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forces of a nomadic nobility dedicated to the way of life of its ancestors. Their
traditions, which they persistently defended, have been connected with the military-
nomadic way of life, mobile character of their settlements and headquarters.
However part of the patrimonial nobility was subject to the influence of city and
sedentary-agricultural culture; the main objective of their politics was the
establishment of a firm authority and a stable government with precise
administrative divisions. These interests were not only supported by the nomadic
aristocracy, but also by the local nobility, rich peasants and merchants. In all
probability, these two opposed political tendencies were expressed at times over the
entire nomadic empire of Chingizid. The history of the actual region of Central Asia
between two rivers shows how complicated the process of adaptating these
nomadic ethnos in fact was.
In the Maverranakhr the process of sedentarization went at a slow rate, given
the large number of factors counteracting the process of the settlement of the
nomads. This was partly due to the historical situation. The disunited state of
Chagatay often lent itself to the scene of internecine wars between strong Turk-like
Mongolian clans headed by individual princes (Ibn Arabshah lists the four most
important clans of Maverranakhr as Orlat, Jalair, Kauchin and Barlas.)
26
The process
of the attachment of nomads to the earth was very much non-uniform and
inconsistent, and this fact is borne out by the life and deeds of Khan Kebek, one of
most prominent personalities in the history of Maverranakhr.
Having chosen the Kashkadarya valley as his residence, Khan Kebek (1318-
1326), as the first of the Mongolian khans, built himself a palace, changed the
monetary system, and,minted silver dirhems. The palace, which subsequently gave
its name to the modern city of Karshi, most likely consisted of a monumental
construction surrounded by powerful walls (Fig. 6). Thanks to the archaeological
work of the expedition of Kesh, directed by M. E. Masson, it has been possible to
delineate the plan of the ancient settlement that represented a square of 630 m by
630 m, meaning a total area of 40 hectares. The fortification system of powerful
walls with a thickness of 4.5 m provided reliable protection against the enemy. The
semicircular "towers" located on the perimeter of the walls had no living quarters
and most likely only simulated this fortification element, taking the role of
buttresses. The defense of the headquarters-residence with a palace in the middle
(“urda”) was reinforced by a moat with a width of 8-10 m and a depth of 3.5-4 m dug
around the walls.
27
26
The Arlats basically borrowed the territory of modern northern Afghanistan; the Jalairs the territory
around Kojent, and the Barlas the valley of Kashkadarya. As V. V. Bartold explains, “kauchen,” according
to Yazdy, is the name of one thousand khans. See Bartol’d, “Bolgary,” 34.
27
M. E. Masson, Stolichnye goroda v oblasti nizov’ev Kashkadaryi s drevneyshih vremen. Iz rabot keshkoy.
Archeologo-topograficheskoy expeditsii Tashkentskogo Universiteta, (1965-1966), Fan, Tashkent 1973.
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Unfortunately, we have no exact data about the layout of the palace and the
overall shape of the residence of Khan Kebek,
28
but we may assume that initially the
city had a plan similar to other early types of nomadic cities. Despite his efforts to
strengthen the princedom and settlement, Khan Кebek remained pagan, unlike his
brother Tarmashirin (1326-1334), who became a Muslim. As noted by V. V. Bartold,
the “too resolute break with nomadic traditions caused a revolt against Tarmashirin;
the khan was deposed and killed; the residence of the khans for some years again
transferred to the banks of Ili, and Islam, even as religion, lost its dominant
position”.
29
Under the rule of Sultan Tarmashirin, the internecine wars continued,
although during his reign the political situation remained relatively stable. A bright
description of the court of Tarmashirin is given by the Arabian historian Ibn-Battuta,
who visited Kashkadarya in 1333. The author does not give a description of the
shape of city, observing that the sultan arranged receptions in his tent, sitting “on a
throne similar to a minbar, covered with gold embroidered silk. The interior of the
tent was decorated with gilded silk, and above the head of the sultan, at a height of
one elbow, hung a wreath studded with jewels”.
30
We once again find cities with similar plans during the time of domination by
the Mongolian khans. In the fourteenth century in Maverranakhr on the
Kashkadarya, one of the khans named Kazan (1334-1340) built the palace of Zanjir
Sarai, located two stops from Karshi on the road to Bukhara.
31
The structure of a
central palace of nomadic type, around whose extensive area stood powerful walls,
it was in its shape reminiscent of the layout of Kalai Zakhoki Maron.
32
The empty
space without traces of any buildings inside the walls indicates, in our view, that it
was a tent city of nomads. Such construction by Khan Kazan could have been, in the
opinion of V. V. Bartold, an “attempt to establish firm authority” in Maverranakhr.
This attempt, however, was unsuccessful, and ultimately led to the conflict between
the leaders of the clans during which Khan Kazan was defeated and killed.
28
Recent excavations in the territory of the modern city of Karshi have uncovered the remains of a
powerful fortified construction, which, based on archaeological evidence, dates from the first half of the
fourteenth century. The area trench, obstructed from different directions by modern buildings, (as in
Kalai Zahjpki Maron) represents a typical example of construction of modern buildings on ruins of
ancient settlements and cities – that unfortunately limits the opportunities of archaeological research.
29
Bartol’d, “Bolgary,” 33.
30
N. Ibragimov, T. Muhtarov, (Trans.), The Travels of Ibn-Battuta (in the Arabian world and Central
Asia), Fan, Tashkent 1996, 270.
31
The distance is the result of data from Sharaf ad-din Yazdi (I, 259); See V. V. Bartold, “Mongolian
Empire and the Chagatai State” Ulugbek and His time, V. V. Bartol’d, Sochinenia, II/t 2, Izd-vo vostochnoi
lit-ry, Moscow 1964, 27-36. The monument lies near Kishlak Kukhna in the Mubarek district of the
Kashkadarya region.
32
In the opinion of the director of the excavation, A. Raimkulov (material is not yet published), the
construction could be the ruins of the palace of Khan Kebek, who, as is known, built a palace at a
distance of two farsakh from the city of Nahsheb (Nesef), from which the name of the modern city of
Karshi derives (Sharaf ad-din Yazdi, I, 111; V. V. Bartol’d, Sochinenia, II/t 2, Izd-vo vostochnoi lit-ry,
Moscow 1964, 33)
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