Otrar settlement in Kazakhstan

1.

GATE ”ZHARAKTY” (“Armored”) 11th-17th cc.
The gate is a complex fortification structure. The defensive system of "Zharakty" is built on a platform outside
the fortress walls. The platform is enclosed and reinforced with 1 m thick brickwork. The height of the platform is
4.1 m. The system consists of external gates, guard rooms, and internal gates. The platform is surrounded by a
deep moat. There was a bridge in front of the outer gate. In the middle of the moat, a brick support of the bridge
has been preserved. On the opposite wall of the moat, places of wooden supports have been preserved, and the
wall of the moat itself in this place was reinforced with brickwork.Guardrooms were located between the inner
and outer gates. From one of the guardrooms a staircase led to the outer gate tower. Tandyrs, probably bakeries,
were found along the street, close to the guardrooms.The fortification system "Zharakty kakpa" died from a strong
fire that arose as a result of the assault. In the moat, a pile of calcined raw bricks were cleared, and the walls of the
guardrooms were calcined to red. Zharakty gates were built before the Mongol invasion. The remains of the early
gates were revealed during excavations in the form of the remains of a mud tower, and the same internal gates of
the complex date back to the 11th-12th cc. The name of the gate is known to us from the work of Kh.A.Yasawi
"Divani hikmet". It says that the grave of Arystanbab is located on the kiblah side of the gate "qabug iarug", which
corresponds to the southern gate of shahristan. The name of the gate in translation into the modern Kazakh
language means "Zharakty kakpa", i.e. "armored gate".
This gate was destroyed by the Mongols in the 13 th century. At the beginning of the 14th century they were rebuilt.
Finally, the gate died in the 17th century. This is probably due to the invasion of the Dzungars.

2.

SOPYKHANA GATE. 8th-13th cc.
The gates, destroyed during the Mongol invasion, were not traced in the topography of the city. The Sopykhana
gate was built simultaneously with the northern gate, in the 8 th century, therefore, they are identical in design
and location. They were built at the junction of the Shahristana and the citadel. We know about the gates of
Sopykhana from written sources. It was through these gates that the army of Genghis Khan entered the city. The
Persian name for the gate is "Darvaza-i-Sufi". They received such a name due to the fact that the road leading
from the gate led towards the grave of the Sufi Arystanbab. After the Mongol invasion, that is, at the end of the
13th - early 14th century the city walls and towers were restored. At this time, the site of the Sopykhana gate was
laid and a fortress wall was built. Sopykhana Gate was one of the main gates of Otrar before the Mongol
invasion. After all the gates were replaced by a solid wall, the outer part of the entrance complex was left
unattended and lost its significance. The building material of the gate could have been used for other building
needs. The buildings of the gate complex, such as, for example, the guard rooms, were not preserved because of
this.

3.

NORTHERN GATES, 8th-10th cc.
The northern gates of Otrar were built at the junction of the fortress walls of shakhristan and the citadel. The
gate was founded in the 8th century and destroyed in the 11th century. The gate is a complex fortification system.
It consists of an outer gate, an inner gate, and an armory and guardhouses between them. The towers and
guardhouses of the Northern Gate, the remains of streets dating back to the 8 th-9th, 11th-12th, 13th-14th and 16th17th cc, as well as a section of the fortress wall of shakhristan were studied. Excavations have established that
the gate ceased to function before the Mongol invasion, as early as the 10 th century.

4.

PRODUCTION COMPLEX, 15th-16th cc.
At the entrance to the city through the Zharakty Gate, on the left side of the main street, the ruins of a complex
consisting of a residential house and a pottery workshop were found. The residential part consists of three rooms
of an enfilade plan. In the center is a corridor with a lock, through it came to the living room and kitchen, on the
sides. To the residential part adjacent to the production premises. Under the canopy in front of the house are
pottery stoves and platforms where ceramic products were made and dried.
The furnaces are two-chamber, with fire and burning chambers. The furnaces differ in shape, round and
rectangular. It was revealed that the furnaces were used for a very long time. The workshop with a residential
house functioned in 15th-16th cc.

