INFORMATION LETTER
On July 3, 2026, the R.B. Suleimenov Institute of Oriental Studies will hold an International Scientific and Practical Conference entitled “The Historical Background and Historical Reality of the Functioning of Sedentary Settlements in Western Kazakhstan during the Golden Horde Period”. This event is organized within the framework of the grant-funded research project “History of sedentary settlements in Western Kazakhstan during the Golden Horde period: reconstruction of material culture of everyday life” (IRN AP23489009).
The history of the Ulus of Jochi (the Golden Horde) constitutes the fundamental basis of Kazakhstan’s medieval past. The urban centers that emerged along the routes of the Silk Road served not only as major hubs of transcontinental trade, but also as system-forming factors in the genesis of the statehood of the Golden Horde and its successor, the Kazakh Khanate. At the same time, the socio-economic infrastructure and the specific features of the functioning of sedentary settlements in Western Kazakhstan during the Golden Horde period remain among the least studied aspects in domestic historiography and require comprehensive reconsideration.
The purpose of the conference is to create an academic platform for the exchange of research findings that reveal the specific features of the functioning of sedentary settlements in Western Kazakhstan during the Golden Horde period. The conference aims not only to highlight the historical background and the everyday history of the urban population of the empire, but also to demonstrate the dynamics of the development of sedentary agricultural oases within the steppe zone. One of the important objectives is to identify relevant directions for the development of national scholarship through the application of modern methodologies that make it possible to reinterpret the layers of everyday culture and the history of the Golden Horde.
The conference will include the following areas of work:
– Historiography and source studies (written and cartographic evidence);
– Evolution of life support systems during the Golden Horde period;
– The role of the Great Silk Road in the history of the Turkic peoples of Eurasia;
– Social development of the Ulus of Jochi;
– Cities and urban culture and their connection with the nomadic world.
To participate in the conference, please submit an application and send the text of your paper by June 25, 2026, to the conference Organizing Committee’s email address: culture.westkz@yandex.ru. The Organizing Committee reserves the right to reject applications that are not consistent with the conference theme. The conference report will be published in the conference collection.
Scientists, employees of research institutes, university professors, doctoral students, master’s students, and media representatives are invited to participate in the conference.
Working languages of the conference: Kazakh, Russian, English.
Conference start date: July 03, 2026, 10:00 a.m.
Working format: online conference based on the Zoom program:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82879495562?pwd=iYWDDJoUAi3Ly5t0at9fjZc4Bh3ZW2.1
Conference ID: 828 7949 5562
Access code: 434942
Contacts of the organizing committee: 050010, Almaty, 29, Kurmangazy str., R.B.Suleimenov Institute of Oriental Studies, 1st floor, office №1.
