Binkath, which the Turks already call Tashkent, is the chief town of Shash (Chach), the irrigated plain of the Chirchik between the mountains and the Syr Darya.
It has an inner town, a citadel and broad suburbs among gardens fed by canals. Since 1177-78 Shash has had its own Qarakhanid khan; in 1200 he is the khan known from his coins as Jalal al-Dunya wa'l-Din Tamghach Khaqan.
Who holds it
- Name
- Jalal al-Dunya wa'l-Din Tamghach Khaqan (known from coins, 1197-1206)
- Title
- Khan of Shash
- Since
- 1197
- Confidence
- medium
Lord in 1200
The Qarakhanid khan of Shash, vassal of the gurkhan; whether he resides here or at Banakath on the Syr Darya, where his coins are struck, is not pinned.
How things stand that morning
Under its own khan, quiet.
Charter
None: the towns of the Qarakhanid khans have no charters; the khan's governor, the judge (qadi), the market inspector (muhtasib) and the headman (ra'is) run them.
Council
Not recorded for 1200.
Communities
Persian-speaking and Turkish Muslims; Turkish herders on the oasis edge.
Fairs and markets
Not recorded.
Militia
Not recorded.
Walls and castle
Inner town, citadel and suburb wall (from the geographers; their state in 1200 not recorded).
Trade and crafts
Cotton and grain of the Chirchik oasis; the silver of Ilaq; leather and weapons; the trade with the nomads of the steppe.
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- after 1210Taken by Muhammad of Khwarazm, later emptied of its people before Kuchlug; taken by the Mongols in 1220.Depends on: The Khwarazmian conquest. Stopped by: Far beyond 1200.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Its khan is known only from coins.
Primary sources for Khanate of Samarkand
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The History of the World Conqueror, Ata-Malik Juvayni (1252 to 1260). Written for the Mongols but with a long retrospective on the powers they destroyed. Read online
- History of the Liao, chapter 30, on the Western Liao, Toqto'a (脫脫) and the Yuan history office (1343 to 1344). The only Chinese official notice of the Qara Khitai, a few pages at the end of juan 30. Read online
- History of the World Conqueror: the Qara Khitai (Gur Khans) and the Uyghurs of Beshbaliq, Ala al-Din Ata-Malik Juvayni (begun about 1252 to 1253, ends with 1260). Juvayni's chapters on the Uyghur kingdom (its origin legend, Beshbaliq and Qocho, and the idiqut Barchuq's murder of the Qara Khitai resident before his submission to Chinggis Khan in 1209) and on the Gur Khans of the Qara Khitai are the fullest Muslim account of the Tarim and Zhetysu around 1200: the gurkhan Zhilugu's court at Balasagun, his tax collectors in the oasis towns and in Samarkand, his relations with the Khwarazmshah Tekish and then Muhammad, and the arrival of the Naiman prince Kuchlug in 1208. Read online
- Dictionary of Countries, Yaqut al-Hamawi (1224 to 1228, at Aleppo). An alphabetical gazetteer of every place Yaqut had read of or seen: he travelled as a bookseller's agent through Syria, Iraq, Persia, Khurasan and Khwarazm (about 1213 to 1220) and settled in Aleppo. Read online
- Journey to the West of the Perfected Changchun (Qiu Chuji), Li Zhichang (李志常) (about 1228, from the journey of 1220 to 1224). A dated eyewitness itinerary across the steppe and the Tarim twenty years after 1200: the Kereyit country and the Ongud frontier, the Naiman mountains, the Uyghur towns of Beshbaliq and the Tarim with their Buddhist and Christian communities, Almaliq of the Qarluq, and Samarkand. Read online
Sources and studies
- Wikipedia, 'History of Tashkent' (citing Kochnev 2006)
- W. Barthold, Turkestan down to the Mongol Invasion (1928)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.