COGNITIVE MAPPING
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COGNITIVE MAP OF THE REGION
COGNITIVE MAP OF THE CITY
1st c. BC – 5th c. AD – SOGDIA – KANGJU - CHORASMIA
CHORASMIA
ASSEMBLED HISTORICAL LAYERS
TIMELINE OF KAZAKH KHANATE GOVERNORS
600 - 100 BCE. Sogdia (Sogdiana)
Besides the modern Turkistan area never has been a capital territory, it was included in the first known state of Sogdia in the interfluve of Amu Darya and Syr Darya. However, Sogdia was not a united state for centuries and often Sogdian cities were governed by arising empires like Persian Achaemenid Empire, Alexander the Great empire, Seleucid Empire, Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, Kushan Empire, Hephthalite Empire, and Sasanian Empire. In the Avesta, Sogdiana is listed as the second-best land that the supreme deity Ahura Mazda had created. It comes second, after Airyanem Vaejah, "homeland of the Aryans". Sogdians spoke and wrote on Sogdian language, practiced religions of Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Manichaeism, Nestorian Christianity. Sogdian people were pra-ancestors of Sarts - the medieval urban identity of Transoxianian cities.
100 BCE - 600 AD. Kangju state
Kangju is a Chinese name of the arisen Sogdian state in between Amu Darya and Syr Darya. Kangju people included Sogdians and Tocharians. The state was influenced by the Chinese Tang empire in culture and trade. The ruling elite of the Kangju consisted of nomadic tribes that practiced kurgan burial customs. But after the spread of Nestorian Christianity, they switched to catacombs. References from written sources and archaeological finds show that the Kangju reached a considerable level of agricultural sophistication. Much of the population consisted of a sedentary farming population. Wide canals from the Kangju period have been discovered, with the land area under irrigation of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya being four times greater than today. The irrigation systems of Central Asia reached their highest levels of development under the Kangju-Kushans and was, in fact, superior to those fully developed in the Middle Ages. KulTobe citadel appeared in this period.
440 - 710. Hephthalites nomad empire
Hephthalites or White Huns were a tribal confederation and included both nomadic and settled urban communities. By 479, the Hephthalites had conquered Sogdia. They were said to practice polyandry and artificial cranial deformation. The Hephthalites had their capital at Badian, modern Kunduz, but the emperor lived in the capital city for just three winter months, and for the rest of the year, the government seat would move from one locality to another like a camp.
552 - 581. Turkic Khaganate (Göktürk Khaganate)
Ashina clan of the Göktürks established this khaganate in medieval Inner Asia. Under the leadership of Bumin Qaghan and his sons, the Ashina succeeded the Rouran Khaganate as the hegemonic power of the Mongolian Plateau and rapidly expanded their territories in Central Asia. Initially, the Khaganate would use Sogdian in official and numismatic functions. It was the first Turkic state to use the name Türk politically and is known for the first written record of any Turkic language in history. The Göktürks and other ancient Turkic peoples were mainly adherents of Tengrism, worshipping the sky god Tengri. The Khaganate received missionaries from the Buddhist religion, which was incorporated into Tengrism. After the fall of the khaganate, many refugees settled in Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe, and adopted the Islamic faith. In 581 the Turkic Khanate split in two, Western and Eastern, after the death of the fourth ruler, Taspar Qaghan. Shavgar citadel appeared in this period. KulTobe became surrounded by makhallyas.
581 - 657. Western Turkic Khaganate (Onoq Khaganate)
The split of Gorkturk khaganate was preceded by the civil war, that caused by claims of different parts on the khagan legacy, and followed by the establishment of Western and Eastern khaganates. The earlier tribes consisted of eight primary tribes ruled by ten chiefs-in-command, afterward called the on (ten) oq (arrows). They were the five Duolu tribes, and the three Nushibi tribes. The relationships between the ten tribes and the ruling elites were divided into two groups. The more aristocratic Duolu tribes, who held the title qur, and the lower-rated Nushipi in the west, who were probably initially made up of Tiele conscripts. During the reformation, the more powerful Nushipi tribes such as A-Xijie and Geshu were sub-divided into two tribal groups with a greater and lesser title under a fixed tribal name. The khaganate's capitals were Navekat (the summer capital) and Suyab (the principal capital), both situated in the Chui River valley of Kyrgyzstan, to the east from Bishkek. Tong Yabgu's summer capital was near Tashkent and his winter capital Suyab. Shavgar town grew and was on the rise.
