Turkistan Region (), formerly South Kazakhstan Region ( kk, Оңтүстік Қазақстан облысы, translit= Oñtüstık Qazaqstan oblysy) (russian: Южно-Казахстанская область, ') from 1992–2018 and Chimkent Region (russian: Чимкентская область, ') from 1963 to 1991 is the southernmost

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

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 ...

. Population: Its capital is

Turkistan Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan ( fa, ترکستان, Torkestân, lit=Land of the Turks), is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and Xinjiang. Overview Known as Turan to the Persians, western Turk ...

, formerly

Shymkent Shymkent (; Шымкент, Şymkent), known until 1993 as Chimkent ( uz, Çımkent, چىمكېنت; Yañalif: Çimkent ()); russian: Чимкент, translit=Chimkent (), is a city in Kazakhstan. It is near the border with Uzbekistan. It is one ...

until 2018. Other cities in Turkistan include Sayram,

Kentau Kentau ( kz, Kentau, كەنتاۋ; cyrl, Кентау) is a town in Turkistan Region of Kazakhstan. It is located at the foot of the Karatau mountains 30 km north-east of the city of Turkestan. Kentau was formed in August 1955. In Soviet t ...

, Arys,

Shardara Shardara ( kk, Шардара, ''Şardara'') is a town and the administrative center of Shardara District in Turkistan Region of central Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located m ...

, Zhetisai, Saryagash, and Lenger. This region and

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 ...

are Kazakhstan's two smallest regions; both are about 117,300 square kilometers in area. Turkistan Region borders the neighboring country of

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

(and is also very near the Uzbekistan capital

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

), as well as three other Kazakhstan regions: Karaganda Region (to the north),

Kyzylorda Region Kyzylorda Region ( kk, Қызылорда облысы, translit=Qyzylorda oblysy; russian: Кызылординская область, translit=Kyzylordinskaya oblast) is a region of Kazakhstan. Its capital is the city of Kyzylorda, with a pop ...

(to the west), and

Jambyl Region Jambyl or Zhambyl Region ( kk, Жамбыл облысы, translit=Jambyl oblysy; russian: Жамбылская область, Zhambylskaya oblast), formerly known as Dzhambul Region (russian: Джамбульская область, Dzhambulska ...

(to the east). The

Syr Darya The Syr Darya (, ),, , ; rus, Сырдарья́, Syrdarjja, p=sɨrdɐˈrʲja; fa, سيردريا, Sirdaryâ; tg, Сирдарё, Sirdaryo; tr, Seyhun, Siri Derya; ar, سيحون, Seyḥūn; uz, Sirdaryo, script-Latn/. historically known ...

passes through the region, on its way to the

Aral Sea The Aral Sea ( ; kk, Арал теңізі, Aral teñızı; uz, Орол денгизи, Orol dengizi; kaa, Арал теңизи, Aral teńizi; russian: Аральское море, Aral'skoye more) was an endorheic basin, endorheic lake lyi ...

. An oil pipeline runs from Turkmenabat, Turkmenistan to

Omsk Omsk (; rus, Омск, p=omsk) is the administrative center and largest city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia, and has a population of over 1.1 million. Omsk is the third largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

(where it connects with a larger,

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

n pipeline) through South Kazakhstan.

Oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

and

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

are refined in Shymkent. The Region was created as ''South Kazakhstan Oblast'' in

Kazakh SSR ; kk, Қазақ Советтік Социалистік Республикасы) *1991: Republic of Kazakhstan (russian: Республика Казахстан; kk, Қазақстан Республикасы) , linking_name = the ...

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. Between 1962 and 1992 it was named ''Chimkent Oblast''. The administrative center of the Region was

. On 19 June 2018 Shymkent was taken out of the Region and subordinated directly to the government of Kazakhstan, the administrative center moved to Turkistan, and the Region renamed Turkistan Region.

