Kyzyl-Kala, also Qyzyl Qala ("Red fortress"), in modern Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan, was an ancient fortress in Chorasmia built in the 1st-4th century AD.[1][2] The small fortress of Kyzyl-Kala is located near Toprak-Kala, about 1 km to the west, and was also built in the 1st-4th century AD, possibly as a fortified defense for the site of Toprak-Kala. Kyzyl-Kala was once restored in the 12th century. It has also been the subject of a modern renovation program, with the objective of showing what a fortress looked like originally. It is part of the "Fifty fortresses oasis" in modern-day Uzbekistan.[3] It was last occupied by Muhammad II of Khwarazm (1169, 1200-20), ruler of the Khwarazmian Empire, before it fell to the Mongol conquest of Khwarazmia.
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Kyzyl-Kala under restoration (2018) -
Old and new walls -
Kyzyk-Kala, details of new walls -
Location of the Kyzyl-Kala fortress, next to Toprak-Kala in the Chorasmian oasis, in relation to other main fortresses -
Cotton picking near Kyzyl-Kala. -
Mina'i bowl depiction of a fortress under siege, circa 1200, Iran
References
- ^ Ducke, Isa; Thoma, Natascha (2015). Usbekistan (in German). Dumont Reiseverlag. p. 385. ISBN 978-3-7701-7739-4.
- ^ Adrianov, Boris V.; Mantellini, Simone (31 December 2013). Ancient Irrigation Systems of the Aral Sea Area. Oxbow Books, Limited. p. 162. ISBN 978-1-78297-167-2.
- ^ Adrianov, Boris V.; Mantellini, Simone (31 December 2013). Ancient Irrigation Systems of the Aral Sea Area. Oxbow Books, Limited. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-78297-167-2.
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