Shymkent

Shymkent lies west of the older city of Sayram, where the irrigated foothills meet the steppe. Its fortified settlement grew near the routes that connected Sayram, Tashkent and the northern lands. Traditions describe it as a place established to protect the neighbouring trading town. The two settlements shared a region of gardens, fields and caravan traffic, but Shymkent developed its own citadel and market as political power shifted among the rulers of southern Turkistan.