659 - 750. Kangar union
Turkic state in the territory of the entire modern Kazakhstan without Zhetysu. The ethnic name Kangar is a early medieval name for the Kangly people, who are now part of the Kazakh, Uzbek and Karakalpak nations. The capital of the Kangar union was located in the Ulytau mountains. The Pechenegs, three of whose tribes were known as Kangar, after being defeated by the Oghuzes, Karluks, and Kimek-Kypchaks, attacked the Bulgars and established the Pecheneg state in Eastern Europe (840-990). Kangar people prayd to Tengri and spoke Old Turkic language. Nowadays Kangly is one of Kazakh tribes that tamga is shown on the slide.
699 - 766. TĂźrgesh Khaganate
Turkic tribal confederation of Dulu Turks believed to have descended from the Turuhe tribe situated along the banks of the Tuul River. They emerged as an independent power after the demise of the Western Turkic Khaganate and established a khaganate. Turgeshis were combined from two tribal unions of Kara-Turgeshis and Sary-Turgeshis. The first attempt of the Islamic conquest of Transoxiana was repulsed by a khagan in the union with China. In the next Arab invasion Turgeshis were able to take back Transoxiana again. But after the peace breakdown with China in 737 the khaganate was forced to battle on two sides. Internal dissension between Sary and Kara tribe unions jeopardized the decay of the state. Finally, the capital was destroyed by the Chinese and the country was divided between Arab caliphate and China. Shavgar and adjacent areas were incorporated into the khaganate in 702-756.
661–750. Umayyad Caliphate
The second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, the first hereditary dynasty in the history of Islam, and the only one to rule over the entire Islamic world of its time. Umayads owned Shavgar and Otrar several times changing Turgeshis. Abbasid Revolution, started in 747 in Khurasan, finished the overthrow of the Umayyads.
750–1258. Abbasid Caliphate
Abbasid dynasty took power over the Arab possessions during the Abbasid revolution that was aimed to change the privileges of Arabs and level rights of the non-Arab population up. During the rule of Abbasids, Transoxiana was finally captured and Turgesh khaganate was defeated. Abbasids expanded acquisitions in Central Asia rebranding Transoxiana into wider Mawarannahr. Political power, as well as taxation duties, were often delegated to local elites. Karluk Yabghus, that ruled Shavgar in 800-900s, was one of them, however, they often broke engagements. Thus, Arabs had to make punitive campaigns on subject territories. Thus, the region of Tarbad (the combined name of the regions of Shavgar and Farab) was besieged several times by Arab troops.
819 - 999. Samanid Emirate
The Samanid state was founded by four brothers: Nuh, Ahmad, Yahya, and Ilyas—each of them ruled their territory under Abbasid suzerainty. In 892, Ismail Samani (892–907) united the Samanid state under one ruler, thus effectively putting an end to the feudal system used by the Samanids. It was also under him that the Samanids became independent of Abbasid authority. The Samanid Empire is part of the Iranian Intermezzo, which saw the creation of a Persianate culture and identity that brought Iranian speech and traditions into the fold of the Islamic world. This would later lead to the formation of the Turko-Persian culture. The Samanids promoted the arts, giving rise to the advancement of science and literature, and thus attracted scholars such as Rudaki, Ferdowsi, and Avicenna. While under Samanid control, Bukhara was a rival to Baghdad in its glory. Scholars note that the Samanids revived Persian language and culture more than the Buyids and the Saffarids, while continuing to patronize Arabic for sciences as well as the religious studies. They considered themselves to be descendants of the Sasanian Empire. Samanid authorities declared that "here, in this region, the language is Persian, and the kings of this realm are Persian.
