Kulan Settlement

The ancient city of Kulan was first mentioned in the "Xiyouji" ("Records of the Western Regions") by the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Xuanzang in the 7th century. In the 8th-10th centuries, Kulan was described by Arab authors who documented cities situated along the Great Silk Road. The Arab geographer al-Maqdisi reported that "Kulan is a fortified city with a congregational mosque, located on the main road to Taraz," while the 13th-century geographer Yaqut wrote that Kulan was known as "a small town on the border of the land of the Turks, on the side of Transoxiana." A number of notable historical events are associated with Kulan: in 740 CE, the last Western Turkic Khagan Ashina Xin was killed here, and in 840 CE, Arab armies advanced as far as Kulan.

In 2014, the Kulan Settlement was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as a component of the serial nomination "Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor," jointly submitted by China, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.

The corridor represents a 5,000-kilometre section of the Silk Roads. It took shape between the 2nd century BCE and the 1st century CE and remained in use until the 16th century, linking civilisations and facilitating exchange in the fields of trade, religion, science, technological innovation, culture, and the arts.

Illustrations were prepared within the framework of the project "Silk Roads Heritage Corridors in Afghanistan, Central Asia and Iran -- International Dimensions of the European Year of Cultural Heritage," implemented by UNESCO with the financial support of the European Union.

The illustrations are the responsibility of the author and do not reflect the views of the European Union.

Author - Nicolas Journoud

European Union in Kazakhstan

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