Balasagun ( or ''Balasagyn''; ) was an ancient Sogdian city in modern-day

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 ea ...

, located in the Chüy Valley between Bishkek and the

Issyk-Kul lake 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 th ...

. Located along the Silk Road, the ruins of the city were inscribed in 2014 on the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage List A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

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 Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

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 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 K ...

from the 10th century until it was taken by the

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 ...

(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 Ordu-Baliqalso spelled ''Ordu Balykh, Ordu Balik, Ordu-Balïq, Ordu Balig, Ordu Baligh'' (meaning "city of the court", "city of the army"; mn, Хар Балгас, ), also known as Mubalik and Karabalghasun, was the capital of the first Uyghur ...

in Mongolia, which was the capital of the

Uyghur Khaganate The Uyghur Khaganate (also Uyghur Empire or Uighur Khaganate, self defined as Toquz-Oghuz country; otk, 𐱃𐰆𐰴𐰕:𐰆𐰍𐰕:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, Toquz Oγuz budun, Tang-era names, with modern Hanyu Pinyin: or ) was a Turkic empire that e ...

. Founded by the Kara-Khanid Khanate in the ninth century, Balasagun soon supplanted Suyab as the main political and economical centre of the Chüy Valley; its prosperity declined after the Mongol conquest. The poet

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 ...

, known for writing the ''

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 ...

'', is thought to have been born in Balasagun in the 11th century. The city also had a sizable Nestorian Christian population; one graveyard was still in use in the 14th century. Since the 14th century, Balasagun is a village with plenty of ruins southeast of

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. Fro ...

. The Burana zone, located at the edge of

and from the present village of Balasagun, was the west end of the ancient city. It includes the

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 = , m ...

and a field of stone petroglyphs, the

Kurgan stelae Kurgan stelae ( Mongolian: ; Russian: ; Ukrainian: "stone babas"; ky, балбал ) or Balbals ( ''balbal'', most probably from a Turkic word ' meaning "ancestor" or "grandfather") are anthropomorphic stone stelae, images cut from stone, i ...

. The

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 = , m ...

is a minaret built in the 11th century on the ruins of the ancient city Balasagun. It is in height, though when it was first built it topped . Several

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...

s through the centuries caused much damage, and the current building represents a major renovation carried out in the 1970s.

References

{{Authority control Archaeological sites in Kyrgyzstan Populated places along the Silk Road Chüy Region Former populated places in Kyrgyzstan Sogdian cities Destroyed cities