Beshbalik

Beshbalik, the “Five Cities” of the Uyghurs, stood on the northern side of the eastern Tianshan. Earlier known as Beiting, it had been the seat of a Tang protectorate and later a summer residence of the rulers of Qocho. Its walls enclosed a meeting place of different faiths and peoples, with Buddhist temples and communities connected to the roads across the mountains.

After the Uyghur ruler submitted to Chinggis Khan in 1209, Beshbalik became a centre of Mongol government. The Yuan established military and administrative offices, supplied their garrisons through farming colonies, and maintained relay stations linking the city to the interior. Control was contested by rival Mongol princes, including Qaidu and Duwa. By the early fourteenth century the Chagatai realm held the city; later rulers continued to reside in the region. As their centre shifted west toward Ili in the fifteenth century, Beshbalik gradually lost its former importance and was abandoned.