Karasahr

Karasahr, the ancient Yanqi, stands on the Kaidu River west of Lake Bosten, at the northern edge of the Tarim Basin. The river and the lake sustain a fertile oasis amid the surrounding dry country. Once known as Ārśi or Agni, the town was an important stop on the northern branch of the Silk Road. Buddhist communities flourished in the old kingdom, whose people spoke a language now known as Tocharian A.

From the thirteenth century the oasis belonged to the Mongol Chagatai realm. Its Turkic name, Karasahr, means Black City, and reflects the changing languages of the Tarim Basin. Islam became increasingly influential as older religious traditions receded. The town remained linked to neighbouring oases by the routes skirting the Taklamakan, while the Kaidu continued to supply the fields and the lake beyond them.