Iron Gate (Central Asia)
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The Iron Gate (; in Orkhon and
Tonyukuk Tonyukuk (, zh, , c=暾欲谷, p=Tunyugu, , born c. 646, died c. 726) was the baga-tarkhan (supreme commander) and adviser of four successive Göktürk khagans – Ilterish Qaghan, Qapaghan Qaghan, Inel Qaghan and Bilge Qaghan. He conducted v ...
inscriptions; ''Darband'', ), is a defile between
Balkh Balkh is a town in the Balkh Province of Afghanistan. It is located approximately to the northwest of the provincial capital city Mazar-i-Sharif and approximately to the south of the Amu Darya and the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border. In 2021 ...
and
Samarkand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...
. It breaks up the mountains which extend from the Hisar range south towards the
Amu Darya The Amu Darya ( ),() also shortened to Amu and historically known as the Oxus ( ), is a major river in Central Asia, which flows through Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan. Rising in the Pamir Mountains, north of the Hindu Ku ...
. In ancient times it was used as the passage between
Bactria Bactria (; Bactrian language, Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient Iranian peoples, Iranian civilization in Central Asia based in the area south of the Oxus River (modern Amu Darya) and north of the mountains of the Hindu Kush, an area ...
and
Sogdia Sogdia () or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian peoples, Iranian civilization between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, and in present-day Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Sogdiana was also a province of the Achaemen ...
and was likely of great importance to any power in the region. Its name comes from the belief that an actual gate, reinforced with Iron, stood in the defile. It is located to west from Boysun,
Surxondaryo Region Surxondaryo Region is a region ('' viloyat'') of Uzbekistan, located in the extreme south-east of the country. Established on 6 March 1941, it borders on Qashqadaryo Region internally, and Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan externally, goin ...
. Although its exact location is debatable, it is usually considered to be the pass on the road from
Samarkand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...
(Uzbekistan) to
Balkh Balkh is a town in the Balkh Province of Afghanistan. It is located approximately to the northwest of the provincial capital city Mazar-i-Sharif and approximately to the south of the Amu Darya and the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border. In 2021 ...
(
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
) and close to
Qarshi Qarshi ( ; ) is a city in southern Uzbekistan. It is the capital of Qashqadaryo Region. Administratively, Qarshi is a district-level city, that includes the urban-type settlement Qashqadaryo. It has a population of 278,300 (2021 estimate). It ...
city. According to historian Lev Gumilev its present name is "Buzgala".


In the Orkhon Inscriptions

Medieval Turks controlled the
Silk Road The Silk Road was a network of Asian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over , it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between the ...
during the Göktürk Empire. It was an important source of revenue. Temir Kapig was a strategically important point to control the Silk Road.
Orkhon inscriptions The Orkhon inscriptions are bilingual texts in Middle Chinese and Old Turkic, the latter written in the Old Turkic alphabet, carved into two memorial steles erected in the early 8th century by the Göktürks in the Orkhon Valley in what is modern- ...
(also known as Khöshöö Tsaidam monuments) which were erected in 730s, are about
Bilge Khagan Bilge Qaghan (; ; 683 – 25 November 734) was the fourth khagan, Qaghan of the Second Turkic Khaganate. His accomplishments were described in the Orkhon inscriptions. Names As was the custom, his personal name and the name after assuming the t ...
, a Turkic emperor and his brother Kul Tigin.
Bain Tsokto inscriptions The Tonyukuk inscriptions (), also called the Bain Tsokto inscriptions are Turkic inscriptions of the 8th century located in Nalaikh, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. They are one of the oldest written attestations of the Turkic language family, predating ...
which were erected shortly before the Khöshöö Tsaidam monuments are about
Tonyukuk Tonyukuk (, zh, , c=暾欲谷, p=Tunyugu, , born c. 646, died c. 726) was the baga-tarkhan (supreme commander) and adviser of four successive Göktürk khagans – Ilterish Qaghan, Qapaghan Qaghan, Inel Qaghan and Bilge Qaghan. He conducted v ...
, the counselor of Bilge. In all of these inscriptions, the geographical name Temir Kapig had been mentioned several times. Below are some examples.


In Kültigin's inscription (South side)

In west, I sent an army over the Pearl River to the Iron Gate


In Bilge Khagan's inscription (East side)

''(Referring to Bumin Khagan)'' He annexed all territory from Kadıgan forest in the east to the Iron Gate in the west.


In Tonyukuk's inscription (2nd monument, South side)

(''Referring to campaign in 701)'' We reached the Iron GateElgin p.59


Notes


References

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Sources

* * * * * Geography of Central Asia Mountain passes of Asia Landforms of Uzbekistan Geography of Uzbekistan {{Uzbekistan-geo-stub