756 – 840. Karluk Yabghu State
After the fall of the Western Turkic Kaganate, Karluks fall under the influence of China, their leaders take Chinese titles, but relative independence remains. Karluks helped Arabs to stop the expansion of Chinese Tang Empire in Central Asia, which subsequently leads to the Islamization of Maverannahr and the increased influence of the Arabs on trade along the Silk Road in Central Asia. Karluk consisted of Turkic tribes of Bulak, Tchighil, Tashlyk. Karluk Khaganate was a confederation of tribes that owned their areas. This impeded centralization and the power of Karluk Jabgu was nominal. Tribal rulers sought to consolidate their practically independent possessions. The highest ruling class was the military, however, most of the population consisted of clan communes who were dependent on military elites. The system of the military aristocracy was strictly hierarchized. Clans and tribes of Karluks were also divided in their importance. Ruling Karluk nobles owned not only pastures but also cities. Suyab and Balasagun were the capitals. Periodically, Karluks were the vassals and paid tribute to Uyghur Kaganate and Arab caliphates. They briefly owned Shavgar, which later passed to Oguz yabghu. Bilge Kul Qadir Khan, who proclaimed himself a kagan after the overthrow of Uyghur khaganate by Yenisei Kyrgyzs, became the first khagan of Karakhanid state. By 840 Balasagun was captured by Eastern Turks and power over the kaganate passed to Karakhanids. Some Karluks migrated behind the Ili River and found a new Karluk khanate. Karluks professed Islam and spoke Karluk language, which formed the basis of Chagatai and Karakhanid, and later - Uzbek and Uyghur.
766 – 1055. Oghuz Yabgu State
The Oguz political union arose in the IX and X centuries in the basin of the middle and lower reaches of the Syr Darya and adjoins the modern West Kazakhstan steppes. The title of the elected ruler was Yabghu. The power was hereditary within a ruling clan. The heir to the throne was called Inal, they were brought up by an Atabek tutor. Elections of Yabgu were conducted at the tribal assemblies. The rulers were chosen by the codex of unwritten rules of customary law – "tore", from the most powerful clans. The power of the supreme ruler was limited by the council of the largest military-tribal aristocracy. The wives of the rulers bore the title "Khatun" and played a significant role in court life. Yabghu was assisted by regional rules titled Kul-Eerkins. An important place was occupied by warlords. The Oguz State was subdivided into uruks - tribals and aimaks administrative districts. The clans and tribes united into larger tribal alliances were known as il (country). The power base of the Oguz State were semi-nomadic and nomadic tribes of Zhetysu and Siberia: Khalaj, Uigurs, Djagra, Charuk, Karluk, Imura, Bayandur, Kai, and the remaining tribes and sedentary population of the Kangar Union that submitted to the Oguz Yabgu. The Oguz State was heterogeneous in ethnic terms. Turkic and Horezmian-speaking populations combined diverse language map. According to the Mahmud Kashgari (11th century) testimony, the Oguz confederation consisted of 24 tribes, of which 12 tribes were Buzuks or Bazouk (Turkish and Turkmen: Bozoklar Grey Arrows), and 12 tribes were Uchuks (Turkish and Turkmen: Üçoklar - Three Arrows). The Buzuk wing had a privileged status. Jankent near the Aral sea was a capital. In 965 the Oguz State allied with Kievan Rus in a war against the Khazar Kaganate. In 985 the alliance with Kievan Rus defeated Volga Bulgaria, which increased the political power of the Oguz State. Oguzs professed preferably Tengriism. Oficial languages were Oguz and New Persian. Oguz is the ancestor by Turkish, Azerbaljan, Gagauz and Turkmen languages. Tamga of Kayi tribe, ancestors of Osmans is shown in the center of the slide.
