New Reflections on the Occupation of Jizzakh by the Mongols
Innovation in Social Science
DOI: 10.21070/ijins.v8i0.282

New Reflections on the Occupation of Jizzakh by the Mongols


(Institute of Archaeological Research of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan)
Uzbekistan
Jizzakh State Pedagogical Institute
Uzbekistan

(*) Corresponding Author

Djizzakh Zamin Khudaysar Mongol invasion Genghis Khan Nur Khorezmshah Mukhammed Samarkand Bukhara Otrar

Abstract

This article deals with the geographical location of the city of Djizzakh (Jizzak) during the Mongol invasion of  Maverannahr. And also, due to the lack of written sources of information about the conquest of the city of Djizzakh by the Mongol hordes, the authors set forth their points of view on this important and interesting issue.

Introduction

There is no record of the capture of Jizzakh (Dizak) by the Mongol invaders during the Genghis Khan's invasion, or details of other historical events in the written sources. Also, archaeological excavations to study the stratigraphy of the present-day Horde complex during the Mongolian occupation did not clarify the characteristics of the developed Middle Ages, especially the XIII century, as a result of the leakage of sediment after the sixteenth century.

However, to determine when and when the Mongols conquered the city of Jizzakh, an extremely important and favorable military strategic for the city and oasis, it is necessary to identify the routes and routes that Genghis Khan's army invaded Mawarounnahr.

It is well known that in the autumn of 1219, Genghis Khan, along with his sons, Chigatay, Oktay, Jochi, and Uyghur khan Ediqut, Almalyk ruler Signok, accompanied 200,000 troops to the property of Sultan Muhammad. Genghis Khan's troops make their first blow through the ancient road, crossing the Ili River, through North Fergana, to the city of Otror (South Kazakhstan - PM) along the Syrdarya River. Genghis Khan will divide his army into 4 divisions. He leaves the first part to besiege Otror under Chigatay and Ogtay. The second commander will be sent to the bottom of the Syrdarya river and will be tasked with the capture of the towns of the river basin such as Signak, Uzgen, Borchiligkent, Jand, Yangikent. The third army of five thousand men will be sent to Banokat and Khujand in the upper reaches of the Syrdarya River in the upper reaches of the Soketu-Cherba (Subutoy bahodir - PM) under the command of the sergeants (Muhammadjonov, 2004. pp. 172-173).

Now, in what direction Genghis Khan and his troops move to the central and central locations of Movarounnahr was a great mystery for Khorezmshah and his military leaders.

Theoritical background

In fact, it was expected that the next Mongolian strike would take place in the wealthy, militarily powerful, central city of Movarounnahr, through the city of Jizzakh and through the Ilonotti Gorge. The main reason we came to this is that there were only 30,000 troops in Bukhara, the "power of Islam", with more than 110,000 troops, 20 combat elephants, many experienced commanders and large food reserves. . In addition, a strong protected highway for walking to Samarkand would have to pass through the city of Jizzakh, through the narrow and cramped Ilonotti Gorge, and to Bukhara via the low-traffic transit caravan route in the northern foothills of the Nurata range. Genghis Khan, who has reliable information from powerful, fast-track spies, crosses the Syrdarya river from Utar to the Khonbandi caravanserai and dam on the ancient caravan route through Kyzylkum, and later to Baghdad (some sources say that Baghdon was the center of Samarkand's Sogdian settlement in the VI-VIII centuries). From the M.) turned west and headed for Nurata (Castle of Light), then to Bukhara.

According to written sources, Genghis Khan himself was the commander of the conquest of ancient and famous Samarkand. In Samarkand (Afrosiab), which has strong defensive walls and military towers, a large army was gathered under the leadership of Uncle Sultan Muhammad Khorezmshah, Vice Mayor Togaykhon, Commander-in-Chief Ali Erkhan, Sheikhon and Bolakhan (2004. pp. 176-177). ). Chingizkhan, surrounded by the city, defeats local military forces in these towns and villages by mobilizing their own fast-paced troops from the beginning of the siege, taking into account the possibility of help from neighboring cities and towns. In our opinion, at that time Jizzakh was occupied by the Mongol armies.

