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Balasagun
Balasagun ( or ''Balasagyn''; ) was an ancient Sogdian city in modern-day Kyrgyzstan, located in the Chüy Valley between Bishkek and the Issyk-Kul lake. Located along the Silk Road, the ruins of the city were inscribed in 2014 on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor World Heritage Site. Balasagun was founded by the Sogdians, a people of Iranian origin and the Sogdian language was still in use in this town until the 11th century. It was the capital of the Kara-Khanid Khanate from the 10th century until it was taken by the Qara Khitai (Western Liao dynasty) in 1134. It was then captured by the Mongols in 1218. The Mongols called it Gobalik "Pretty City". It should not be confused with Karabalghasun, now Ordu-Baliq in Mongolia, which was the capital of the Uyghur Khaganate. Founded by the Kara-Khanid Khanate in the ninth century, Balasagun soon supplanted Suyab as the main political and economical centre of th ...
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Yūsuf Balasaguni
Yusuf Khass Hajib; kk, Жүсіп Баласағұни, Jüsip Balasağunï; ug, يۈسۈپ خاس ھاجىپ; ky, Жусуп Баласагын, Jusup Balasagın; uz, Yusuf Xos Hojib was an 11th-century Central Asian Turkic poet, statesman, vizier, Maturidi theologian and philosopher from the city of Balasaghun, the capital of the Kara-Khanid Khanate in modern-day Kyrgyzstan. He wrote the ''Kutadgu Bilig'' and most of what is known about him, comes from his own writings in this work. He is mostly referred to as Yūsuf Balasaguni, derived from his city of origin. Background Balasaguni's birthplace Balasagun was located at the Burana archaeological site near the present-day city of Tokmok in Northern Kyrgyzstan. His birthdate is estimated to be 1018 or 1019. His father was one of the prominent and wealthy people of that time. The young poet received his primary education in his hometown. His main influences were Avicenna, Al-Farabi and Ferdowsi. At the age of 54 (either i ...
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Kara-Khanid Khanate
The Kara-Khanid Khanate (; ), also known as the Karakhanids, Qarakhanids, Ilek Khanids or the Afrasiabids (), was a Turkic khanate that ruled Central Asia in the 9th through the early 13th century. The dynastic names of Karakhanids and Ilek Khanids refer to royal titles with Kara Khagan being the most important Turkic title up until the end of the dynasty. The Khanate conquered Transoxiana in Central Asia and ruled it between 999 and 1211. Their arrival in Transoxiana signaled a definitive shift from Iranian to Turkic predominance in Central Asia, yet the Kara-khanids gradually assimilated the Perso-Arab Muslim culture, while retaining some of their native Turkic culture. The capitals of the Kara-Khanid Khanate included Kashgar, Balasagun, Uzgen and Samarkand. In the 1040s, the Khanate split into the Eastern and Western Khanates. In the late 11th century, they came under the suzerainty of the Seljuk Empire, followed by the Qara Khitai (Western Liao dynasty) in the mid-12th ...
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Qara Khitai
The Qara Khitai, or Kara Khitai (), also known as the Western Liao (), officially the Great Liao (), was a Sinicized dynastic regime based in Central Asia ruled by the Khitan Yelü clan. The Qara Khitai is considered by historians to be an orthodox dynasty of China, as is the case for its predecessor the Liao dynasty. The dynasty was founded by Yelü Dashi (Emperor Dezong), who led the remnants of the Liao dynasty from Manchuria to Central Asia after fleeing from the Jin dynasty conquest of their homeland in northern China. The empire was usurped by the Naimans under Kuchlug in 1211; traditional Chinese, Persian, and Arab sources consider the usurpation to be the end of the dynasty, even though the empire would not fall until the Mongol conquest in 1218. The territories of the Qara Khitai corresponded to parts of modern-day China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The Anushtegin dynasty, the Karluks, Qocho, the Kankalis, and the Kara-Kh ...
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Kutadgu Bilig
The ''Kutadgu Bilig'' or ''Qutadğu Bilig'' (; Middle Turkic: ), is an 11th century work written by Yūsuf Balasaguni for the prince of Kashgar. The text reflects the author's and his society's beliefs, feelings and practices with regard to quite a few topics and depicts interesting facets of various aspects of life in the Kara-Khanid Khanate. Author At several points throughout the ''Kutadgu Bilig'', the author talks some about himself; from this we know a certain amount about him. The author of the ''Kutadgu Bilig'' was named Yūsuf and was born in Balasagun, which at the time was the winter capital of the Karakhanid empire and was located near present-day Tokmok in Kyrgyzstan. He was about 50 years old when he completed the ''Kutadgu Bilig'' and upon presenting the completed work to the prince of Kashgar, was awarded the title Khāṣṣ Ḥājib (), translating as something like "Privy Chamberlain" (Dankoff, 2) or "Privy Councilor." He is often referred to as Yūsuf Khā ...
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Suyab
Suyab ( fa, سوی آب; Middle Chinese: /suʌiH jiᴇp̚/), also known as ''Ordukent'' (modern-day ''Ak-Beshim''), was an ancient Silk Road city located some 50 km east from Bishkek, and 8 km west southwest from Tokmok, in the Chu river valley, present-day Kyrgyzstan. The ruins of this city, along with other acheological sites associated with the Silk Road, was inscribed in 2014 on the UNESCO World Heritage List as the Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor World Heritage Site. History The settlement of Sogdian merchants sprang up along the Silk Road in the 5th or 6th centuries. The name of the city derives from that of the Suyab River,Xue (1998), p. 136-140, 212-215. whose origin is Iranian (in Persian: ''suy'' means "toward"+ ''ab'' for "water", "rivers"). It was first recorded by Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang who traveled in the area in 629: ''Traveling 500 li to the north west of Great Qing Lake, we arrive at the city of the Suye River ...