999 – 1211. Kara-Khanid Khanate
The khanate was ruled by the Turkic dynasty of Afrasiabids with the capitals in Kashgar, Balasagun, Uzgen and Samarkand. The Khanate eventually split into two – the Eastern and Western Khanates. They then came under the suzerainty of the Seljuks, followed by the Kara-Khitans, before the dynasty was extinguished by the Khwarezmians. The Khanate conquered Transoxania in Central Asia and ruled it between 999–1211. Their arrival in Transoxania signaled a definitive shift from Iranian to Turkic predominance in Central Asia both with gradual assimilation of the Perso-Arab Muslim culture while retaining some of their native Turkic cultures. Kara-Khanid is arguably the most enduring cultural heritage among coexisting cultures in Central Asia from the 9th to the 13th centuries. The Karluk-Uyghur dialect spoken by the nomadic tribes and Turkified sedentary populations under the Kara-Khanid rule formed two major branches of the Turkic language family, the Chagatai and the Kypchak. The Kara-Khanid cultural model that combined nomadic Turkic culture with Islamic, sedentary institutions spread east into further territories and states of Central Asia and Siberia. Kara-Khanids period granted masterpieces of early Turk culture - the mausoleum of Ayshah bibi, the Dīwānu l-Luġat al-Turk (Dictionary of Languages of the Turks) by Mahmud al-Kashgari, Sufi teachers and prophets of Islam Arystan Bab and Khoja Ahmed Yassawi.
1124 – 1218. Qara Khitai (喀喇契丹) or Western Liao (西遼) Empire
Officially the Great Liao was a sinicized empire in Central Asia, ruled by the Khitan Yelü clan. The dynasty was founded by Yelü Dashi (Emperor Dezong of Liao), who led the remnants of the Liao dynasty to Central Asia after fleeing from the Jurchen conquest of their homeland in the north and northeast of modern-day China. The empire was usurped by the Naimans under Kuchlug in 1211. The Qara Khitai is considered by historians to be a legitimate dynasty of China, as is the case for the preceding Liao dynasty. Black Khitans (黑契丹) has also been seen used in Chinese. "Qara," which means "black," corresponds with the Liao's dynastic color black and its dynastic element Metal. The Khitans ruled from their capital at Balasagun (in today's Kyrgyzstan), directly controlling the central region of the empire. The rest of their empire consisted of highly autonomous vassalized states, primarily Khwarezm, the Karluks, the Kingdom of Qocho of the Uyghurs, the Kankalis, and the Western, Eastern, and Fergana Kara-Khanids. The Khitan rulers adopted many administrative elements from the Liao dynasty, including the use of Confucian administration and imperial trappings. The empire also adopted the title of Gurkhan (universal Khan). The Khitans used the Chinese calendar, maintained Chinese imperial and administrative titles, gave its emperors reign names, used Chinese-styled coins, and sent imperial seals to its vassals. The Khitans maintained their old customs, even in Central Asia. They remained nomads, adhered to their traditional dress, and maintained the religious practices followed by the Liao dynasty Khitans. The ruling elite tried to maintain the traditional marriages between the Yelü king clan and the Xiao queen clan, and was highly reluctant to allow their princesses to marry outsiders. The Qara-Khitai Khitans followed a mix of Buddhism and traditional Khitan religion, which included fire worship and tribal customs, such as the tradition of sacrificing a gray ox with a white horse. In an innovation unique to the Qara Khitai, Khitans paid their soldiers a salary. The majority of the population was sedentary, although the population suddenly became more nomadic during the end of the empire, due to the influx of Naimans. The majority of their subjects were Muslims, although a significant minority practiced Buddhism and Nestorianism. Although Chinese and Khitan were the primary languages of administration, the empire also administered in Persian and Uyghur. Names derived from 'Khitai' are still current in modern usage, such as the Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Uzbek and Mongolian names for China. In 1137-1141 Qara Khitans conquered Transoxiana from Kara-Khanids and owned Farab and Shavgar until 1210.
