Sozak – A Major Medieval Center of the Kazakh Steppe. Among the medieval cities of Kazakhstan, Sozak occupies a special place as a significant cultural, economic, political, and strategic stronghold of the Kazakh Khanate. Written records about the city appear as early as the beginning of the thirteenth century. One of the earliest references is connected with the journey of

The Armenian King Hetum to Mongolia, where Sozak is mentioned for the first time. In later centuries, the city is repeatedly found in documentary evidence relating to the political and economic interactions between the Kazakh Khanate and the Russian Empire. In particular, written testimonies dating from the second half of the fifteenth to the nineteenth century contain valuable information on Sozak’s role in the region.

According to medieval sources, Sozak was situated on an important branch of the caravan route passing along the northern slopes of the Karatau Mountains. This route functioned as a crucial artery linking the trade systems of East and West. Nevertheless, the specific details concerning the city’s initial emergence and the stages of its urban development remain unknown in written form.

Archaeological investigations carried out in the territory of modern Sozak village have provided key insights into this issue. Excavations revealed that the urban settlement existed in two separate locations. The earlier site is identified with Tarsatobe, which was inhabited from the third century BC until the ninth century AD. The later city was established at Orkakpa, dating from the twelfth through the nineteenth centuries. Both sites are located within the same geographic zone and, despite belonging to different chronological horizons, demonstrate a continuity of settlement.