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Burana Tower
, native_name_lang = , alternate_name = , image = Burana tower 2009.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Burana tower as of 2012 , map = , map_type = Kyrgyzstan , map_alt = , map_caption = Location in Kyrgyzstan , map_size = 220 , altitude_m = , altitude_ref = , relief = , coordinates = , gbgridref = , map_dot_label = Balasagun , location = Balasagun, Kyrgyzstan , region = Chüy Region , type = Minaret , part_of = , length = , width = , area = , volume = , diameter = , circumference = , height = 25 m (82 ft) , builder = Karakhanids , material = Bricks , built = 9th century , abandoned = , epochs = , cultures = , dependency_of = , occupants = , event = , discovered = , excavations = , archa ...
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Tokmok
Tokmok ( ky, Токмок, lit=hammer; russian: Токмак, Tokmak) is a city in the Chüy Valley, northern Kyrgyzstan, east of the country's capital of Bishkek, with a population of 71,443 in 2021. Its elevation is 816 m above sea level. From 2003 to 2006, it was the administrative seat of Chüy Region. Just to the north is the river Chu and the border with Kazakhstan. Tokmok was established as a northern military outpost of the Khanate of Kokand c.1830. Thirty years later, it fell to the Russians who demolished the fort. The modern town was founded in 1864 by Major-General Mikhail Chernyayev. Tokmok is a district-level city of regional significance within Chüy Region. Although the city is surrounded by the region's Chüy District, it is not a part of it. Its total area is . Medieval heritage Despite its relatively modern origin, Tokmok stands in the middle of the Chüy Valley, which was a prize sought by many medieval conquerors. The ruins of Ak-Beshim, the capital ...
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Issyk-Kul
Issyk-Kul (also Ysyk-Köl, ky, Ысык-Көл, lit=warm lake, translit=Ysyk-Köl, , zh, 伊塞克湖) is an endorheic lake (i.e., without outflow) in the Northern Tian Shan mountains in Eastern Kyrgyzstan. It is the seventh-deepest lake in the world, the tenth-largest lake in the world by volume (though not in surface area) and the second-largest saline lake after the Caspian Sea. Issyk-Kul means "warm lake" in the Kyrgyz language; although it is located at a lofty elevation of and subject to severe cold during winter, it never freezes. The lake is a Ramsar site of globally significant biodiversity and forms part of the Issyk-Kul Biosphere Reserve. Geography Issyk-Kul Lake is long, up to wide and its area is . It is the second-largest mountain lake in the world behind Lake Titicaca in South America. It is at an altitude of and reaches in depth. About 118 rivers and streams flow into the lake; the largest are the Jyrgalang and Tüp. It is fed by springs, includi ...
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Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. Its capital and largest city is Bishkek. Ethnic Kyrgyz make up the majority of the country's seven million people, followed by significant minorities of Uzbeks and Russians. The Kyrgyz language is closely related to other Turkic languages. Kyrgyzstan's history spans a variety of cultures and empires. Although geographically isolated by its highly mountainous terrain, Kyrgyzstan has been at the crossroads of several great civilizations as part of the Silk Road along with other commercial routes. Inhabited by a succession of tribes and clans, Kyrgyzstan has periodically fallen under larger domination. Turkic nomads, who trace their ancestry to many Turkic states. It was first established as the Yenisei Kyrgyz Khaganate later in ...
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Former Populated Places In Kyrgyzstan
A former is an object, such as a template, gauge or cutting die, which is used to form something such as a boat's hull. Typically, a former gives shape to a structure that may have complex curvature. A former may become an integral part of the finished structure, as in an aircraft fuselage, or it may be removable, being using in the construction process and then discarded or re-used. Aircraft formers Formers are used in the construction of aircraft fuselage, of which a typical fuselage has a series from the nose to the empennage, typically perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft. The primary purpose of formers is to establish the shape of the fuselage and reduce the column length of stringers to prevent instability. Formers are typically attached to longerons, which support the skin of the aircraft. The "former-and-longeron" technique (also called stations and stringers) was adopted from boat construction, and was typical of light aircraft built until the adv ...
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Populated Places Along The Silk Road
Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a census, a process of collecting, analysing, compiling, and publishing data regarding a population. Perspectives of various disciplines Social sciences In sociology and population geography, population refers to a group of human beings with some predefined criterion in common, such as location, race, ethnicity, nationality, or religion. Demography is a social science which entails the statistical study of populations. Ecology In ecology, a population is a group of organisms of the same species who inhabit the same particular geographical area and are capable of interbreeding. The area of a sexual population is the area where inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with i ...
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Archaeological Sites In Kyrgyzstan
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology can be considered both a social science and a branch of the humanities. It is usually considered an independent academic discipline, but may also be classified as part of anthropology (in North America – the four-field approach), history or geography. Archaeologists study human prehistory and history, from the development of the first stone tools at Lomekwi in East Africa 3.3 million years ago up until recent decades. Archaeology is distinct from palaeontology, which is the study of fossil remains. Archaeology is particularly important for learning about prehistoric societies, for which, by definition, there are no written records. Prehistory includes over 99% of the human past, from the Paleolithic until the advent o ...
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