Irkeshtam
Encyclopedia
Irkeshtam is a village
east of the Alay Valley
in southern Osh Province
, Kyrgyzstan
. It is one of the two main border crossings between Kyrgyzstan and Xinjiang
, China
, the other being Torugart, some 165 km (102.5 mi) to the northeast. Both passes lead to Kashgar
, Irkeshtam from the west, and Torugart from the north.
— the route heading down the Alay Valley towards modern Dushanbe
, Termez
and Balkh
, as well as the alternative route which turns off to the north and then through the Terek Pass
(elevation 4128 metres (13,543.3 ft), which is open all year), to the Ferghana Valley, Khujand
(ancient Alexandria Eschate
), and Samarkand
.
On the Kyrgyz side, a rather poor road goes west over a pass or divide into the Alay Valley
and on to Sary-Tash
, where the M41 highway leads north to Osh
in the Ferghana Valley and the European road E60
to the west. Travel can be difficult due to poor infrastructure, snowfall, broken down trucks, closed customs posts, border formalities, etc.
There is now a bus that travels every Monday and Tuesday from Kashgar to Osh through Irkeshtam, and obviously travels in the other direction too. It is also possible to make more informal arrangements.
Nearby settlements include Nura
6.4 kilometres (4 mi) and Ikazak 13 kilometres (8.1 mi).
: Chüan-tu, (literally: 'Tax Control'). It must not be confused with Juandu 身毒, which was one of the names used to refer to northwestern India.
Juandu 捐毒 (Wade-Giles: Chüan-tu), is said in Hanshu 96A to contain, "380 households, 1100 individuals and 500 persons able to bear arms." It also states that: "Clothing is of the same type as that of the Wu-sun. [The people] go after water and pasture, keeping close to the Ts'ung-ling (or Pamir Mountains
. Oiginally they were of the Sai
race."
It is probable that it was Irkeshtam which Ptolemy
6.13.2 refers to as the Stone Tower, and he makes it clear it was under the control of Sai or Sakai people;
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
east of the Alay Valley
Alay Valley
The Alay Valley is a broad, dry valley running east-west across most of southern Osh Province, Kyrgyzstan. . It is about 180km east-west and about 40km north-south and 2500-3500m in altitude. The north side is the Alay Mountains which slope down to the Ferghana Valley...
in southern Osh Province
Osh Province
Osh Province is a province of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Osh. It is bounded by Jalal-Abad Province, Naryn Province, Xinjiang, China, Tajikistan, Batken Province and Uzbekistan.-Geography:...
, Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...
. It is one of the two main border crossings between Kyrgyzstan and Xinjiang
Xinjiang
Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, the other being Torugart, some 165 km (102.5 mi) to the northeast. Both passes lead to Kashgar
Kashgar
Kashgar or Kashi is an oasis city with approximately 350,000 residents in the western part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Kashgar is the administrative centre of Kashgar Prefecture which has an area of 162,000 km² and a population of approximately...
, Irkeshtam from the west, and Torugart from the north.
Location
Irkeshtam is strategically located about 200 kilometres (124.3 mi) west of Kashgar, and controls the main trade routes leading to the west out of the Tarim BasinTarim Basin
The Tarim Basin is a large endorheic basin occupying an area of about . It is located in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China's far west. Its northern boundary is the Tian Shan mountain range and its southern is the Kunlun Mountains on the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. The...
— the route heading down the Alay Valley towards modern Dushanbe
Dushanbe
-Economy:Coal, lead, and arsenic are mined nearby in the cities of Nurek and Kulob allowing for the industrialization of Dushanbe. The Nurek Dam, the world's highest as of 2008, generates 95% of Tajikistan's electricity, and another dam, the Roghun Dam, is planned on the Vakhsh River...
, Termez
Termez
Termez is a city in southern Uzbekistan near the border with Afghanistan.Some link the name of the city to thermos, "hot" in Greek, tracing its name back to Alexander the Great. Others suggest that it came from Sanskrit taramato, meaning "on the river bank". It is the hottest point of Uzbekistan...
and Balkh
Balkh
Balkh , was an ancient city and centre of Zoroastrianism in what is now northern Afghanistan. Today it is a small town in the province of Balkh, about 20 kilometers northwest of the provincial capital, Mazar-e Sharif, and some south of the Amu Darya. It was one of the major cities of Khorasan...
