Bazar Dara
Encyclopedia
Bazar Dara was a small mining community at the junction of the Bazar Dara and Yarkand River
s south of the Kunlun Mountains
which border on the Taklamakan Desert, in Xinjiang
, China.
'Dara' means 'cliff' in the Uyghur language
. Bazar Dara can, therefore, be translated, 'Cliff Bazaar' or 'Cliff Market,' an apt description of this ancient settlement. It is 139 km west of Shahidulla, and 25 km west of modern Mazar (Chinese: Mazha 麻扎), which name simply indicates the shrine of a Muslim holy man.
"The name of this kingdom is written Deruo [or Dere] 得若 in the Tangshu (ch. CCXXI, a, p. 9b) and Yiruo 億若 in the Weilüe
. . . ." Translated and adapted from Édouard Chavannes
: "Les pays d’Occident d’après le Heou Han chou." T’oung pao 8, (1907), p. 175, n. 2.
Bazar Darra was of both strategic and economic importance. It was located at the junction of the route via the Shimshal
Valley to Hunza
or south over the Mustagh Pass
to Skardu
, or west to Shahidulla, and was the centre for a number of goldmines. It also joined the main winter route which led directly north along the frozen Yarkand River to Karghalik via Kokyar
, and from there, the route went northwest via Kokyar
to Yarkand (Yarkant County) and Kashgar
, or northeast to Pishan Town and Khotan
,
In 1535 CE, a group of Muslim soldiers trapped at Shey
in Ladakh
, fled through here on their way to the Wakhan Corridor
and the safety of Badakshan.
In 1898 an expedition led by Captain H. P. P. Deasy found an outpost built of earth at Bazar Dara, surmounted by a Chinese flag, with a few unarmed Kirghiz in occupation. This was obviously intended as a Chinese boundary marker, but the area had apparently long been under occupation by Kanjuts.
Yarkand River
The Yarkand River is a river in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of western China. It is one of the headstreams of the Tarim River. It is approximately 970 km in length....
s south of the Kunlun Mountains
Kunlun Mountains
The Kunlun Mountains are one of the longest mountain chains in Asia, extending more than 3,000 km. In the broadest sense, it forms the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau south of the Tarim Basin and the Gansu Corridor and continues east south of the Wei River to end at the North China Plain.The...
which border on the Taklamakan Desert, in Xinjiang
Xinjiang
Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
, China.
'Dara' means 'cliff' in the Uyghur language
Uyghur language
Uyghur , formerly known as Eastern Turk, is a Turkic language with 8 to 11 million speakers, spoken primarily by the Uyghur people in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of Western China. Significant communities of Uyghur-speakers are located in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and various other...
. Bazar Dara can, therefore, be translated, 'Cliff Bazaar' or 'Cliff Market,' an apt description of this ancient settlement. It is 139 km west of Shahidulla, and 25 km west of modern Mazar (Chinese: Mazha 麻扎), which name simply indicates the shrine of a Muslim holy man.
"The name of this kingdom is written Deruo [or Dere] 得若 in the Tangshu (ch. CCXXI, a, p. 9b) and Yiruo 億若 in the Weilüe
Weilüe
The Weilüe written by Yu Huan between CE 239, the end of Emperor Ming’s reign, and 265 CE, the end of the Cao Wei . Although not an "official historian," Yu Huan has always been held in high regard amongst Chinese scholars....
. . . ." Translated and adapted from Édouard Chavannes
Édouard Chavannes
Édouard Chavannes was a French sinologist.He is best known for his translations from Sima Qian's Shiji , sections of the Hou Hanshu relating to the 'Western Regions', the Weilüe, his studies of Han dynasty stone carvings Édouard Chavannes (Chinese: ) (1865–1918) was a French sinologist.He is best...
: "Les pays d’Occident d’après le Heou Han chou." T’oung pao 8, (1907), p. 175, n. 2.
Geography
Filippo de Filippi, who visited Bazar Dara, described a fort, the ruins of a market for horses and cattle, an extensive bazaar and a long line of ruins of mine shafts and houses along the cliff faces abandoned by goldminers after bandit raids approximately a century before his expedition in 1914.Bazar Darra was of both strategic and economic importance. It was located at the junction of the route via the Shimshal
Shimshal
Shimshal شمشال is a beautiful village located in Gojal, Hunza-Nagar District, in the Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan formerly known as Northern Areas of Pakistan. It lies at an altitude of 3,200 m above sea level, and is the highest settlement in Hunza Valley of Pakistan...
Valley to Hunza
Hunza
Hunza may refer to*Hunza Valley*Former State of Hunza*Hunza River*Hunza Peak*Hunza people*Hunza is the Muisca name of the city of Tunja, Colombia...
or south over the Mustagh Pass
Mustagh Pass
The Mustagh Pass or Muztagh Pass is a pass across the Baltoro Muztagh range in the Karakorams which includes K2, the world's second highest mountain. The crest of the Baltoro Muztagh marks the present border between Pakistani and Chinese territory....
to Skardu
Skardu
Skardu , is the main town of the region Baltistan and the capital of Skardu District, one of the districts making up Pakistan's Gilgit Baltistan....
, or west to Shahidulla, and was the centre for a number of goldmines. It also joined the main winter route which led directly north along the frozen Yarkand River to Karghalik via Kokyar
Kokyar
Kokyar is a small oasis and town in Qira County of the Hotan Prefecture of southwestern Xinjiang Province, China...
, and from there, the route went northwest via Kokyar
Kokyar
Kokyar is a small oasis and town in Qira County of the Hotan Prefecture of southwestern Xinjiang Province, China...
to Yarkand (Yarkant County) and Kashgar
Kashgar
Kashgar or Kashi is an oasis city with approximately 350,000 residents in the western part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Kashgar is the administrative centre of Kashgar Prefecture which has an area of 162,000 km² and a population of approximately...
, or northeast to Pishan Town and Khotan
Khotan
Hotan , or Hetian , also spelled Khotan, is the seat of the Hotan Prefecture in Xinjiang, China. It was previously known in Chinese as 于窴/於窴 and to 19th-century European explorers as Ilchi....
,
History
The site of Bazar Dara, almost unknown today, has been known to the Chinese for about 2000 years. It was almost certainly the site of the ancient 'Kingdom of Dere' 德若 mentioned in the Hou Hanshu.In 1535 CE, a group of Muslim soldiers trapped at Shey
Shey
Shey is a town in Ladakh that has the old summer Palace of the kings of Ladakh. It is located 15 km. from Leh towards Hemis. The palace was built more than 555 years ago by Lhachen Palgyigon, the king of Ladakh...
in Ladakh
Ladakh
Ladakh is a region of Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state of the Republic of India. It lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent...
, fled through here on their way to the Wakhan Corridor
Wakhan Corridor
Wakhan Corridor is commonly used as a synonym for Wakhan, an area of far north-eastern Afghanistan which forms a land link or "corridor" between Afghanistan and China. The Corridor is a long and slender panhandle or salient, roughly long and between wide. It separates Tajikistan in the north...
and the safety of Badakshan.
In 1898 an expedition led by Captain H. P. P. Deasy found an outpost built of earth at Bazar Dara, surmounted by a Chinese flag, with a few unarmed Kirghiz in occupation. This was obviously intended as a Chinese boundary marker, but the area had apparently long been under occupation by Kanjuts.