Some recent Jizzakh history publications contain details of the occupation by Genghis Khan himself, who led the conquest of Jizzakh. In particular. And FIG. Usmanov's book, Jizzakh History, published in 2009, describes the occupation of the city as follows: “Jizzakh was one of the most important cities on the way to Bukhara - Otrar. That is why Chingizkhan is carefully preparing for the conquest of Jizzakh. Genghis Khan's troops invade Zaamin, Khudoyjir (actually Khudaysar - PM), Hassan and Ravat fortresses, located on the Great Silk Road ... The Jizzakh population fights fiercely against the invaders. However, Genghis Khan's decree not to show mercy to any living creature will kill civilians, burn villages, caravanserai, mosques, hundreds of houses and plant gardens. ” In addition, the authors of Jizzakh History relied on some legends and myths: “Jizzakh city defenders have been fighting the Mongol army for several days, rejecting Genghis Khan's request to surrender the city without a fight. The invaders have ditched the ditches that supply the city with water.

Main part

The fortresses around Kalia (more than 20 fortresses around Kaliatapa, most of which ceased to exist in the 8th century - P.M.), the walls of the fortress of Horde were demolished with manganese weapons. The Jizak activists will surrender. The captured captives are used as a live mark on the invasion of other castles and cities. After Genghis Khan's occupation of Jizzakh, under the advice of some local traitors, they will continue their journey through Bukhara to the Great Silk Road through the present Forish district. The invaders will occupy the city of Nur (now Nurata) and occupy it. " (Haydarov, Usmanov, 2009. pp. 58-59).

There is a lot of misunderstanding, controversy, and controversy in the passage quoted above from the authors' book History of Jizzakh. First of all, the authors note that the city of Jizzakh is not included in the system of defensive fortresses along the Bukhara-Oror road. As the caravans from Bukhara crossed Samarkand, the transit route came to the east through Nurata to the caravanserai near the Khandbandi dam in present-day Farish district (now called Kaltepa Archeological Monument) and then turned north to the Syrdarya Crossing. After passing the pass they went to Otror. Researcher N.B. According to Nemtseva, in the developed Middle Ages in this direction there was a caravanseroy - robot every 30-35 km (Nemtseva 1989). The distance from the caravanserai in Khansband to Jizzakh is 70 km, meaning that the caravans are at least two days away. Therefore, Jizzakh cannot be the city on the Bukhara-Otror road.

Secondly, the place of the Khudaysar and Hasan fortresses mentioned by the authors has not been determined yet, and the fact that they existed during the occupation of Genghis Khan is not mentioned in written or archaeological sources. In addition, they have been recognized in the sources as caravanserai rather than military fortresses.

Thirdly, we can also see in the case of Kaliatepa the confusing and erroneous ideas, as above. The authors of Jizzakh's history say that the army of Genghis Khan stoned the fortifications of Kaliyatepa through the nooks, since Kaliyatepa had ceased to exist since the end of the 8th century. This is because more than 400 years have passed since the end of this period. (Pardaev, 2000).

Fourth, according to Juvaini's "Historical Jahongushoyi", the wise man sent by Genghis Khan for peace, goes to the defenders of the Zarnuk castle, not to Dzhizak. The castle advocates a ceasefire and therefore the fortress is called the "Happy Fish". In Zarnuk, a number of Turkmen troops lead Genghis Khan's troops to the fortress of Nur in an unknown way. This road is later known as the "Khan's Road" (Bartold, 1963. 475). This means that the authors were to prove that Zarnuk was Dizak, not Jizzakh. However, the village called the Zarnuk still exists in the Nurata range.

