Dawan

The first written mention of a sufficiently strong state of this region is found in Chinese sources of the III century BC. e. The capital was the city of Ershi (Ura-Tyube; ruins near the modern Marhamat in the Aravan region of Kyrgyzstan). He was surrounded by rows of fortifications. The central part was surrounded by walls with towers made of mud brick. There were up to 70 small and large cities in Parkan, scattered across individual oases. The Great Silk Road passed through Parkan. The language of the state was close to the language of the Sogdian , Parthian peoples. According to various sources, the population was 300,000-500,000 people. Data from anthropological studies have shown that residents of Parkan belonged to the Caucasians , they had deep eye sockets and thick beards. Parkan’s economy is based on irrigated agriculture, handicrafts, and horse breeding . It is worth noting that the Ferghana Valley also experienced the influence of such ancient states as the Achaemenid Empire and the Greco-Bactrian kingdom , which also affected the historical heritage of the peoples inhabiting this territory.

Chinese traveler and diplomat Zhang Qian in 128 BC e. first arrived in Daiyuan. In the 1st century BC e. Sima Qian collected his notes in “ Shi Ji ” (“Historical Notes”, ch. 123 “Dayuan le Zhuan”) ^[1] . Zhang Jian was sent to Davan by Emperor Han Wu-di to form an alliance with the Yuezhi against the Hunnu . After spending 10 years in the Hunnic captivity, Qian escaped and after how many dozens of days of travel to the west arrived in Daiyuan. There, they had heard about the wealth of the Han and already wanted to open a message, but could not. Qian advised the tsar of Daiyuan (дать) to give an escort to the embassy, ​​and then Tsan would return to the Han and bring back the richest gifts. The tsar was delighted and sent Tsan with accompanying persons to the postal stations (reading the “繹” order (?) Or “驛” postal station) to Kangyu . From there, the embassy was sent to the Great Yuezham (大月氏) in Fararud . At this time, the young heir of the Yuezhi king who was killed by the Huns ruled (information by Sima Qian) or his mother the queen (information of Han Shu) ruled there. Yuezhi then invaded Dasia (大 夏), that is, Bactria in those lands of yuezhi lived freely and richly, without fear of raids and forgot about the war with the Huns. Therefore, Qiang’s attempts to form an alliance were unsuccessful. A year later, in Bactria, Qian went to Han through Nanshan and, accordingly, the land of Qiang and small yuezhi, and not the Hun. But the Huns intercepted him. A year later, in 126 BC. e. Shanuy Junchen died, his son Yuidan (or Yubi) was overthrown by Uncle Izhishe . While the Huns fought in the internecine war, Zhang Qian with his hun wife and guide Tanyi Fu (堂邑 父) returned to China. Zhang Qian was promoted to Taichung Daifu (太 中 大夫), and Tani Fu became a special emperor (奉 使君).

The Chinese emperor Wu-di , wanting to reach Ershi and get the Argamaks there, in 105 BC. e. begins preparations for his first trip to Daiyuan. The commander Li Guangli , a relative of the emperor’s favorite, was appointed the head of the expedition. Due to poor preparation of the army and the invasion of locusts in the spring of 104, which destroyed all the grass from Shanxi to Dunhuang, which caused malnutrition, fatigue and a decrease in the number of troops, the campaign ended in failure.

In 102 BC e. Wu-di, enraged by the failure of the first campaign, embarks on a second campaign in Daiyuan. Usuns entered into an alliance with China, although they did not take actual part in the campaign. On the contrary, Kantszyu took a hostile position. An army of 60,000 soldiers was assembled, however, after many battles, the 40-day siege of Ersha and the fierce resistance of the city of Yu, the Chinese were again forced to retreat with heavy losses. Nevertheless, the Davans were forced to admit defeat and agreed to the conditions of the Han. The Chinese army lost more than 50,000 people, mainly due to the negligent attitude of the commanders profiting from supplies. Meizai became Prince of Davani, but he was soon killed by the nobility of Davan, and Yugua Changfeng was appointed Prince. The new prince sent his son hostage to Han. Wu-di sent embassies to spread the word about his victory in Central Asia.

Together with horses, seedlings of Davan grapes and alfalfa seeds came to China, which they began to plant and use as feed for horses.

Mentions of Parkan disappear around the 5th century. n e.

Under the Toba dynasty , Wei Dawan was called Polona (破 洛 那 國). When Tan is Ningyuan (寧遠, that is, "pacified"). In the 7th century it was conquered by the Turks. Wang Tsibi was killed by the West Turkic Khan Khemohedo Khan (瞰 莫 賀 咄, Ton-bahtur). He was driven out of the city by Ashina Shuni (阿瑟 那 鼠 匿). He stayed to live in the valley. He was succeeded by the son of Ebozhi (遏 波 之), who ruled in the city of Kesai. The son of Kibi's older brother, Alyaotsan (阿 了 參) became a van in the city of Humen. In 658/659, Alyaotsan accepted Tang citizenship from Tang Gao-zong .

There is an older and younger king (van) with the titles: Fugo-van (輔 國王) and Fu-van (副 王).

More than 70 cities surrounded by walls and having suburbs. The total population is several hundred thousand people.

Agriculture: rice and wheat. They grow grapes and make wine out of it (they love it very much), which has been stored for decades in rich houses. There are many gems . Jewelry production is developed, gold and silver are imported from China. They produce silk and varnish, but no cast iron . Subsequently, they received smelting technology from serfs who fled from Chinese officials and began to smelter weapons.

The Chinese noted the similarity of the language of Davan and the tribes including Annecy (Parthia), which allows us to judge the divergence of Iranian languages . The inhabitants have deep-set eyes, thick beards, a passion for trade. The power of women over husbands is very great. They feared the Huns and tried to please them, containing their ambassadors and princes. At first, the Chinese bought everything, but after Huhany, the Davans began to contain Chinese ambassadors.

Chinese ambassadors found horses in Daiyuan superior to the Chinese. These horses had bloody sweat. They were considered the descendants of the horse (天馬) of the Heavenly Lord who grazed on a high mountain and to whom the locals brought a mare. She gave a lot of happiness. The horses are fed alfalfa .

Armed with bows and spears. There are horse archers .

• Ferghana (historical area)

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• Sima Qian. ch. 123 // Historical Notes (Shi Ji). - XXXII. - Moscow: Nauka , 2010. - V. 9. - (Monuments of the written language of the East). - ISBN 5-02-018264-8 .