Balasagun
Encyclopedia
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...
, located in the Chui River valley between Bishkek
Bishkek
Bishkek , formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and the largest city of Kyrgyzstan.Bishkek is also the administrative centre of Chuy Province which surrounds the city, even though the city itself is not part of the province but rather a province-level unit of Kyrgyzstan.The name is thought to...
and Issyk-Kul Lake.
Balasagun was founded by Soghdians, a people of Iranian
Iranian peoples
The Iranian peoples are an Indo-European ethnic-linguistic group, consisting of the speakers of Iranian languages, a major branch of the Indo-European language family, as such forming a branch of Indo-European-speaking peoples...
origin and the Soghdian language was still in use in this town till the 11th century.
It was the capital of the Kara-Khitan Khanate
Kara-Khitan Khanate
The Kara-Khitan Khanate, or Western Liao was a Khitan empire in Central Asia. The dynasty was founded by Yelü Dashi, who led the remnants of the Liao Dynasty to Central Asia after fleeing from the Jurchen conquest of their homeland in North and Northeast of modern day China...
from the 10th Century until the Mongols captured it in 1218. The Mongols called it Gobalik ("pretty city"). It should not be confused with the city of Karabalghasun
Ordu-Baliq
Ordu-Baliqalso spelled Ordu Balykh, Ordu Balik, Ordu-Baliq, Ordu Balig, Ordu Baligh , also known as Mubalik, was the capital of the first Uyghur Empire, built on the site of the former Göktürk imperial capital, 17 km north-to-northeast of the later Mongol capital, Karakorum...
in Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
which was the capital of the Uyghur Khaganate.
Founded by the Kara-Khanid Khanate
Kara-Khanid Khanate
The Kara-Khanid Khanate was a confederation of Turkic tribes ruled by a dynasty known in literature as the Karakhanids or Ilek Khanids, . Both dynastic names represent titles with Kara Kağan being the most important Turkish title up till the end of the dynasty.The Khanate ruled Transoxania in...
in the 9th century, Balasagun soon supplanted Suyab
Suyab
Suyab was an ancient Silk Road city located some 50 km east from Bishkek, and 8 km west southwest from Tokmok, in the Chui River valley, present-day Kyrgyzstan.- History :...
as the main political and economical centre of the Chui Valley; its prosperity declined after the Mongol conquest. The poet Yusuf Has Hajib
Yusuf Has Hajib
Yusuf Balasaghuni or Yusuf Khas Hajib Balasaghuni was an 11th century Uyghur scribe from the city of Balasaghun, the capital of the Karakhanid Empire. He wrote the Kutadgu Bilig and most of what is known about him comes from his own writings in this work.Balasagun was located near present-day...
, known for writing the Kutadgu Bilig
Kutadgu Bilig
The Kutadgu Bilig, or Qutadğu Bilig , is a Karakhanid work from the 11th century written by an Uyghur author of Balasagun for the prince of Kashgar. Translated, the title means something like "The Wisdom which brings Happiness" or "The Wisdom that Conduces to Royal Glory or Fortune" , but has...
, 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, 12 km southeast of Tokmok
Tokmok
Tokmok ; , Tokmak) is a city of about 53,087 in northern Kyrgyzstan, east of the country's capital of Bishkek. Its geographical location is ; its altitude is 816 m above sea level. From 2004 until 19 April 2006 it served as the administrative seat of Chui Province...
.
The Burana zone, located at the edge of Tokmok
Tokmok
Tokmok ; , Tokmak) is a city of about 53,087 in northern Kyrgyzstan, east of the country's capital of Bishkek. Its geographical location is ; its altitude is 816 m above sea level. From 2004 until 19 April 2006 it served as the administrative seat of Chui Province...
and 6 km from the present village of Balasagun, was the west end of the ancient city. It includes the Burana Tower
Burana Tower
The Burana Tower is a large minaret in the Chuy Valley in northern Kyrgyzstan. It is located about 80 km east of the country's capital Bishkek, near the town of Tokmok...
and a field of stone petroglyph
Petroglyph
Petroglyphs are pictogram and logogram images created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, and abrading. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions of the technique to refer to such images...
s, the bal-bals. The Burana Tower is a minaret built in the 11th century on the ruins of the ancient city Balasagun. It is 24 m (79 ft) in height, though when it was first built it topped 46 m (138 ft). Several earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
s through the centuries caused much damage, and the current building represents a major renovation carried out in the 1970s.