Finally, fifth, the authors write, "Historical data on the struggles of the population of Oratepa, Havas, Zomin, Jizzakh against the occupiers" (Haydarov, Usmanov, 2009. 58 p.) do not show information.

Despite these ideas, it is difficult to answer the question of how the city of Jizzakh was conquered by the Mongols. We also attach the following to our opinion on this matter:

1. Ibn al-Asir reports that Genghis Khan was driven with his army during the siege of Samarkand and ordered the prisoners to wear Mongolian military uniforms. At that time, Chigatay and Ugedey came with more captives from Uttar and joined the siege of Samarkand (Bartold, 1963. p. 479). The fact that these two sons of Genghis Khan, who rushed to join the siege of Movarounnahr's most powerful and wealthy city, came through the Jizzakh-Ilonotti Gorge, the nearest road to Utor, is closer to the other roads and routes. Hence, the Mongol armies returning from Otrar at that time invaded Jizzakh;

2. According to Juvaini, during the Ottoman occupation, five thousand troops, led by Alak-Nawon, were sent to invade Banokat. Four days after the Turkish garrison led by Ilet-gu que, the city was handed over to the Mongols. Analyzing the actions of this Mongol detachment after Banokat, V. Bartold notes that he joined the siege of Samarkand (Bartold, 1963. p. 484). Hence, the Alak-Noyon-led force was also dispatched to Samarkand through the Jizzakh-Ilonotti Gorge and at one time occupied Jizzakh;

3. According to the sources of the Mongol invasion, after the conquest of Samarkand (1220), Genghis Khan sent troops to Ferghana (Khujand - MP). According to Juvaini, the troops (twenty thousand Mongols, fifty thousand prisoners) besieged Khujand, first participated in the conquest of Otrar and later in Bukhara and Samarkand. ”(Bartold, 1963. p. 485). Hence, after the Samarkand invasion, the infamous army marched to Khujand and Ferghana, invading several cities of Ustrushana - Kharakana (Gallaorol), Dizak (Jizzakh), Zomin, Sabat (Savat), and Havas (Old Havas).

These ideas can be confirmed by archaeological discovery of the first quarter of the XIII century cultural layers of the Jizzakh River, which have been exposed to almost seven centuries of material culture.

After the Mongol invasion, life in the central cities of the Jizzakh region, in particular Dizak, Zaamin, Sabat, Havas, and Harakana was completely ruined. After some time, Zaamin and Harakana will be restored to their original location and will still be mentioned in the written sources as fortresses, although they do not have the status of the city. Sabat will move to the right of Hodzhamushkentsay and continue to work in rural areas.

Dizak, by contrast, quickly rebuilds itself after the Mongolian occupation, and the central city life continues in its rightful place, the Jordan. The territory of the Jizzakh River, surrounded by defense fortifications, is 100 hectares in the Middle Ages. The This is the reason why Jizzakh is often mentioned in the written sources as an important military strategic location.

Thus it became clear that Genghis Khan's military march on Maveraunnahr, starting with Otorar, was followed by Zarnuk and Nur Castle (Nurata). In February 1220, the Mongols conquered Bukhara and, with their great booties and captives, in March of this year, they approached the great and important city of Movarounnahr. In the second half of this month, the capital of

Conclusion

Movarounnahr, another of the oldest and most powerful cities in the East, is captured and looted by militant settlers from Samarkand. Thus, in the summer of 1220, Genghis Khan conquered Nakhshab (Karshi), and in the autumn Termez on the Amudarya coast. In the winter of 1221, the troops of Juch, Chigatay, and Ogtay encircled the capital, Urgench, and finally occupied it.

It is clear from this data that the subsequent military invasion of the Mongol invaders was also directed not to the towns and villages of the Jizzakh oasis, but to the Khurasan region and beyond. It seems that the fate of Jizzakh oasis cities (Dizak, Zaamin, Sabat ...) during the Mongol invasion has been decided in light of the events we have just mentioned.

References