Fire at Krasnaya Rechka Hillfort: Traces of the Mongol Invasion in Tian-Shan Region? Cover Image

Пожар городища Красная Речка: след монгольского нашествия в Притяньшанье?
Fire at Krasnaya Rechka Hillfort: Traces of the Mongol Invasion in Tian-Shan Region?

Author(s): Asan I. Torgoev, Valerii A. Kolchenko, Iakov V. Frenkel
Subject(s): History, Archaeology, Military history, Middle Ages, 13th to 14th Centuries
Published by: Издательский дом Stratum, Университет «Высшая антропологическая школа»
Keywords: Chuy Valley; early 13th century; Krasnaya Rechka hillfort; glazed pottery; porcelain; Mongol Conquest; fire layer
Summary/Abstract: The Krasnaya Rechka hillfort site, the largest medieval site in Semirechye and the Tien Shan region, was investigated in 2008—2011. In general, the studied complexes are dated back to the second half of the 11th and the 12th centuries. In the upper construction horizon, traces of a strong fire have been recorded. This layer is dated to the early 13th century on the basis of the finds of imported glazed ceramics and Chinese porcelain of the Late Song period. The written accounts make it possible to identify the Krasnaya Rechka hillfort site with Nevaket city and link its collapse to either the destruction by the Kara-Kitai army of Balasagun city (together with its surroundings, to which Krasnaya Rechka hillfort probably belonged) in 1210, or with Genghis Khan’s 1218 campaign.