1077 – 1231. Khwarazmian Shahdom
The Khwarazmian dynasty was founded by commander Anush Tigin Gharchai, a former Turkic slave (mamluk) of the Seljuq sultans, who was appointed as governor of Khwarezm. His son, Qutb ad-Din Muhammad I, became the first hereditary Shah of Khwarezm. By 1210 Khwarezm retook Mawarannahr from Qara Khitan Empire. In this period Otrar was in the highest apogee of urban development since Kangju times. The 120-thousand populated city minted coins and governed the region of Tarbad including Shavgar. It was a wealthy center of intensive urbanization and irrigated agricultural lands. This east command point of the empire was committed to Inalchuq, the uncle of the Khwarazmshah Ala ad-Din Muhammad II. In 1219 Genghis Khan unsuccessfully looked for contact with the shah. Ambassador notes were ignored by the shah and the merchant caravan, that included spies as well, was arrested. The second wave of high-level trade negotiators was beheaded and finally, all this provoked war invasion of the Mongol army in Khwarezm. Quick descent of mighty empire started from seizing of Otrar. Decisive Mongol victory in 1221 put the point in the existence of Khwarazmian shahdom forever. Otrar was devasted and erased from the ground level, its population was executed. Shavgar and other towns were abandoned. Only Sauran, looking at the fate of Otrar, opened the gates and remained unharmed. Until now part of Uzbeks identifies themselves as Kharezmats.
1206-1260. Mongol Empire
Mongol Empire was the largest contiguous land empire in history. It emerged from the unification of several nomadic tribes in the Mongol homeland under the leadership of Genghis Khan (c. 1162 - 1227), whom a council proclaimed ruler of all the Mongols in 1206. A wise statesman, Genghis also established Mongolian-style democracy that respected the ethnic and cultural diversity of his and other businesses were also found out of their way in terms that they would sell more, general freedom of religion was declared and priests were exempted of taxes. The empire grew rapidly under his rule and that of his descendants, who sent out invading armies in every direction. Pax Mongolica allowed the dissemination and exchange of trade, technologies, commodities and ideologies across Eurasia. Genghis also developed Mongol law codex, named The Great Yassa, that was kept in secret but thoroughly executed. The Mongol Empire of Genghis Khan redrawn states and nations of Eurasia and performed as a wave of technological and social innovations. As Otrar was devastated in 1219 and Sauran opened the doors for a new wave of conquerors in 1220, a defeat of Shavgar Yasi (Turkistan) was pushed for a new turn of growth, founding oneself on the frontier of Chagatai and Kipchak Khanates.
1226–1347. Chagatai Khanate
The Chagatai Khanate formed from the part of the Mongol Empire under the rule of the second son of Genghis Khan - Chagatai. It was a Turkisized empire with the capitals in Almalyk and Buxoro that functioned as one of the 4 confederation parts of the Empire. However, the great-grandson of Chagatai, Ghiyas-ud-din Baraq converted into Islam and refused to obey to Karakorum, the capital of the Mongol Empire. Chagatai Khan reinvented lingua franca for Turkic peoples of Central Asia - the Chagatai language that was based on Karakhanid and Khorezmian languages, preceded Uzbek and Uygur languages and was renamed by Soviet authorities as Old Uzbek in 1921. Chagatai Khanate reshaped languages and nations of Central Asia and converted them into those that are the 5 Central Asian states now.
