HISTORICAL TOPONYMICS OF THE KARADALY REGION

Abstract

The article is devoted to the issues of historical toponyms in the Karadala region.
The toponym "Karadala" is a name that preserved in the collective memory of the local population. To the south lies Mount Ketpen (also known as Uzunkara, Wusun), to the west – Charyn Canyon, to the north – a hilly plain. Karadala, as part of northeastern Zhetysu, encompasses the territory of the present-day Uyghur District of Almaty Region.

The methodological principles of the study are based on viewing the cultural heritage of the historical landscape as a bearer of the uniqueness of a place through historical analysis. The sources for the article include medieval written records, cartographic materials, travelers’ notes and diaries, and the author’s own fieldwork.

The study analyzes the formation of toponyms such as Shonzhy, Dardamty, Dobyn, Charyn, Ketpen, Sumbe, Avat, and others. Based on the analysis of historical toponyms, the article explores issues of the ethnic history of the Kazakhs, the formation of borders, ethnic territories of the southeastern region of the Kazakh Khanate, and changes in the region’s ethnic composition.