, as well as the alternative route which turns off to the north and then through the Terek Pass
Terek Pass
Terek Pass is an all year round pass in the Alay Mountains in the Osh oblast of Kyrgyzstan. It was historically the principal pass to enter Xinjiang from the central Asia...
(elevation 4128 metres (13,543.3 ft), which is open all year), to the Ferghana Valley, Khujand
Khujand
Khujand , also transliterated as Khudzhand, , formerly Khodjend or Khodzhent until 1936 and Leninabad until 1991, is the second-largest city of Tajikistan. It is situated on the Syr Darya River at the mouth of the Fergana Valley...
(ancient Alexandria Eschate
Alexandria Eschate
Alexandria Eschate or Alexandria Eskhata was founded by Alexander the Great in August 329 BCE as his most northerly base in Central Asia...
), and Samarkand
Samarkand
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
.
On the Kyrgyz side, a rather poor road goes west over a pass or divide into the Alay Valley
Alay Valley
The Alay Valley is a broad, dry valley running east-west across most of southern Osh Province, Kyrgyzstan. . It is about 180km east-west and about 40km north-south and 2500-3500m in altitude. The north side is the Alay Mountains which slope down to the Ferghana Valley...
and on to Sary-Tash
Sary-Tash
Sary-Tash is a minor village and major crossroads in the Alay Valley of Osh Province, Kyrgyzstan. Nearby towns and villages to the north include Akbosaga , Shumkar and Chagyr ....
, where the M41 highway leads north to Osh
Osh
Osh is the second largest city in Kyrgyzstan, located in the Fergana Valley in the south of the country and often referred to as the "capital of the south". The city is at least 3,000 years old, and has served as the administrative center of Osh Province since 1939...
in the Ferghana Valley and the European road E60
European route E60
European route E 60 is a E-road running from Brest, France , to Irkeshtam, Kyrgyzstan...
to the west. Travel can be difficult due to poor infrastructure, snowfall, broken down trucks, closed customs posts, border formalities, etc.
There is now a bus that travels every Monday and Tuesday from Kashgar to Osh through Irkeshtam, and obviously travels in the other direction too. It is also possible to make more informal arrangements.
Nearby settlements include Nura
Nura
Nura was a village in the Osh Province of Kyrgyzstan, at the point where the A371 road from China turns northwest to go over the pass into the Alay Valley...
6.4 kilometres (4 mi) and Ikazak 13 kilometres (8.1 mi).
History
Irkeshtam, being located at the natural dividing line between major geographic and cultural regions, has been an important border control point for at least a couple of millennia. It was known in both Han Dynasties, as well as in the Weilüe (2nd third of the 3rd century CE) as Juandu 捐毒, Wade-GilesWade-Giles
Wade–Giles , sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a romanization system for the Mandarin Chinese language. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Wade during the mid-19th century , and was given completed form with Herbert Giles' Chinese–English dictionary of 1892.Wade–Giles was the most...
: Chüan-tu, (literally: 'Tax Control'). It must not be confused with Juandu 身毒, which was one of the names used to refer to northwestern India.
Juandu 捐毒 (Wade-Giles: Chüan-tu), is said in Hanshu 96A to contain, "380 households, 1100 individuals and 500 persons able to bear arms." It also states that: "Clothing is of the same type as that of the Wu-sun. [The people] go after water and pasture, keeping close to the Ts'ung-ling (or Pamir Mountains
Pamir Mountains
The Pamir Mountains are a mountain range in Central Asia formed by the junction or knot of the Himalayas, Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun, and Hindu Kush ranges. They are among the world’s highest mountains and since Victorian times they have been known as the "Roof of the World" a probable...
. Oiginally they were of the Sai
Sai
-Education:*self-accrediting institution, a three-letter acronym in use in higher education in Australia to describe universities and other SAIs-Fiction:*Fujiwara no Sai, a character in Hikaru no Go media*Sai , a character in Naruto media...
race."
It is probable that it was Irkeshtam which Ptolemy
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
6.13.2 refers to as the Stone Tower, and he makes it clear it was under the control of Sai or Sakai people;
"In the territory of the Sakai there rises the already mentioned mountain
region of the Komedai – the ascent to the mountain region of Sogdiana lies at
125° / 43°, the position of its terminal point near the ravine of the Komedai [=
the Alai Valley] is at 130° / 39°; the so-called Stone Tower lies at 135° / 143°
[sic – should read 43°. See ibid. p. 38.]"