Pages: 77-80

The large Zhaiyk hillfort site recently discovered in the Lower Ural River area is one of the few Golden Horde urban settlements known in Western Kazakhstan. The urban development of Zhaiyk is characteristic of the Golden Horde cities; it consisted of homesteads with structures from adobe bricks and irregular layout. A large hammam bath with a cruciform layout was discovered. Two major mausoleums of baked bricks decorated with glazed tiles were investigated on the necropolis. A cult funerary complex consisting of a tower-shaped mausoleum with hip roof and stone stelae in front was studied. Another new site in this region is the Zhalpaktal hillfort, also with farmstead buildings. There is a mosque, which currently is the only known mosque of the Golden Horde period in Western Kazakhstan, and it was uncovered and studied.

Keywords: Western Kazakhstan, Golden Horde period, medieval settlements, Zhaiyk, religious complex

Information about author:

Emma D. Zilivinskaya. Doctor of Historical Sciences. N. N. Miklouho-Maclay Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Address: Leninsky Ave., 32а, Moscow, 119334, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]