5.

JUMA MOSQUE 14th c.
The Juma Mosque of Otrar is located in the southeastern part of the central hill. The size of the mosque, built
under the influence of the famous commander Tamerlan, is 60x22 meters. The entrance is located in the middle
of the north-eastern facade, protruding from the line walls by a portal measuring 2.7x1.35 m. The span of the
portal is about 6 m. The west pylon is preserved at an altitude of 1.7 m, the east is completely destroyed. On the
corners of the portal small towers with a diameter of 2 m. Inside the tower were stairs.
They were accessed through a door 1 m wide on the inside of the portal. The first four stages of the spiral
staircase are preserved in the portal on the right side of the entrance. The facade composition of the building is
defined by four open galleries consisting of thirty columns arranged in three rows. The columns are squareshaped (1.35x1.35 m). The distance between the columns is 3.7 m. There are two halls on the input axis. Here
the walls are almost completely destroyed. The rectangular section, 3.3x1.65 m, remains on the west side of the
first hall. The two front columns of the main mihrab hall are partially preserved. There is reason to believe that
the cross section of the pillars was polygonal. The back pillars look like square pylons on both sides of the
mihrab.

6.

MOSQUE 16th c.
In the 16th century the abandoned areas of shahristan are being rebuilt. The construction
of a monumental mosque made of burnt bricks, located in the southern part of the
central mound, dates back to the same time. The total length of the mosque remains
unknown. The width of the mosque is 15.5 m. The mosque building consisted of a
central hall and two wings adjacent to it. The entrance to the mihrab hall is marked by a
portal. The dimensions of the central hall are 7x7 m. The walls of the mihrab and the
pre-mihraba niche are covered with thin ganch plaster.
.

7.

PALACE OF BERDIBEK. 14th-15th cc
Part of the citadel of Otrar which played a leading role in the city-wide development in the 14th-15th cc. The
citadel appeared on this site in the 14 th century, after the destruction of the previous citadel in the northern corner
by the Mongols in the early 13th century.
Berdibek Palace is the most studied of the three citadels of the Otrar city.
According to Sharaf al-Din al-Iazdi, Palace of Birdibek consisted of numerous rooms and an audience room for
official receptions. Tamerlan and his entourage stayed in this palace.
At the beginning of the 15th century important events took place here. Tamerlan received ambassadors
Tokhtamysh Khan in the palace, and here he died. These events are reflected in written sources as well as in
urban legends.
In internecine wars, which began after the death of Tamerlan in the first half of the 15 th century, the citadel and
the palace were destroyed and ceased to function.

8.

MAUSOLEUM-CRYPT. 15th century
The mausoleum was built on the ruins of the Berdibek Palace, within the extreme corner of the southwest corner.
The facade is oriented southwest towards the Cathedral Mosque.
The mausoleum is rectangular, consisting of two parts, an underground crypt and a chapel above it.
The overhead part of the chapel is completely destroyed. The inner part of chapel is 4 x 4.7 m in size.
The most highly preserved south-east wall was identified as the base of a 1.2 m wide window opening. The ends
of the aperture are plastered with gypsum. Along the three walls of the chapel there are Sufas of 45-50 cm wide.
It was possible to come down the stairs into the underground crypt. The parameters of the crypt are 3,45x3,45 m.
The lower part on 7 rows of the masonry is laid vertically, and then the masonry passes to a four-sided low
dome. The dome is punctured in the center by the destruction of the ground part of the mausoleum and the crypt
was filled with tensile soil.

9.

TRADING ROW, 17th c.
In the Middle Ages, the market occupied a special place, as it made a significant contribution to the development
of urban culture, i.e. political, economic and cultural life.
Medieval records show that Otrar, once a major centre of commerce and crafts, and a large agricultural area,
along with crafts, livestock and agriculture, developed a high level of trade culture. Excavations were carried out
in the northeastern part of the city, at the intersection of the main streets connecting the three city gates. The
results of the excavations (excavated shopping rows, finds) showed that the place where we excavated was a
market square typical of the 17th century. In addition, found in room No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4, hand mills
and bins, clearly exceeding the needs of one family indicate that there was a bakery complex here.

