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“SULAYMAN” CASTLE
Ismailov Tokhirjon Khushnudbek ugli
Teacher of Mamun University
E-mail: ismailovtohir4349@gmail.com
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8571-3653
Khusainbaeva Rabiyajon Khujabaevna
Mamun University
Philology and language teaching: 3rd year English language student
E-mail: xusainboyevarobiya@gmail.com
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14061893
Sulayman Castle (
Hazorasp Castle, Hazorasp City Castle Wall
) is one of the
oldest castles in Hazorasp District, Khorezm Region of the Republic of
Uzbekistan. Today, the fortress dating back to the IV-II centuries BC is located in
the Sulayman Qala neighborhood.
The "Hazorasp" fortress, which played a very important role in the life of
the Khorezm oasis, was once a large economic, social and political center. The
castle is located in the Hazorasp district of the Khorezm region, and it is said that
it was the residence of a person who lived and ruled in the 5
th
century AD. The
walls of the castle have been preserved to this day, and in order to ensure its
safety, the bottom of the walls of the castle was surrounded by a lake. The local
people named this lake "
Oydin Lake
". The unique aspect of the lake is that it is
constantly supplied with fresh water. According to historical sources, there was
once an underground road under the lake. The hill at the top of the castle was
used for astronomical observations.
The "
Hazorasp
" fortress was not only the southern gate of Khorezm, but
also a military-strategic fortification. This fortress resisted any attack coming
from the south of the oasis, and in many cases, the enemy, knowing that he was
not strong enough to conquer Khorezm, was forced to retreat from this place.
Juvaini, who is the author of a great work called "
History of Jahangosha
", says:
"
Sultan Makhmud, the head of the Ghaznavid state, during his third campaign to
Khorezm, subdued the strong fortress of Hazorasp only after a two-month heavy
siege
" - he writes.
Here, there are a number of myths and legends about the construction of
the "
Hazorasp
" fortress, and ethnographers and local history researchers believe
that the name of the city is related to the name of the
"Khazar" and "Os
" tribes
that once lived here they put forward a not far-fetched idea. Because the name of
the stream, which is preserved to this day and passes near the castle, is also
CURRENT APPROACHES AND NEW RESEARCH IN
MODERN SCIENCES
International scientific-online conference
75
called "Hosoyop", and it supplied the lands of the Os tribe with water several
thousand years ago.
The first written information about Hazorasp is found in Abu Rayhan
Beruni's "
Memorials from Ancient Generations
". The famous historian al-Tabari
noted that in Khorezm, which was conquered by the Arabs in 712, there were
three large cities - Kat, Gurganj and Hazorasp. Another great Arab historian, al-
Istahri, noted that several streams flowed near the fortress and the name of one
of them was Hazorasp.
In 1219-1221, the Mongol-Tatars conquered Central Asia and crushed the
Khorezmshah Anushtagini empire. On the eve of this invasion, the Arab traveler
Ibrahim ibn Yakut, who was in Hazorasp, wrote the following: "
This is an
impregnable fortress and a very beautiful city. It is surrounded by water like an
island. There is only one entrance to the fortress, and it is also made by Khorezm.
The journey between them is three days. It is located on a flat land and has many
markets and merchants. The population is rich.
"
On October 4, 2019, by the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of
Uzbekistan, Suleiman Castle was included in the national list of immovable
property objects of tangible cultural heritage and was taken under state
protection. Currently, the Cultural Heritage Department of Khorezm Region is
state property based on the right of operational management.
