Kazakhstan receives rare artifact depicting ancient capital of Oghuz tribe on map of 11th century

The British Embassy donated a copy of the map of Central Asia, drawn on sheet 44a of the manuscript under the code MS. Arab. c. 90, to Kazakhstan. This manuscript is kept in the Bodleian Library at Oxford University.

This artifact is the only known copy of an anonymous 11th-century work on cosmology and geography entitled Kitab ghara'ib al-funun wa mulah al-yun or The Book of Curiosities of the Sciences and Marvels.

Researchers say the manuscript was compiled in Egypt in the late 12th – early 13th centuries.

Notably, the map also shows the city of Zhankent, located in the territory of modern Kazakhstan. In Arabic sources, it is referred to as "Al-qaria al-hadith" (Zhana kala/ The new city). Between the 8th and 11th centuries, Zhankent served as the capital of the Oghuz state.

The map also shows the most important cities of the southern region of Kazakhstan.

The manuscript was acquired in 2002 with the support of a number of charities and has since been fully digitised, making it a valuable resource for the study of medieval Islamic geography and book art. The 11th-century map covers the territory of Central Asia and modern Kazakhstan, representing a unique historical and geographical source of high scientific, cultural and national significance, the Ministry said in a statement.

Noteworthy, the ‘History of Kazakhstan in Photographs of Kazinform’ exhibition was unveiled at MEGA Silk Way in Astana.