10.

SHAHRISTAN WALL
The city of Otrar consists of parts of Kuhendiza (citadels), Medina (Shahristan) and Rabad, as well as other
cities located in Central Asia and other regions of Kazakhstan. During this time, four rows of fortifications were
built in Otrar at each stage. The remnants of the two outer walls surrounding the Rabad part of the city were
preserved only in the north-west and west of the city. The Shahristan part of Otrar is planned to be preserved in
the form of a pentagonal roof. In general, Shahristan, which is the main part of the city, is surrounded by a very
strong fortress. Today, the south-western part of the Shahristan wall is fully open and turned into a museum
under the open sky. In general, as a result of research of the defense systems of the city, the remnants of the
fortified walls were found at each stage. VIII- IX centuries. The wall is made of perfume, between which are
regularly laid bricks. The internal part is made of brick with a thickness of 0.4 m. Remove the "dress" or
"berma" with a thickness of 0.7 m made of pure cotton. Considering that the walls of the city are usually built or
repaired at the same time, the wall, found in the upper northern part, was also built in the VIII-IX centuries.
mentions.

11.

RESIDENTIAL QUARTER. 16th-17th cc.
It is known that in the 16th-17th cc housing construction in Otrar changed significantly. In comparison
with the houses of the first half of the 15th century, a new trend has emerged in the external design and
interior decoration of housing. In particular, the predominance of houses built in the local style adjacent
to each other. The number of houses in one quarter increased from 6 to 20.
By default, the tandyr, located in the front part of the room was placed close to the front door, tasnau.
Chimney of the tandyr through the Kan system in sufa is removed to the nearest corner of the room.
Kan system in sufa, in turn, served as a warm floor.
Bins with pots and hums are arranged in the premises. There is a tendency to arrange shelves on the
walls of rooms for such utensils as crockery and cutlery.
An analysis of a dwelling from the late Middle Ages shows its connection with an earlier dwelling.

12.

ЖИЛОЙ КВАРТАЛ X-XII вв.
X-XII вв. Для него характерны изменения внутренней структуры и расширение территории
средневековых городов, расположенных в южной части Казахстана. Между ІХ и ХІІ веками быстро
росли производительные силы общества. При караханидском правлении Казахстана, города наполнялись
постройками религиозного назначения, аристократическими дворцами, водопроводом, канализацией, а
также новыми направлениями городской структуры, такими как мечети и бани. Значительные изменения
начали происходить в жилищном строительстве. Стали набирать обороты анфиладные, то есть
трехкомнатные дома, построенные цепочкой, и крестообразное жилье.. В то же время имелись
существенные отличия во внутреннем оформлении комнат. Большую часть стала занимать суфа.

13.

RESIDENTIAL QUARTERS. 14th-15th cc.
The 14th-15th cc. During the study of the Otrar housing combined models of houses consisting of a living room,
kitchen, and storage rooms were revealed. Living quarters are divided into residential and household parts. Most
of the living room was occupied by a sufa and there were tandyr or hearth. In front of the entrance there were
tasnau walls of which are built of brick, and the floor is also made of brick. In front of the living room or the
continuation of its simplistic or housekeeping pantry. In the storerooms were found kitchen utensils and storage
tanks for grain.

14.

BATHHOUSE
In the 9 th-15 th centuries the public places, such as bathhouses began to appear in
urban constructions. Three public baths were identified on the territory of the rabat of Otrar during the
excavation. One of them found close to the fortress walls of shakhristan, to the north-western part of the city, the
second bathhouse is obtained under the present bathhouse of the 13 th-15 th cc. A bathhouse from the 13 th-15 th
cc included a dressing room, a restroom, a mosque, room, treatment rooms, a vapour room and a large hall in the
centre. Glazed bricks and tiles for the floor were used in some rooms. The bathhouse was supported by the water
through the pipes from the water reservoir. The rows of the pipes were done through underground gallery. The
Otrar bath was heated by a firebox, from which the heat pipe departed, then the system of columns and guiding
walls divided the heat into streams that warmed the floors of all rooms. Smoke rises through the vertical
chimneys, laid in the thickness of the walls. They served simultaneously as temperature regulators.

