Qashliq, Isker or Sibir (

Siberian Tatar language Siberian Tatar language (себертатар теле, көнбатыш себер татарлары теле)) is a Turkic language spoken in Western Siberia region of Russia, primarily in the oblasts of Tyumen, Novosibirsk, Omsk but also in To ...

: ''Qaşlıq'' or ''Iskär'') was a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

(14th–16th century) Siberian Tatar fortress, in the 16th century the capital of the

Khanate of Sibir The Khanate of Sibir (also Khanate of Turan, sty, Себер ханлыгы) was a Tatar Khanate located in southwestern Siberia with a Turco-Mongol ruling class. Throughout its history, members of the Shaybanid and Taibugid dynasties often con ...

, located on the right bank of the Irtysh River at its confluence with the ''Sibirka'' rivulet, some 17 km from the modern city of

Tobolsk Tobolsk (russian: Тобо́льск) is a town in Tyumen Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Tobol and Irtysh rivers. Founded in 1590, Tobolsk is the second-oldest Russian settlement east of the Ural Mountains in Asian Russia, an ...

. The fortress is first mentioned in Russian sources of the 14th century. The period of the most development was in the first half of the 16th century. In 1582 the troops of Cossack ataman

Yermak Yermak Timofeyevich ( rus, Ерма́к Тимофе́евич, p=jɪˈrmak tʲɪmɐˈfʲejɪvʲɪtɕ; born between 1532 and 1542 – August 5 or 6, 1585) was a Cossack ataman and is today a hero in Russian folklore and myths. During the reign ...

seized and ruined Qashliq. The ruined city was retaken by the Siberian Tatars in 1584 only to be lost forever in 1586. The nearby city of

was founded in 1587. Sources differ on the exact location of the fortress. Most give the distance upriver from Tobolsk as 17 or 18 km, or

verst A verst (russian: верста, ) is an obsolete Russian unit of length defined as 500 sazhen. This makes a verst equal to . Plurals and variants In the English language, ''verst'' is singular with the normal plural ''versts''. In Russian, the no ...

s, or ten to eleven miles, but others give 23 km. Sources of the early 19th century claim that the ruins of the fortress could still be made out with difficulty.e.g. J. Bell, ''A system of geography, popular and scientific'', 1832
p. 70
T. Curtis, ''The London encyclopedia'', 1829
p. 288
The modern village of ''Sibiryak'' () is located close to the site.

References

External links

Photograph of the approximate siteAnt-13
at Panoramio) {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Tyumen Oblast Defunct towns in Russia Former populated places in Russia Forts in Russia Destroyed cities Populated places on the Irtysh River Khanate of Sibir Cultural heritage monuments in Tyumen Oblast Objects of cultural heritage of Russia of federal significance