Founded in 418 AD, Turkistan is situated in southern Kazakhstan near the Syr Darya River. By the 10th century, the city was known as Shawghar (a Sogdian name meaning ‘black mountain’) and it was part of the Samanid Empire. Shawghar had an extensive fortress with a citadel; the congregational mosque was on the edge of the market. After the 12th century, the city is referred to with its Turkic toponym Qarachuq, which was a large settlement and presumably had forty gates. In the 12th century, the Sufi shaykh Ahmad Yasawi settled in Yasi, situated a short distance from Qarachuq. In the 16th century, Yasi became the capital of the Kazakh Khanate. In 1864, Turkistan was integrated into the Turkestan Governor-Generalship under the Russian Empire. Turkistan has a rich cultural heritage reflected in its historical monuments, mausoleums and mosques.
Sources for Turkestan:
Archnet: Yasawi Shrine
Unesco: Yasawi Shrine