The ancient settlement of Sygnak is one of the most well-known medieval cities situated on the coast of Syrdarya.

The ancient settlement of Sygnak is one of the most well-known medieval cities situated on the coast of Syrdarya. It is located in the Zhanakorgan District of the Kyzylorda Region, 1, 5 km west from the village of Sunak-ata.
The advantageous geographical location of Sygnak at the intersection of two destinations of the Silk Road led to its prosperity. The city had strong trading connections with Mavrennahr, Khorezm and many cities of Central Asia.
In the written sources, the city of Sygnak was mentioned for the first time in an anonymous geographical description of the X century called “Khudud al-alam” as the city of Sunakh, and in the XI century in the work of Makhmud al-Kashgari called “Divan lugatat-Turk” as the Oghuz city of Sugnak. During the XI-XII centuries Sygnak was known in the Persian, Arab and Turkic written sources as a centre of Oghuz tribes and a little bit latter as the centre of Kypchaks. In the beginning of XIII century the city was mentioned in connection with the invasions of the troops of Genghis Khan.
The city of Sygnak, which was a part of various ethno-political formations and played political, economic and cultural role, was the center of Kypchak Khanate (XI-XII centuries), Ak Orda (XIII-XV centuries), Khanate of Abylkhair (XV century) and Kazakh Khanate (XVI century).
The study of the history of the medieval town of Sygnak in the context of the written sources is extremely important in the history of Kazakhstan.
The Sygnak burial ground with the graves of the famous khans in the history, such as Erzen khan and Abulhayirkhan, has the greatest sacral importance.
It is worth mentioning that the complex archaeological studies on the ancient settlement of Sygnak were started in 2003 by the Sygnak Archaeological Expedition of the International Kazakh-Turkish University named after K.A. Yassawi. During the last decades of excavations, a significant factual material on the history of the ancient settlement has been obtained.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan took into account the interests of researchers, and within the framework of the year of Uzbekistan in Kazakhstan initiated the joint archaeological works on the territory of the ancient settlement, performed by IICAS, which brings together researchers from both countries.
The project "Archaeological Studies on the Necropolis of the ancient settlement of Sygnak" was implemented in the period from April 15 to September 30, 2019 by the International archaeological expedition organized on the basis of the memorandum and agreement signed by the International Kazakh-Turkish University named after K.A. Yassawi and the International Institute for Central Asian Studies.
The co-directors of the international expedition were the candidate of historical sciences A. Iskanderova (IICAS, Uzbekistan) and researche fellow M. Bakhtybaev (International Kazakh-Turkish University, Kazakhstan). The work was carried out with the assistance of the Department of Culture of Kyzylorda Region and Municipal Public Institution on the Protection of Historical and Cultural Sites of the Kyzylorda Region.
During the complex archaeological studies, the excavation sites were placed on the archaeological sites, which, as it turned out were representing the unique structures ofthe XIV-XV centuries.
See the results of the studies in the next publications.

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