Place · city

Balasagun

Also known as Balasaghun

Balasagun was a medieval city in the Chu valley of northern Kyrgyzstan, near modern Tokmok. Founded by Sogdian settlers, it became a capital of the Kara-Khanid Khanate in the 10th and 11th centuries and then of the Qara Khitai, and was the birthplace of the poet Yusuf Balasaguni. It declined after the Mongol conquest, and the Burana Tower marks its site.

Balasagun
Image: Bala Biott · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 2 profiles

Kara-Khanid KhanateFoundation, Governance, Impact, Decline, SummaryOld TurkicLiterature

Mentioned in 3 state histories

Kara-Khanid KhanateEastern Kara-Khanid KhanateQara Khitai

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Balasagun. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/balasagun
MLA
“Balasagun.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/balasagun. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Balasagun.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/balasagun.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Balasagun’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/balasagun (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