Lands of Asia layouts (Eng) 26.11.21

part i | civilisations
son Borak. A new city was established during this period on the site of a former rabad
(a suburban district for crafts, commerce and trade) and existed until the beginning
of the 16th century AD, when the province of Chaganian was conquered by Shaibani
Khan. The main centre then moved to Dih-i Nau (present-day Denau).
Chach (Chachan, Arabic – Shash) was a historical and cultural area situated on the
right bank of the Syr Darya river, in the Chirchik and Akhangaran river basins, in the
present-day Tashkent region.
The earliest use of the name Chach is in King Shapur I’s inscription (AD 241–
272) on what is known as the Kaab-i-Zoroaster, which lists the borders of his states.
The name Chach also appears in Sogdian script in early inscriptions on bronze coins
issued in this region, possibly from the 3rd century AD onwards. Dating from this
period (i.e. 3rd century) or thereabouts are also the Sogdian inscriptions on bricks
and stones found at Kultobe (southern Kazakhstan), which mention a leader of the
army of Chachannap, meaning literally ‘the people of Chach’.
The full name of the area was probably Chachan, as this name appears in some
inscriptions on ancient and early medieval coins, and Chach is most likely a truncated
form like Kesh (Kish) for Keshan and Chagan for Chaganian.
Arabic written sources refer to Chach as Shash, with ‘sh’ used to denote the sound
‘ch’ since Arabic has no letter for the sound ‘ch’. Similarly, in Arabic, the name of
Chaganian, another region in the Surkhan Darya valley, becomes Saganian.
Ancient Chinese sources refer to this region as Yuni, and later in the 5th to 6th
centuries AD, as Shi. The ancient form of the name Chach, Arabised as Shash, has
survived until today in its Turkic form – Tashkent.
Human exploration of ancient Chach territories began in the Stone Age. The
stone-working shafts in Kulbulak and the settlements on the banks of the Bozsu and
Karakamysh rivers date from the Lower and Upper Palaeolithic periods.
During the Bronze Age (3rd to 2nd millennium BC), this area was inhabited by
Andronov-like steppe tribes who gradually transitioned to farming here.
In the 9th to the 7th century BC a significant part of this area was occupied by
tribes of the Burgulyuk culture who relied mainly on farming, cattle breeding, metal
working and weaving. One of the Burgulyuk settlements, Shashtepa, was located on
the site of modern Tashkent. During this period, one of the many Saka tribes may
also have settled in this area. The end of the Burgulyuk culture in the 3rd century BC
can probably be attributed to the spread of the Sarmatian tribes coming from the
Aral Sea region to the lower reaches of the Syr Darya. These tribes brought to the
Tashkent oasis traditions of urban culture and skills in building mud brick and pakhsa
18