One of the most famous medieval cities, Middle Syrdarya is Sauran. Its remains, to keep the old name, are located 35 km north-east of the city of Turkestan. The first mentions of the city belong to the X century. The famous Arab geographer X c. Maqdisi described him thus: "Sauran (Savran, Sabran) - a large city surrounded by seven walls, one after another, and it has rabad, mosque located in the inner city. He - a frontier fortress against Guz and Kipchak. " Subsequently, it is mentioned by Ibn al-Athir and Yakutia as a major cultural and commercial center in southern Kazakhstan. In the middle of the XIII century. Sauran called "Savran" Sauran was even the capital of the Ak-Orda. The role of the capital's center Sauran maintained its great role. In the 80-ies. XV century, the city was managed by Irenchi-Sultan, the son of one of the first Kazakh khans - Dzhanybek. It is described in detail Ruzbihanom, who calls him "... extremely pleasant city. It was built in the open, flat steppe. It was very cheerful and bright, with soft invigorating air that will give joy and force of the mind throughout the county are growing and are seen all sorts of beautiful trees. Most city is surrounded by a high wall and moat around it. The knowledge about the city is found in the memoirs of the poet and writer Vasifi, who lived here in 1514-1515 years. He tells about one of Noah steppe. It is very cheerful and bright, with soft invigorating air that will give joy and force of the mind throughout the county are growing and are seen all sorts of beautiful trees. Most city is surrounded by a high wall and moat around it. "The first archaeological research conducted settlement in the late 40-ies. The City Sauran existed in two places: in the pre-Mongol period (. VI-XII centuries) was located on the site of ancient settlement Karatobe and Sauran XIII-XVIII centuries. It has been moved to a new location, and it corresponds to the eponymous monument. Mound Sauran is oval in plan area, extending from north-east to south-west by 800 meters north-west to south-east to 550 meters. Even now perfectly visible perfectly preserved crenellated walls with loopholes, far from projecting massive round towers. The width of the aisles city gates 5-6 m. Upon entering the gate, could not help feeling a massive defensive wall, which was built from mud, alternating with a clutch of mud-brick. The height of the wall is six meters above the surrounding terrain, at the base of its thickness - up to three meters. On the territory of 33 hectares of perfectly readable layout of the city with squares, streets, dead ends guttered alleys with the remnants of buildings of administrative, residential, craft and others.
The first mention of the town date back to the tenth century. The famous Arab geographer Maqdisi described him thus: "Sauran (Savran, Sabran) - a large city surrounded by seven walls, mosque located in the inner city." About Sauran as a cultural and trade-craft center also were written by the historian Ibn al-Athir and geographer Yakut, defining its role as an important strategic site on the route of the Silk Road, the trade harbor at the junction of the steppe zone of the medieval city and the cultures of Central Asia.
In the first half of the 14th century when Juchids Sauran was the capital of the Ak-Orda. It was here found the final resting place, who died in 1320, the ruler of the Ak-Orda Sasa-Beachwood. His son Erzen engaged in godly affairs, building and landscaping a Sygnak capital. On his initiative in Sauran, Otrar, Jenda and other southern cities of Kazakhstan were mosques, madrasas. The role of the capital's center Sauran played in subsequent time. The son of one of the first Kazakh khans Dzhanybek, Irenchi Sultan, ruled the city in the 80s of the 15th century.
The value of the important economic, political and cultural center Sauran retained in subsequent centuries. In particular, the Emir Timur used it as a fortress against the khans of the Golden Horde. The reason for the war against the Ak-horde was the flight to Timur Tokhtamysh - the son of the murdered Urus Khan governor of Mangystau Toy Oglan skin. Timur supplied him with troops and "granted him Otrar region and Sauran and sent him to those places." But only after the death of Urus Khan and his successor Toktakiya Timur was able to put in Sauran Tokhtamysh, "granted him the kingdom in all the Dasht-i-Kipchak and Jochi Ulus," is not yet conquered.
In 1586-87 years of the struggle for the possession of towns near Syr Darya begins Tavakkul Sultan, son of the Kazakh khan Shigaya, won the title in 1582 after his father's death. During the grueling and hard war in 1586-1594 y., Tavakkul Khan proved himself as brave and courageous ruler. He enjoyed great respect from the people of Dasht-i-Kipchak, and sought to gain independence from shaybanid rulers. In 1598, Khan has taken a new campaign against shaybanid, capturing Samarkand. He was seriously wounded during the siege of Bukhara. Unable to succeed, Tavakkul goes to Tashkent, where he soon died of his wounds.
Sauran 16th century is described in detail Ruzbihanom, who calls him "an unusually pleasant city. It was built in the open, flat steppe. It is very cheerful and bright, with soft, invigorating air, which gives the mind the joy and strength. Across the district grow and one can see all sorts of beautiful trees. The city is surrounded by a high wall, the moat around which there is. "
Valuable information about the city contained in the memoirs of Vasifi, who lived here in 1514-1515 years. Poet and writer tells about one of the most remarkable buildings of the city - with two madrassas Shaking Minarets: "On the shoulders of his revealation two tall minarets of great heights and extreme generosity delivered. In guldasta the minarets attached to the chain, and under the domes (qubba) of each minaret built out log (forelock) so that anyone with the power leads log in motion the chain varies, and the one who is on the other minaret, it appears that the minaret collapse and it is one of the wonders of the world. "
Vasifi describes and extraordinary for the city's water supply of Kazakhstan with the help of karez - underground galleries through which groundwater is discharged to the outside. Karez is a hydraulic structure designed for gravity withdrawal of groundwater to the surface. It looks like an underground horizontal or slightly inclined conduit, one end of which cuts into the aquifer, and the other goes to the surface. "Like them, - he says, - people who travel around the world on land and at sea, did not see." On the construction of karez worked 200 Indian slaves.
Despite the endless war between the Uzbek and Kazakh khans, trade between towns near Syr Darya not interrupted. This period is characterized by intensive growth of commodity-money relations and the increase in the volume of handicraft and agricultural production. Money is firmly established in many areas of economic life of cities and their districts. Urban and long-distance trade in the 15th century was carried out by the Central Asian Timurid copper coins, which have a wide range of treatment to Otrar Southern Tajikistan. Since the beginning of the 16th century, when Tashkent came out of a common market with the Bukhara and Samarkand, and started a new independent monetary policy, the situation has changed Syr darya region. It has become a center that dictates certain standards in the production of cash production towns near Syr Darya region, and this applies not only to the external design, but also to the weight standard. Earned mints in Yassi, Sauran, Sairam, Syganak . They let money products, which differed in their appearance from Central coins Maurya, but was similar to the copper products in Tashkent, with the exception of coins Sauran the late 16th century, which are not on the exterior design and the inscriptions were like Samarkand coins of the period. Complex copper coin of 16-17 centuries, discovered on Sauran almost homogeneous with coins found in Otrar, Turkestan and other centers in the region. Sauran with the county was a large agricultural oasis where to place fruit gardens, vineyards, plantations and fields. Surplus agricultural farmer had to sell for money in the markets and fairs. At that time, copper coins were served not only small retail, but also participated in inter-regional trade. 400 coins of different denominations and age - a valuable coin material was collected on the ruins of the settlement Sauran. This coin complex - an invaluable source, recreating a picture of the socio-economic life of the people of the Middle Syr darya region.
