Akyrtas
Ruins of an 8th-century palace complex in Kazakhstan
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Akyrtas is the ruins of an 8th-century palace complex in the Jambyl Region of Kazakhstan, about 45 kilometres east of Taraz.[1] Built from large blocks of dark-red sandstone, the complex covers about 2.5 hectares and contains some 70 rooms.[2] It was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2014, as part of the Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor.[3]
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
|---|---|
 Interactive map of Akyrtas | |
| Location | Jambyl Region, Kazakhstan |
| Part of | Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor |
| Criteria | (ii), (iii), (v) |
| Inscription | 2014 (38th Session) |
| Area | 2.5 ha |
| Coordinates | 42°58′0″N 71°15′0″E |
The complex has been called a Buddhist temple and a Nestorian monastery at various points.[4] In 2023 Northedge argued that it is an early Islamic palace built for a Karluk ruler between roughly 780 and 809, noting that the four-iwan plan closely resembles the Al-Ukhaidir Fortress in Iraq and has Umayyad and Abbasid parallels. If so, Akyrtas would be among the oldest archaeological traces of Islam in Kazakhstan.[4] A separate, older theory ties the palace to Qutayba ibn Muslim, the Umayyad general killed in 715, with construction supposedly halted after his death.[3]
Arabic geographical sources mention a settlement called Kasribas at or near the site.[2] Qiu Chuji, who passed through the area in 1222, left the earliest non-Arabic reference. Vasily Bartold and other Russian scholars surveyed the ruins in the late 19th century. Stone blocks were stripped from the site in 1938-1939 for railway construction, causing considerable damage.[1] The A. Kh. Margulan Institute of Archaeology began excavating in the mid-20th century, and a Kazakh-French team under K. M. Baipakov did further fieldwork in 1998.[5]
The main building measures about 142 by 169 metres, with walls 3.5 to 5 metres thick.[4][1] Individual sandstone blocks weigh around one tonne, some exceed ten. Excavations outside the palace have also turned up a caravanserai, stone quarries, and an underground water-supply system.[1]