AMonumentIndependent states
Otrar
Ruins of an ancient Silk Road city, the birthplace of al-Farabi, where Genghis Khan's invasion of Central Asia began in 1219.
Otrar stood where the Arys flows into the Syr Darya, about 50 km south of the city of Turkistan. In the Middle Ages it was an important Silk Road centre of trade and learning, and it is regarded as the birthplace of the great thinker al-Farabi.
In 1218 Otrar's governor Inalchuq (Kayir Khan) had a merchant caravan sent by Genghis Khan massacred. This led to the Mongol attack on the Khwarazmian Empire in 1219, and the city was destroyed after a long siege.
Otrar later revived; Timur died here in 1405 on his campaign against China. The ruins are now an open-air museum reserve, and the Arystan Bab mausoleum stands nearby.
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Updated: October 2, 2026