The article is devoted to the historical fate of the cities that arose in the 8th century in Zhetysu, on the northern section of the Tian-Shan corridor of the Great Silk Road. They have experienced a period of prosperity in the X-XIII centuries. In the subsequent II half of the XIV century, urban culture collapsed and fell into complete desolation. Along with political events, the decisive factor in this process was the termination of international trade on the GSR and the long-term environmental factor – the global cooling in Eurasia.