User:TokhabayevaS/Akyrtas

Akyrtas (kaz. Aқyrtas) - palace complex of the 8th — 9th centuries built in the Zhambyl region of Kazakhstan, 45 km from the city of Taraz, a historical and cultural monument of republican significance

History
For the first time, Akyrtas is mentioned in the diary of a Taoist monk Chang Chun, who in 1222 went from China through Sairam to Samarkand, to Genghis Khan's camp. Here is what is reported in his diary: “On the road we came across a stone settlement: the stones are completely red; there are traces of an ancient military camp. In the west, there are large mounds of mounds, located as stars in the Bear. ”

The history of the study of Akyrtas began in 1861, but so far there is no consensus on the question of who built it. Among the various theories of the appointment of Akyrtas is a Buddhist or Nestorian monastery, an Arab palace.

The Kazakhstani academician Karl Baypakov believed that the dating of various parts of the complex belongs to a very long period: from the 5th — 3rd centuries. BC e. to the XIV century. n e. The first version concerning the appointment of Akyrtas was launched in the middle of the XIX century. According to the Russian scholar Peter Lerkh, Akyrtas was a Buddhist monastery. In 1894, the complex was visited by the famous orientalist Vasily Barthold. He discovered on one of the stones an image of a fish and came to the conclusion that it was a monastery of Nestorian Christians who, during the times of church schism in Russia, fled to Central Asia. The third version appeared almost a century later. German scientist Burchard Brentyz suggested that Akyrtas is the residence of the Arab governor in Central Asia Kuteib ibn Muslim. Another version can be considered the work of Taraz journalist Amantai Aizakhmetov, who suggested that the site of ancient settlement Chigil, according to historians, founded by Alexander the Great near Taraz, is nothing more than Akyrtas

Description
The largest objects in the walls of Akyrtas are the palace complex with dimensions of 205 × 185 m, built of massive processed blocks of red sandstone, and a citadel with dimensions of 40 × 25 m and walls 3–3.5 m high. To the east of the palace there was a garden with an area of ​​250 × 250 m, surrounded by a wall; to the north is a residential quarter. In the center of the settlement were the main square and havuz - an artificial reservoir. Other Akyrtas facilities include a caravanserai, a religious building (possibly, a mosque from the early Islamic period), manor houses, workshops, a quarry, an observation tower, and a water supply system. On the territory of the settlement there are several mounds of the Sak era. In the city walls there were four entrances: one on the north side, three - on the south