Plan of the

Mizdakhkan
settlement

Where is Mizdakhkan located?

Mizdakhkan is a complex of settlements of different periods, located on two hills - the Western hill, which was formed as a result of the accumulation of cultural layers, - the Eastern hill, which is a natural elevation, as well as the territory between these hills and the surrounding area.The total area is approximately 200 hectares.

1.Western hill

The entire hill is occupied by the Gyaur-Kala site. It is dated to between the 4th century BCE to the early 13th century. The area is about 8 hectares.
Gyaur-Kala is a city which was mentioned in the Arab sources of the 10th century under the name of Mizdakhkan.

V. V. Bartold was the first scholar to identify the Mizdakhkan site, based on information from the Arab geographers who equated the size of the city to Gurganj (the capital of the Khorezmshah state / the modern-day Kunya site at Urgench).

1 2 3 3.1 3.2 4

Gyaur-Kala - the basic parameters

The citadel wall is made up of mud bricks and adobe material. It surrounds the city along its entire perimeter. The extant height is 10 m
Ten towers are projecting beyond the overall line of the citadel wall.
The city gate is located on the eastern side. Reinforced with some near-gate structures.

Some specific features include the fact that the city existed in one and the same place starting from the 4th century BCE to the early 13th century.
The thickness of the cultural layer is 10 m. The topography of the city has not been studied.

Two independent architectural complexes were excavated in the southeastern part of Gyaur-Kala. Researchers interpreted them as citadels.
The Eastern citadel is dated to the 9th – early 10th centuries. While the western citadel, which is considered a palace building, is dated to the 11th - early 13th centuries.

The city ceased to exist in the early 13th century.

Its desolation is associated with the Mongol conquest of Khorezm (the capture of the neighboring Gurganj, the capital of the Khorezmashakh state, by the Mongols in 1221). Probably, the city’s water supply was disrupted at this time.

2.The area between the Western and Eastern hills

This area contains an archaeological site dated to the early 13th – late 14th centuries. The area is about 80 hectares.

In the 10th–11th centuries, there were some estates on this territory.
After the desolation of Gyaur-Kala, the city of Mizdakhkan moved to this territory. In the early 13th century – 14th century, the city was part of the Ulus of Jochi (Golden Horde).

The desolation of the city is dated to the late 14th century. This is associated with the general crisis of the Golden Horde state and the changes in the water supply system of the region. There are traces of habitation of the city of the early 15th century.

A city of the Golden Horde - basic parameters

The absence of a citadel wall makes it difficult to determine the area of the city. The area is approximately 80 hectares
Specific stratigraphy - the thickness of the cultural layer of the site is small - two cultural layers

The following types of areas were excavated in the city:
residential quarters, a street, an alley; remains of handicraft industry (pottery production, winery, etc.); Remains of a Jami Mosque (?). 14th c.

3.Eastern Hill

The total area is approximately 100 hectares.

3.1. In the southern part of the Eastern Hill there is the city’s necropolis.
The necropolis is dated to the 3rd-14th centuries. Based on the materials obtained on the territory of the necropolis, two chronological stages were identified. They are associated with the religious affiliation of the buried residents of the city.

The first stage is Zoroastrian / burials in a ceramic sarcophagus, in ceramic vessels, in ceramic ossuaries. Burial structures for the installation of ossuaries (nauses) have been identified This is dated to the 3rd - mid-8th centuries.

The second stage is Muslim / the corpse laying burials, burials in wooden coffins Dated to the mid-8th century - 14th centuries.

3.2 In the northern part of the Eastern Hill located are buildings of worship

a complex of buildings around the “White khanaqah” of the 12th-14th centuries.
a khanaqah
a mausoleum (?)
a “winter” mosque of the 12th century.
a “summer” mosque built in the 12th century. - repair and replacement of the mihrab - 14th century.

The Khalifa Erezhep monument - construction dated to the 12th century, and repair - to the 14th century.
Mazlumkhan-Sulu 13th–14th centuries.
Kirk-Shopan mausoleum - 13th–14th centuries.
anonymous mausoleum No. 1, early 13th century.
anonymous mausoleum No. 2, construction 12th century - early 13th century, - and repair - the 14th century.
Mausoleum of Shamun-Nabi, founded in the 13th-14th centuries, erected in the 17th–19th (?) centuries. Completely rebuilt in the 21st century.
Jumart Kasab sacred hill / necropolis of the 3rd-8th centuries, 9th-14th centuries,

Currently, the Eastern hill is occupied by a modern-day cemetery.

4.Suburban area with traces of irrigation structures

Irrigation network with traces of agro-irrigation planning, which stretch to the east and southeast of the hills for a distance of up to 1.5 km.
Detailed archaeological study of the Mizdakhkan area has not been conducted. The total area is approximately 12 hectares