1255–1502. Golden Horde
The Golden Horde became a functionally separate khanate with the fragmentation of the Mongol Empire after 1259. It is also known as the Kipchak Khanate or as the Ulus of Jochi. Batu Khan also was known as Sain Khan or Tsar Batu was the son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan. After the deaths of Genghis Khan's sons, he became the most respected prince, called agha ("elder brother"), in the Mongol Empire. He founded the Golden Horde and expanded it conquering and subduing the Rus principalities, Cumania, Volga Bulgaria, Bulgarian kingdom and Caucasian states. The Golden Horde was ruled from the capitals in Sarai Batu and after Sarai Berke, that both were located on Volga River. Mongolian and Cuman Kipchak were official languages of the Golden Horde. The Golden Horde was a federation of uluses governed by 40 sons of Jochi and united in Grey, White, and Blue Hordes, where the last one was dominant. White Horde (Ak Orda) ruled the eastern possessions with the capital in Sygnak on the Syr Darya, northwards from Turkistan.
1370–1507. Timurid Empire
The Timurid Empire self-designated as Gurkani was a Persianate Turco-Mongol empire that was founded by Amir Timur and stretched from Aleppo to Delhi and from the Persian Gulf to the Aral Sea. Amir Timur or Tamerlan envisioned himself as the great restorer of the Mongol Empire, despite not descended from Genghisides. Acting officially in the name of Suurgatmish khan, he subjugated Transoxania and Khwarazm in the 1380s. Already in the 1360s he had gained control of the western Chagatai Khanate and picked rulers on the throne. Although the Timurids hailed from the Barlas tribe, which was of Turkicized Mongol origin, they had embraced Persian culture, converted to Islam, and resided in Turkestan and Khorasan. Thus, the Timurid era had a dual character, reflecting both its Turco-Mongol origins and the Persian literary, artistic, and courtly high culture of the dynasty. Amir Timur started the great reconstruction of Yasi - Turkistan with the erection of the Yassawi's mausoleum. Turkistan obtained a capital status.
1506–1599. Khanate of Bukhara
The Khanate of Bukhara (Uzbek: Buxoro Xonligi) was an Uzbek state comprising Mawarannahr, Balkh, Ferghana, and Samarkand. In the XVI century, Bukhara became a center of arts and literature and educational reforms in Central Asia. The ruling Shaybanid dynasty instituted several measures to improve the khanate's system of public education. Each neighborhood makhallya had a hedge school. Children started elementary education at the age of six and after two years they could be taken to madrasah. Persian and Uzbek were official languages. After the came of Janid dynasty in 1599 the khanate broke up into Bukhara Emirate, Khiva Khanate, and Kokand Khanate. North part of Mawerannahr with Turkistan transited to Kazakh Khanate.
1465–1848. Kazakh Khanate
The Kazakh Khanate (Kazakh: Қазақ Хандығы, Qazaq Handyǵy) was a successor of the Golden Horde located roughly on the territory of the present-day Republic of Kazakhstan. The formation of the Kazakh Khanate began in 1459, when several Uzbek tribes dissatisfied with Abu’l-Khayr’s rule, led by two sons of Barak Khan, Janibek and Kerei, fled the Uzbek Khanate towards Moghulistan, eventually settling and establishing an independent state. This khanate soon became a buffer state between the Moghulistan and the Uzbek Khanate. In 1470, the Kazakhs defeated Shaybani (Uzbek Khan) at the city of Yasi (present-day Turkistan), forcing the Uzbeks to retreat south to Samarkand and Bukhara. In 1500 the Uzbeks concluded peace with the Kazakhs and granted all the former Uzbek Khanate lands in the north of Syr Darya to the Kazakh Khanate. With the unification of North Transoxiana (Mawarannahr) in 1599, Turkistan became the next capital of Kazakh Khanate after Syghanaq. During Dzungar invasions the Old City of Turkistan, continuously developed from Amir Timur's times, was destroyed. After that the capital moved to Tashkent. In the XVIII century, the Kazakh Khanate weakened by a series of Oirat and Dzungar invasions that resulted in a decline and further disintegration into three Jüz-es, which gradually lost their sovereignty and were incorporated to the expanding Russian Empire.
