Uzundara Fortress

Uzundara is an ancient fortress of the III-IV centuries BC, the ruins of which were discovered on the territory of the Surkhandarya region (near Derbent) by a joint expedition of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Art Studies of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan.

The Uzundara border fortress was the main strategic hub in the extensive system of protecting the northern borders of the agricultural oases of ancient Bactria from nomadic raids.

The stone fortress, located in the foothills of Baysun at an altitude of more than 1,700 meters, had powerful fortifications in the form of double fortress walls reinforced with 13 towers and parts of the outer walls with a length of up to 1 kilometer. The fortress was located between the Uzun-dara gorges and the Kara-Kamar tract, thereby blocking the mountain passage to the valley.

Due to the quality of the materials used in the construction of the fortress, the walls, laid out of stone on clay mortar, have almost preserved their original appearance after more than 2000 years and still rise to a height of up to 5 meters.

The mountain fortress has two basements, the bottom of which was originally lined with lead plates.

There was a shopping area outside the fortress, where locals brought goods for the soldiers of the garrison.

As a result of archaeological research, scientists were able to determine the location of the server borders of the Bactrian state. Among the main finds discovered during the expedition are unique coins from the Hellenistic period depicting Alexander the Great, Antiochus I and all the rulers of the Greco–Bactrian kingdom from Diodotus to Heliocles.

Scientists also found a large number of arrowheads and darts, which confirms the fact that major battles took place, in particular on the eastern side of the fortress and clearly illustrates the possibility of breaking through the fortress.

The fortress existed for about 150 years and perished under the rule of one of the last Greco-Bactrian kings in 171-1166 BC as a result of the invasion of hordes of nomadic tribes of the Sakas and Yuezhi.