Administrative divisions

As of 2013, the region was administratively divided into eleven districts and the cities of

, Arys,

, and

. # Baydibek District, with the administrative center in the selo of Shayan; #

Kazygurt District Kazygurt District ( kk, Қазығұрт ауданы, ) is a district of Turkistan Region in southern Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly i ...

, the selo of Kazygurt; # Maktaaral District, the town of Zhetisay; # Ordabasy District, the selo of Temirlan; # Otyrar District, the selo of Shauldir; # Saryagash District, the town of Saryagash; # Sayram District, the selo of Aksukent; #

Shardara District Shardara ( kk, Шардара ауданы, ) is a district of Turkistan Region in southern Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern ...

, the town of

; #

Sozak District Sozak ( kk, Созақ ауданы, ) is a district of Turkistan Region in southern Kazakhstan. The administrative center of the district is the selo of Sholakkorgan. Population: It contains the titular village of Sozak. Geography The As ...

, the selo of

Sholakkorgan Sholakkorgan ( kk, Шолаққорған) is a settlement and the administrative center of Sozak District in Turkistan Region of Kazakhstan. It is the head of the Sholakkorgan rural district (KATO code - 515630100). Population: Geography Shola ...

; #

Tole Bi District Tole Bi ( kk, Төле би ауданы, Töle Bi audany) is a district of Turkistan Region in southern Kazakhstan. The administrative center of the district is the town of Lenger. Population: The district is named after Töle Biy Töle B ...

, the town of Lenger; #

Tulkibas District Tulkibas ( kk, Түлкібас ауданы, ) is a Districts of Kazakhstan, district of Turkistan Region in southern Kazakhstan. The administrative center of the district is the Village#Central and Eastern Europe, selo of Turar Ryskulov, Kazakhs ...

, the selo of

Turar Ryskulov Turar Ryskululy Ryskulov ( kk, Тұрар Рысқұлұлы Рысқұлов, ''Tūrar Rysqūlūly Rysqūlov''; Russian: Турар Рыскулович Рыскулов; 26 December 1894 – 10 February 1938) was a Soviet politician, the chair ...

Archaeology

* Excavations of the Kul-Tobe settlement near the village of Saryaryk on the terrace of the Arys River (N 42`29.532'E 068`57.756`) on the territory of the South Kazakhstan region in 2006, made by Kazakh archaeologists led by Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor A. N. Podushkin, according to some statements, allow to identify the culture of

Kangju Kangju (; Eastern Han Chinese: ''kʰɑŋ-kɨɑ'' < *''khâŋ-ka'' (c. 140 BCE)) was the Chinese name of a kingdom in

Central Asia< ...

with the peoples of the

Scythian The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern * : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Centra ...

circle. Ceramics (large jugs or persimmons) and weapons (arrowheads, knives, bows and daggers) were found in three graves of nomad warriors who lived about two thousand years ago. 13 epigraphic monuments were found on ceramic bricks-tables — two almost complete texts and eleven fragments. Writing after decryption is defined as alphabetic, lowercase, Aramaic, which also includes ideograms. It marks one of the eastern dialects of the

proto-Iranian language Proto-Iranian or Proto-Iranic is the reconstructed proto-language of the Iranian languages branch of Indo-European language family and thus the ancestor of the Iranian languages such as Pashto, Persian, Sogdian, Zazaki, Ossetian, Mazandarani ...

. Paleographic and linguistic analysis of the Kultobin script showed that it dates from the II — beginning of the III century AD, that is, more than a century older than the so-called "Old Sogdian letters". * Excavations of the Tutta Cave, the oldest cave in the country, located in the Turkestan region on the territory of the Syrdarya–Turkestan State Regional Natural Park, it was discovered in the middle of the last century, but excavations began in 2017. The cave is being explored as part of a European Union project, and archaeologists from

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

are involved. Household items of primitive man, who presumably lived during the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...

, have been found.

References

*National Geographic Atlas of the World, Eighth Edition.

External links

Official regional website
{{Authority control Regions of Kazakhstan