URBAN CULTURE OF NOMADS OF THE STEPPE ZONE OF EURASIA IN THE PERIOD OF THE EARLY TURKS: STUDY PROBLEM STATEMENT
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24852/2587-6112.2021.2.338.345Keywords:
archaeology, fortification, fortified settlement, Xiongnu, First Turkic Khaganate, Second Turkic Khaganate, Uygur Khaganate, Kyrgyz KhaganateAbstract
The paper addresses the issue of identifying fortifi ed settlements of the First and Second Turkic Khaganate periods. For a long time, according the prevailing scientifi c viewpoint, the early medieval nomads of Central Asia had no towns. When Khara-Balgas, Por-Bazhyn, and other fortifi ed settlements were identifi ed in the late 19th century, a gradual study of the urban culture of the steppe people began, which existed from the Xiongnu period until the Mongol time. Currently, the best studied monuments date back from the period of the Xiongnu state, the Uyghur and Kyrgyz Khaganates, and the Mongol Empire. Despite the presence of separate information in written sources (Chinese chronicles, runic inscriptions, descriptions by Arab, Persian and European travelers of the 9th–14th centuries), so far there are no known towns of the actual Turkic period both in the Sayan-Altai region, and throughout the territory of Turkic dominion. There is an assumption that Khara-Balgas (Karabalgasun or Ordu-Balyk), the capital of the Uyghur Khaganate, was built on the ruins of the headquarters of Turkic khagans - Khara-Khorin or Khar-Elst. A comparison of the construction technology used in the Xiongnu and Uyghur periods demonstrates the substantial preservation of the 8th–9th century fortifi ed settlements due to the use of the “hang-tu” Chinese technology. This, and also taking into account a hypothesis concerning the possible continuity of the Xiongnu traditions in the Turkic period, suggests the signifi cant destruction of the Turkic towns both as a result of military operations, and under the infl uence of the time period. The development of modern technologies for identifying large archaeological sites using satellite images makes it possible to localize the inexpressive remains of previously unknown ancient towns in the vast Eurasian steppe area and carry out their large-scale studies. This study will shed light on the fate of the towns of the First and Second Turkic Khaganates.
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