Karasahr

Karasahr or Yanqi (also Karashahr, meaning 'black city' in Uyghur languages. Turkish Karasehir. Sanskrit Agnideśa. Chinese 焉耆 pinyin Yānqí Wade-Giles "Yen-ch’i"), the Buddhist Sanskrit name was 'Agni' or 'Fire.' The present name of the main town is Yanqi. The area lies in present day Xinjiang, China.

It was an ancient Buddhist kingdom located on the branch of the Silk Route that ran along the northern edge of the Taklamakan Desert in the Tarim Basin. During the Han dynasty it was an important kingdom. [Hill, John E. 2003. "Annotated Translation of the Chapter on the Western Regions according to the "Hou Hanshu"." 2nd Draft Edition, Section 22. [http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/hhshu/hou_han_shu.html] ]

The modern town of Yanqi (latitude 42° 01'N; longitude 86°33'E) is situated about 24 km west of the shallow Baghrash Kul or Bagragh Lake (Bositeng Hu in Pinyin). The lake is about 81 km east to west and 48 km north to south with a surface area of about 1,000 sq. km., making it the largest lake in Central Asia. It has been noted since Han times for its abundance of fish. The lake is fed by the Kaidu River and the Konche ('Peacock') River flows out of it past Korla and across the Taklamakan Desert to Lop Nur. There are numerous other small lakes in the region.

: "The whole of this district round Kara-shahr and Korla is, from a geographical and political point of view, both interesting and important ; for whilst all other parts of Chinese Turkestan can only be reached either by climbing high and difficult passes – the lowest of which has the same elevation as Mont Blanc – or traversing extensive and dangerous waterless deserts of sand-hills, here we find the one and only convenient approach to the land through the valleys of several rivers in the neighbourhood of Ili, where plentiful water abounds in the mountain streams on all sides, and where a rich vegetation makes life possible for wandering tribes. Such Kalmuck tribes still come from the north-west to Tal. They are Torgut nomads who pitch their yurts round about Kara-shahr and live a hard life with their herds. . . .: Just as these Mongols wander about here at the present day, so the nomadic tribes of an earlier period must have used this district as their entrance and exit gate. The Tochari (Yue-chi) [Pinyin: Yuezhi] , on their way from China, undoubtedly at that time passed through this gate to get into the Ili valley. . . ." ["Buried Treasures of Chinese Turkestan: An Account of the Activities and Adventures of the Second and Third German Turfan Expeditions". Albert von Le Coq. Translated by Anna Barwell. London George Allen & Unwin Ltd. 1928. Reprint: Oxford University Press, 1985. Pages 145-146.]

Neighbours

The ancient state bordered Kucha and thence Aksu to the west, and Turfan to the east. To the south, via Korla, and across the desert, was Khotan.

Francis Younghusband, briefly visited Karasahr in 1887 on his overland journey from Beijing to India. He described it as being "like all the towns hereabouts, is surrounded by a mud wall, and the gateways are surmounted by the usual pagoda-like towers. There is a musketry wall round outside the main wall, but it is now almost in ruins. Inside the wall are some yamens, but only a few houses. Outside, to the south, are a few shops and inns." [Younghusband, Francis E. (1896). "The Heart of a Continent", pp. 143-144. John Murray, London. Facsimile reprint: (2005) Elbiron Classics. ISBN 1-4212-6551-6 (pbk); ISBN 1-4212-6550-8 (hardcover).]

Footnotes

References

* Hill, John E. 2004. "The Peoples of the West from the Weilue" 魏略 "by Yu Huan" 魚豢": A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 CE." Draft annotated English translation. [http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html]
*Hulsewé, A. F. P. and Loewe, M. A. N. 1979. "China in Central Asia: The Early Stage 125 BC – AD 23: an annotated translation of chapters 61 and 96 of the History of the Former Han Dynasty". E. J. Brill, Leiden.
*Puri, B. N. "Buddhism in Central Asia", Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited, Delhi, 1987. (2000 reprint).
* Stein, Aurel M. 1912. "Ruins of Desert Cathay: Personal narrative of explorations in Central Asia and westernmost China", 2 vols. Reprint: Delhi. Low Price Publications. 1990.
* Stein, Aurel M. 1921. "Serindia: Detailed report of explorations in Central Asia and westernmost China", 5 vols. London & Oxford. Clarendon Press. Reprint: Delhi. Motilal Banarsidass. 1980. [http://dsr.nii.ac.jp/toyobunko/]
* Stein Aurel M. 1928. "Innermost Asia: Detailed report of explorations in Central Asia, Kan-su and Eastern Iran", 5 vols. Clarendon Press. Reprint: New Delhi. Cosmo Publications. 1981.
*Yu, Taishan. 2004. "A History of the Relationships between the Western and Eastern Han, Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties and the Western Regions". Sino-Platonic Papers No. 131 March, 2004. Dept. of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Pennsylvania.

External links

* [http://depts.washington.edu/uwch/silkroad/ Silk Road Seattle] (The Silk Road Seattle website contains many useful resources including a number of full-text historical works, maps, photos, etc.)