1864 - 1917. Turkestan general-governorship in Russian Empire
In 1731, under the threat of the Dzungar conquest, the Junior Zhuz under the rule of Abulkhair Khan became a vassal of the Russian Empire. In 1732, the Middle Zhuz, led by Semek Khan, came under Moscow's subordination. Senior Zhuz absorbed by the Kokand Khanate. After the death of the last Kenesary Khan, the Zhuzes were reshaped into military governed regions. Turkestan was conquered by the Russian Empire in 1864 as a result of a military campaign by the Cossack Colonel Verevkin to the Kokand Khanate. Already in 1865, the Turkestan region was formed with a center in Tashkent as part of the Orenburg general-governorship. The Turkestan general-governorship was established based on the Syr Darya and Semirechensk regions in 1867. By 1900, as a result of the Great Game of the Russian and British Empires, the Turkestan general-governorship was grown by Trans-Caspian, Semipalatinsk, Turgai, Ferghana, Samarkand, Uralsk regions, and by Khiva and Buxoro Khanates. The autonomy of the Kazakh Zhuzs was dissolved in the imperial policy of Moscow. Turkestan has transformed from a capital to a provincial city. Nevertheless, in the 1880s Russian Empire built the Central Asian railroad connecting Orenburg and Tashkent via Turkestan. The town of Turkestan obtained a new industrial center 6km westwards from the Yasawi's mausoleum. Urban environment supplemented with remarkable examples of Russian provincial neoclassicism architecture.
1917 - 1918. Turkestan Autonomy
The Turkestan Autonomy was an unrecognized state in Central Asia at the beginning of the Russian Civil War from 27 November 1917 until 22 February 1918. It was a secular republic, headed by a president. Uzbek, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik and Russian were official languages. In January 1918 Bolshevik troops under the command of Konstantin Osipov arrived at Tashkent, liquidated the ruling elites and proclaimed Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.
1918 - 1924. Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic
The Turkestan Soviet Federative Republic, (later Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic) was officially proclaimed on April 30, 1918. Meanwhile, a power struggle among the Communists ensued between those favoring a Pan-Turkist government like Turar Ryskulov and Tursun Khojaev, and those in favor of dividing Soviet Turkestan into smaller ethnic or regional units, such as Fayzulla Khodzhayev and Akmal Ikramov. The latter group won, as national delimitation in Central Asia began in 1924. Upon dissolution, the Turkestan ASSR was split into Turkmen SSR (now Turkmenistan), Uzbek SSR (now Uzbekistan) with the Tajik ASSR (now Tajikistan), Kara-Kirghiz Autonomous Oblast (now Kyrgyzstan), and Karakalpak Autonomous Oblast (now Karakalpakstan).
1924 - 1991. Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic
Turkestan ASSR disappeared during the reshaping of Central Asian republics in 1924-1926 and the toponym of Turkestan shorted usage to only one town. The town itself and adjacent part of former Transoxiana were transferred to Kyrgyz Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic that soon was renamed into Qazaq Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic. Until 1924 Kyrgyz ASSR held the capital in Orenburg, between 1924 and 1927 Qazaq ASSR was ruled from Kyzyl Orda, and finally, the capital moved to Alma Ata, and in 1936 Kazakh Socialist Soviet Republic was raised its status to one of the 15 peer parts of USSR. During the USSR times, Turkestan was dedicated to agriculture and especially to cotton production. 200 km-long irrigation channel Arys - Turkestan was erected in 1967. Like plenty of others, this low-tech irrigation structure changed ecosystems and remapped ground tables in Turkistan area. It collected seasonal water from multiple rivers from Karatau mountains and distributed to reservoirs, from where the water was used for agriculture needs. Reversal of Central Asian rivers, wide unconscious usage of pesticides in agriculture, plowing of wild steppes for farming affected negative anthropological impact on natural environment and led to salinization of grounds, self-demolition of ancient towns and threat of falling apart of the Yassawi's mausoleum, soil erosion and desertification, extinction of wild species and worsening of local climate. Additionally, a low-efficient mono-economy of cotton collapsed with periodic crises and cut down incomes of the whole region.