交河 يارغول قەدىمكى شەهىرى | |
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  Shown within Xinjiang Show map of Xinjiang Jiaohe ruins (Bayingolin) Show map of Bayingolin | |
| Location | Turpan, China |
|---|---|
| Region | Xinjiang |
| Coordinates | 42°57′02″N89°03′50″E / 42.95056°N 89.06389°E /42.95056; 89.06389 |
| Type | Settlement |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | In ruins |
| Yarghul (Jiaohe) Ruins | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese name | |||||||||
| Chinese | 交河故城 | ||||||||
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| Uyghur name | |||||||||
| Uyghur | يارغول قەدىمقى شەهىرى | ||||||||
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Jiaohe orYarkhoto orYarghul (Yarghul is in fact the name used by local Uyghur residence) is a ruined city in the Yarnaz Valley, 10 km west of the city ofTurpan inXinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China.[1] It was the capital of theTocharian kingdom ofJushi. It is a natural fortress located atop a steep cliff on a leaf-shaped plateau between two deep river valleys, and was an important stop along theSilk Road.
Although the city was predominantly Tocharian from the early centuries AD until roughly the 9th century—when its native name was likely in use—the original designation has not survived in the historical record, particularly after the city was eventually abandoned. The local Uyghur residence today use the name Yarghul[2].
The Chinese version of the name 'Jiaohe' appears in historical records. TheHou Hanshu, in discussingJiaohe, alludes to a conventional reading of the name, as meaning "river junction":
Lionel Giles recorded the following names for the city (with hisWade-Giles forms of the Chinese names substituted withpinyin):
Aurel Stein has suggested that the name Yarkhoto is a combination of Turkic and Mongolian words, being derived fromyar (Turki: ravine) andkhoto (Mongolian: town).[5]
From 108 BC to 450 AD Jiaohe was the capital of the AnteriorJushi Kingdom. It was an important site along theSilk Road trade route leading west, and was adjacent to theKorla andKarasahr kingdoms to the west. From 450 AD until 640 AD it became Jiao prefecture in theTang dynasty, and in 640 AD it was made the seat of the new Jiaohe County. From 640 AD until 658 AD it was also the seat of theProtector General of the Western Regions, the highest level military post of a Chinese military commander posted in the west. Since the beginning of the 9th century it had become Jiaohe prefecture of theUyghur Khaganate, until their kingdom was conquered by theKyrgyz soon after in the year 840. Yarkhoto was also built on a plateau and this plateau is 30m high.
The city was built on a large islet (1650 m in length, 300 m wide at its widest point) in the middle of a river which formed natural defenses, which would explain why the city lacked any sort of walls. Instead, steep cliffs more than 30 metres high on all sides of the river acted as natural walls. The layout of the city had eastern and western residential districts, while the northern district was reserved forBuddhist sites oftemples andstupas. Along with this there are notable graveyards and the ruins of a large government office in the southern part of the eastern district. It had a population of 7,000 according to Tang dynasty records.
It was finally abandoned after its destruction during an invasion by theMongols led byGenghis Khan in the 13th century.
The ruins were visited by the archaeologist and explorerAurel Stein, who described "a maze of ruined dwellings and shrines carved out for the most part from the loess soil", but complained that a combination of local farmers' use of the soil and government interference in his activities prevented examination.[6] The site was partially excavated in the 1950s and has been protected by thePRC government since 1961.[1] There are now attempts to protect this site and otherSilk Road city ruins.
Both the Nara National Cultural Properties Research Institute and the Xinjiang Cultural Relics Bureau have been cooperating in a joint venture to preserve the ruins of the site since 1992. In 2014, the Jiaohe Ruins became part of theSilk Road UNESCO World Heritage Sites, after several years of preparation.[7][8]
