero point and was fortified by Khorezm builders.

Writings about Zhankent as about a city of Oguz and then of Kipchaks for the first time are seen in historical sources of the Central Asian, Arabian and Persian historians and travelers in 10-11 centuries. Throughout 6 centuries we can find the data on a city in historical sources of the Persian and Arabian historians and travelers. A site of ancient settlement of Zhankent (Yangikent) was the largest fortified political and shopping centre in the lower currents of Syr-Darya. Proseprity was reached by the city due to transit trade and its location on a brisk trading line of the Silk Road. The city has existed about seventeen centuries. Zhankent, as well as other cities of the bottom current of Syr-Darya, became the additional centre of Oguz and Seldzhuk statehood, and one of the centres of ethnogenesis of Kazakhs. Zhenkent has been destroyed in the beginning of 13 centuries by mongolo-tatar conquerors. In the second half of 13 centuries it has been built up again and with revival of trading ways as before it began to play an important role by connecting the cities of Priaralye, cities of Central Asia, the Middle East, East and the Western Europe. In 18 century the city has fallen into decay. The population had to leave a city and Zhankent was never built up again. For today, this is a unique large monument of an epoch of the Middle Ages in lower currents of Syr-Darya which is being explored by archeologists. The ancient settlement has some remained fortifications made of mudbrick blocks. Being located on one of the important parts of the Silk Road, a city certainly played the important role being a link on the Great Silk Road. The archaeological monument “Zhankent ancient settlement” is under state protection. The site of ancient settlement of Zhankent can be recorded into the list under criterion 3 as being the certificate of cultural tradition and mutual relation of nomadic and settled cultures during Middle Ages epoch on the Great silk Road.

Syganak(Sunuk-ata) Geographical location: The

site of ancient settlement of Sygnak is located 20km to the north-west of Tyumen-aryk railway station, 1.5km to the right of Turkestan – Kzyl-Orda modern line

Type of the monument: settlement

Dating: VI-XIV-XIX

Syganak(Sunuk-ata)The medieval cities of Kazakhstan are usually composed of three parts: the citadel, which is the administrative center of the city, Shahristan, home to affluent residents of the city and Rabad, inhabited by the population of the lower social level. But this settlement Syganak consists of two parts: Shakhristan and Rabad adjacent to Shahristan on three sides.

Shahristan is located in the south-eastern part of the settlement and is represented by the ruins of a once mighty fortress in an irregular pentagonal shape with a side length: north - 275 meters north-west - 175 m, south-west - 180 m south - 175 m south East 320 m. Entrance to the fort is located in the north end of the south-east shaft and is 20-meter long with corridor like passage. Preserved shaft height is of 6-7 m, but judging by shape, the original height has reached up to 10-12 m. A shaft perimeter was reinforced by 15 towers, the remains of which still dominate the shaft up to 1 m. The internal part of Shakhristan is almost on entire depth is filled by cultural stratum. In the whole area of Shakhristan one can find a large number of surface materials in the form of brick, unglazed and glazed ceramics, mainly, late medieval period. On three sides, except the south-east, adjacent to Shahristan is Rabad. Most of its length is 650 meters and width of 250-400 m. Rabad is surrounded by earthen wall, preserved to the present time, height 0.7-1.5 m. It’s the most built-up part is the area of the west and the north. In these places the largest number of mounds of various shapes and sizes were remained - the remnants of medieval buildings.

As in Shahristani whole burnt bricks, and their fragments, unglazed and glazed ceramics are met throughout Rabad area.

During the excavation work a mosque-saga was discovered

The largest room (9,8 х 9,8 m) is prayer room

MihrabMihrab –(opening in the western wall of the prayer hall of the mosque, where one can tilt the head, turn to God of Muslims) is situated at the southern wall of the center. It corresponds to the Mihrab of H.A. Yasaui.

Room, after the Mihrab on the south side of the wall, is particularly decorated in compare to other rooms. The walls are plastered with a red alabaster. The solution is well preserved. On the south wall remained a rhomb, painted in blue and white color. This rhomb regarding its color is exactly like the rhomb in the prayer hall, in the mausoleum of H.A. Yasaui. This is evidenced by the construction at the end of XVIII - early XIX century on the banks of the Syr Darya (Zholdasbaev, 2010). Archaeological research in the region, on the area of 100-150 km showed, that mosque-madrassas were opened in every medieval town.

In the settlement of Syganak the main platform was built of baked bricks, the towers on the sides are made of rammed clay construction.The main platform is extended forward by 4.5 meters. Preserved height of the platform is 1.7 meters. The remarkable issue is that in the architecture of the gate at that moment in front of the gate the vertical supports for hanging bridge were not found as observed in other cities

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