A Review of Written and Archaeological Sources in the Medieval Cities of Aspara and Sharuashilyk (Chu-Talass Interior)

Abstract

The article makes an attempt to systematize and historiographic analysis of written and archaeological
sources testifying to the history of the medieval settlements of Aspara and Sharuashylyk. In Asparа,
excavations were carried out sporadically, in Sharuashylyk, excavations were not laid at all. Within the
framework of the project “Late medieval urban culture of the Golden Horde. Searches and archaeological
research on the example of the settlements of Sharuashylyk (Kinchat) and Aspary (XIII-XVI centuries)”is
planned to fill this gap. The choice of these two settlements is due to the location of Sharuashylyk in the
upper reaches of the Talas, Aspara rivers in the middle reaches of the Chu river. In these areas, despite
their inclusion in the Chagatai ulus, there are no serious studies of this period. According to well-known
written sources and archaeological data, the period of Aspara’s existence is determined from the 7th
century. until the 19th century. No written evidence has been found about the existence of a settlement
on the site of the Sharuashylyk settlement; according to archaeological observations, the late period of
the object’s functioning is estimated as the first half of the 19th century.
In the largest city of the Chu-Talas interfluve – Taraz, known in the Chagataid period as Yangi-Talas,
the cultural layers of this time were seriously damaged and for the most part did not survive: the upper
building layers here (about 1.5 m) were cut off by a bulldozer during the preparation of the bazaar area
to asphalt in 1960-1962 Therefore, in the Chu-Talas valley, Aspara is, in fact, the only settlement with
the presence of the Chagataid layer. Perhaps, the results of the studies of the city of Aspara can be, to a greater or lesser extent, extrapolated to the city of Sharuashylyk and will further contribute to a better
study of it.
Key words: Aspara, Sharuashylyk, written and archaeological sources, medieval urban culture, historiography,
Chagatai ulus.