CITIES OF TURKESTAN SHURATI ALONG THE GREAT SILK ROAD

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Abstract

The article is devoted to the question of when the northern branch of the Great Silk Road, which passed through the Kangui territories, was formed, which has been a controversial issue in history. This route, which was founded in the 2nd-1st centuries BC and became a full-fledged highway in the 7th-8th centuries BC, turned left along the Syr River to reach Khorezm along the ancient Inkar Darya, then went around the northern part of the Caspian Sea and reached Constantinople through the Black Sea port of Kaffa (map No. 4). Although the Inkar Darya was a dry channel at that time, in the spring, when the Syr Darya was flooded, the river spread out in two directions, the old channels (Inkar Darya, Kuandarya) were filled with water, and both banks served as a source of water for caravans throughout the summer, and both banks served as pastures. At this point, the Syr River flowed along the channel of the Old Darya, which was parallel to its current channel, and this lasted from the 2nd century BC to the 11th century (map No. 3).