Monday, April 8, 2013

Uzbekistan | Khwarezm | Janpiq Qala


From Gyaur Qala we drove southeastward 4.5 miles to Janpiq Qala. Built in the ninth or tenth century a.d. during an economic boom in Khwarezm, it was situated on the site of an older fortress dating back to the period between the fourth and first centuries b.c. The walled city, measuring 1500 feet long and up to a thousand feet wide, developed into a substantial craft center with quarters devoted to weaving, stone carving, blacksmithing, and the manufacture of glass and pottery. It was also an important trade entrepôt on the Amu Darya where goods from China, India, Egypt, and the Volga River and Black Sea regions all washed up. Russian researchers have suggested that a large breach in the southern wall was made by the besieging Mongols when they attacked Khwarezm in the winter of 1220-1221, perhaps with a huge battering ram. How much other damage the city suffered at the hands of the Mongols is unclear, but the city did recover and it eventually regained much of its former prominence (the breach in the southern wall was repaired). The city was attacked yet again by Amir Timur (Tamerlane) when he swept through the area in 1388. It never recovered from this onslaught, but the substantial ruins of the fortress and citadel walls have survived to the present day. 




Janpiq Qala (click on photos for enlargements)




Eastern wall of the fortress







Tower at the northeast corner of the fortress




Northern Wall




Northern Wall




Western Wall




Western Wall




Remains of tower in the wall




Eastern Wall




Tower in Eastern Wall




Outside of wall showing the opening allegedly made by the Mongols




Inside of wall showing the opening allegedly made by the Mongols










Entranceway from the outside




Entranceway from the inside




Southern Wall




Interior of the fortress 




Interior of the fortress 




 Ruins of Citadel 




 Ruins of Citadel 




 Ruins of Citadel 




Ruins of Citadel

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