Saray-Jük (Сарай-Жүк) / Sarai-Dzhuk (Сарай-Джук), Saraichik or Kishi Saray (Кіші Сарай) in the

Kazakh language The Kazakh or simply Qazaq (Latin: or , Cyrillic: or , Arabic Script: or , , ) is a Turkic language of the Kipchak branch spoken in Central Asia by Kazakhs. It is closely related to Nogai, Kyrgyz and Karakalpak. It is the official lan ...

, Saraychyq (Сарайчык) in modern Tatar, and Saray Maly (russian: Сара́й Ма́лый) literally "Little Sarai", to distinguish it from Old Sarai, was a medieval city on the border between Europe and Asia. It was located 50 km north

Atyrau Atyrau ( kk, Атырау, ', ; russian: Атырау, ), known until 1991 as Guryev (russian: Гурьев, ), is a city in Kazakhstan and the capital of Atyrau Region. Atyrau is a transcontinental city, at the mouth of the Ural River on the Cas ...

on the lower

Ural River The Ural (russian: Урал, ), known before 1775 as Yaik (russian: Яик, ba, Яйыҡ, translit=Yayıq, ; kk, Жайық, translit=Jaiyq, ), is a river flowing through Russia and Kazakhstan in the continental border between Europe and Asia ...

, near the modern village of Sarayshyq,

Atyrau Region Atyrau Region ( kk, Атырау облысы / ; russian: Атырауская область) formerly known as Guryev Region (russian: Гурьевская область) until 1991, is one of the regions of Kazakhstan, in the west of the cou ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

. The city lay on an important

trade route A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to trade over bodies of water. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a sing ...

between Europe and China and flourished between the 10th and 16th centuries.

History

Until recently it was believed that Saray-Jük was founded by

Batu Khan Batu Khan ( – 1255),, ''Bat haan'', tt-Cyrl, Бату хан; ; russian: хан Баты́й was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Golden Horde, a constituent of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi, thus a grandson of Genghis Khan. ...

, a khan (king) of Mongol Empire, but archaeological excavations suggest that the city could have been founded as early as the 10th or 11th century. By the 13th century Saray-Jük became an important trade center, and was one of the biggest cities of the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fr ...

(Golden Palace). The ruins of the suburb Aqtöbe, located near

were preserved until the 20th century. The city had a ceramic water-pipe and both metallurgy and pottery were also developed. Neighboring populations were agriculturist or fishermen. The Moroccan traveller,

Ibn Battuta Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah (, ; 24 February 13041368/1369),; fully: ; Arabic: commonly known as Ibn Battuta, was a Berbers, Berber Maghrebi people, Maghrebi scholar and explorer who travelled extensively in the lands of Afro-Eurasia, ...

, passed through the town in around 1333 on his way from

New Sarai Sarai (also transcribed as ''Saraj'' or ''Saray'', from Persian ''sarāy'', "mansion" or "court") was the name of possibly two cities near the lower Volga, that served successively as the effective capitals of the Golden Horde, a Turco-Mongol kin ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

. At the time the river was spanned by a bridge of boats. While in the town Ibn Battuta sold his horses and purchased camels to draw his wagons on the next stage of his journey to

Konye-Urgench Konye-Urgench ( tk, Köneürgenç / Көнеүргенч; fa, کهنه گرگانج, ''Kuhna Gurgānj'', literally "Old Gurgānj"), also known as Old Urgench or Urganj, is a city of about 30,000 inhabitants in north Turkmenistan, just south fro ...

. Neighborhoods of the city were a popular resort among the

's nobility. After the disintegration of the Golden Horde in the 14th century the city fell into decay: in 1395 it was ruined by

Timur Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...

, but it was rebuilt in the 1430s-1440s. It remained the main city of the

Nogai Horde The Nogai Horde was a confederation founded by the Nogais that occupied the Pontic–Caspian steppe from about 1500 until they were pushed west by the Kalmyks and south by the Russians in the 17th century. The Mongol tribe called the Manghuds cons ...

. Uncovered

coin A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...

s suggest that the city retained commercial significance throughout the 16th century. The Kazakh khan also had headquarters there later. In 1580 or 1581 Bregel, Historical Atlas of Central Asia, Map 27 has 1581 and a previous raid in 1573. The Russian wiki has 1580 or 1581. it was ruined by "thief Cossacks"—that is,

Cossacks The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

uncontrolled by the

Russian government The Government of Russia exercises executive power in the Russian Federation. The members of the government are the prime minister, the deputy prime ministers, and the federal ministers. It has its legal basis in the Constitution of the Russia ...

Ruins

The remains of buildings, workshops and others are situated at the bank of

, which is washing away the ruins. In 1999 a memorial complex was established on the site by Kazakhstani authorities.

Footnotes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saray-Juk Populated places in Atyrau Region Former populated places in Kazakhstan Golden Horde