Taraz

Taraz
Тараз
From the top, Dostyk Square, Government Building, Aulie-Ata Mosque
Official seal of Taraz
Taraz is located in Kazakhstan
Taraz
Taraz
Location in Kazakhstan
Coordinates: 42°54′N 71°22′E / 42.900°N 71.367°E / 42.900; 71.367
Country Kazakhstan
RegionJambyl Region
Founded36 BCE
Government
 • Akim (mayor)Orynbekov Bakhytzhan
Area
 • Total187.8 km2 (72.5 sq mi)
Elevation
610 m (2,000 ft)
Population
 (2023)
 • Total428,000
 • Density2,300/km2 (5,900/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+5
Postal code
080001 - 080019
Area code+7 7262
Vehicle registrationH, 08
Websitetaraz-gov.kz

Taraz (Kazakh: Тараз (listen); also historically known as Talas) is a city and the administrative center of Jambyl Region in Kazakhstan, located on the Talas (Taraz) River in the south of the country near the border with Kyrgyzstan. It had a population of 330,100 as of the 1999 census, up 9% from 1989, making it one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, after Astana and Turkistan. The current population of Taraz city is 428,000 (April 2023).[1]

One of the oldest cities in Kazakhstan and in Transoxania, built and populated by the ancient Sogdians, Taraz celebrated its official 2,000th anniversary (recognized by UNESCO) in 2001, dating from a fortress built in the area by a Xiongnu Chanyu named Zhizhi, and was a site of the Battle of Zhizhi in 36 BCE.[2] The city was first recorded under the name "Talas" in 568 CE by Menander Protector. The medieval city of Talas was a major trade centre along the Silk Road. Talas was later described by Buddhist monk and traveller Xuanzang, who passed Talas in 629 and later wrote: "Traveling westward from the Thousand Springs 140 or 150 li, we come to the city of Daluosi. The city is 8 or 9 li in diameter; and was settled by Hu ("foreign, barbarian, non-Chinese") merchants from various nations. The products and the climate are about the same as Suyab."[3] The Talas alphabet, a variant of the Turkic "runiform" Orkhon script, is named for the town.

Talas secured a place in history by virtue of the Battle of Talas (751 CE), which was fought between forces of the Chinese Tang dynasty and those of the Arab Abbasid Caliphate. The battle took place somewhere along the Talas River in the Talas valley. One of its indirect outcomes was the introduction of paper to the West, via the Arab capture of Chinese paper makers.

  1. ^ "1 апреля 2023г. - Бюро национальной статистики Агентства по стратегическому планированию и реформам Республики Казахстан". stat.gov.kz (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  2. ^ General Conference30th Session, Paris 1999. unesco.org.
  3. ^ Ji, Xianlin (1985). Journey to the West in the Great Tang Dynasty. Xi'an: Shaanxi People's Press. p. 27