15.

POTTERY WORKSHOP OF THE XIII-XV centuries.
Pottery in Otrar is concentrated in the center of the city and in rabad. Potter’s workshop occupies about 2 ha.
During excavation, two building layers were identified. The lower part dates from the 13th century, the upper layer
from the first half of the 14th century. Six workshops have been excavated in the lower layer. One of them has an
area of 157 m2, of which 89 m2 is an industrial part, the rest are residential. The production part consists of 2 rooms.
The first is covered with a canopy resting on a wooden support. A support stone was found in the middle of the
room. Inside the room were pottery, a well, and a pottery vessel for water. The entire eastern corner is paved with
ceramic tiles measuring 45x45x5 cm. It looks like clay was processed here. The area of the second room is 40 m2.
Part of it was closed and another part was open. The floor in the barn is tiled. In the eastern corner there is a ceramic
box with clay, in the western corner there is a potter's wheel. On the right, a wide-edged bowl is set in the ground to
dip hands in the water while cooking. On the opposite side there is only a set of finished products, 2 m wide, 2 m
long and 0.3 m high. A double-chamber ceramic oven is located in the northeast corner of the room. Furnace shape
is spherical. It has a diameter of 1.6 m and a depth of 1.6 m. Its ceiling is the floor of the combustion chamber. There
are 12 holes in the floor in two circles.

16.

ГАЛЕРЕЯ
Подземная галерея имеет длину 50 м, высоту 2 м и ширину 1,5 м. Два ряда керамических
труб по галерее подводили воду из резервуара к бане. Диаметр труб 20 см.
Свод большей части его рухнула. Свод сохранилась только вблизи бани. В основании
галереи выявлена ​система водопровода из керамических труб. Они находятся на нескольких
уровнях. Кажется, что система трубопроводов ремонтировался и перенаправляется на
каждом этапе. Культурные слои, в которых была раскопана галерея, образовались до 14
века. Слои включают в себя фрагменты керамических и стеклянных изделий, остатки
построек. Большинство из них относятся к караханидской эпохе (10-13 вв.). После
разрушения место бани и ее окрестности вместе с галереей превратились в кладбище.

17.

RESIDENTIAL QUARTERS IN THE X-XIII CENTURIES
The excavation of the Otrar settlement III on Shakhristan revealed five construction horizons, and allowed us to
establish the nature of the development of Shakhristan for five centuries. According to the level of the horizon
M, the building was opened only in the northern part of the excavation on an area of 300 sq. m., where dense
buildings were identified. Four households were identified. The household included such premises as a corridor,
a living room, a pantry, and a sanitary room. The interior elements consist of soufs, tandoor, sandalwood hearths,
sanitary baths, bins. Studies on this part of Otrar have shown a high level of development of culture in general
and household culture in particular in the X-XIII centuries. This rise is characteristic of the entire East, which
Adam Metz described as an "Islamic renaissance".

18.

THE KHANAKA OF ERZEN KHAN
(second quarter of the 14th c and beginning of the 15th c)
There are two operating periods. It was originally built as a bathhouse and functioned for
some time. Over time, the bathhouse was closed and converted into khanaka.
Characteristics of the structure during the bath
The bathhouse had a cruciform layout. Around the cruciform room other rooms were
concentrated. During the period under review, this type of bathhouse was typical of many baths
studied. The parameters of the bath are 19x23 m. It consists of the central hall of the cross-shaped, 5
rooms grouped around it and an entrance corridor.
The bathhouse was built in the second half of the 13th century and functioned until the second quarter
of the 14th century. In the second quarter of the 14th century, the structure underwent major repairs and
a fundamental change in the layout and interior. Thus, it changed its functional purpose and began a
second period of operation.