Kyzyl-Kala

Not to be confused with Kyzylkala, a medieval trading settlement in Kazakhstan of a similar name.

Kyzyl-Kala

Kyzyl-Kala
Kyzyl-Kala fortress, 1st-4th century AD: original ruins, and reconstruction (left third portion simulated)
Shown within West and Central Asia Show map of West and Central Asia Kyzyl-Kala (Uzbekistan) Show map of Uzbekistan
Alternative name	Kyzyl-Kala
Location	Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan
Coordinates	41°55′48.1″N 60°47′02.8″E
Type	Settlement
History
Periods	Parthian, Sasanian
Site notes
Condition	Ruined

Kyzyl-Kala, also Qyzyl Qala ("Red fortress"), in modern Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan, was an ancient fortress in Chorasmia built in the 1st-4th century AD.^[1][2] The small fortress of Kyzyl-Kala is located near Toprak-Kala, about 1 km to the west, and was also built in the 1st-4th century AD, possibly as a fortified defense for the site of Toprak-Kala. Kyzyl-Kala was once restored in the 12th century. It has also been the subject of a modern renovation program, with the objective of showing what a fortress looked like originally. It is part of the "Fifty fortresses oasis" in modern-day Uzbekistan.^[3] It was last occupied by Muhammad II of Khwarazm (1169, 1200-20), ruler of the Khwarazmian Empire, before it fell to the Mongol conquest of Khwarazmia.

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  Kyzyl-Kala under restoration (2018)
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  Old and new walls
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  Kyzyk-Kala, details of new walls
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  Location of the Kyzyl-Kala fortress, next to Toprak-Kala in the Chorasmian oasis, in relation to other main fortresses
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  Cotton picking near Kyzyl-Kala.
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  Mina'i bowl depiction of a fortress under siege, circa 1200, Iran

References

1. Ducke, Isa; Thoma, Natascha (2015). Usbekistan (in German). Dumont Reiseverlag. p. 385. ISBN 978-3-7701-7739-4.
2. Adrianov, Boris V.; Mantellini, Simone (31 December 2013). Ancient Irrigation Systems of the Aral Sea Area. Oxbow Books, Limited. p. 162. ISBN 978-1-78297-167-2.
3. Adrianov, Boris V.; Mantellini, Simone (31 December 2013). Ancient Irrigation Systems of the Aral Sea Area. Oxbow Books, Limited. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-78297-167-2.