Akto Ancient Ruins of the Han Dynasty
2 min readAkto ancient city was among the first batch of autonomous region-level key national relics protection units authorized in 1957 by Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous region which was classified as an ancient city of the han Dynasty. Through textual research, this city was Zhenzhong City in the Han Dynasty, over 2,000 years from now. Akto ancient city is located in the old city of the current akto County also known as “hetu ancient city “. the local people are used to calling it “Akebaxiahan City”. “Akebaxiahan”, also namedHanxierdake was the capital of the Qypchaq tribe of Kyrgyz in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.
Zhenzhong City in the Han Dynasty was a satellite city of Shule Kingdom In the first year of the Yuanhe Reign of the Eastern Han Dynasty(84 AD), Shule King Zhong rebelled against Han and occupied Zhenzhong City with army and llied with Kangju army to occupy Zhenzhong to resist Ban Chao. Ban Chao sent a messenger of the Yuezhi group to persuade Kangju to withdraw. Thus Kangju army withdrew from Zhenzhong and brought the rebelling king Zhong to Kangju. After 3 years, the rebelling king Zhong once again borrowed Kangju army to occupy Zhenzhong and plotted to murder Ban Chao. Ban Chao countermine and brought entourage to Zhenzhong. On the conspiratorial banquet plotted by zhong ban chao captured and killed him and drove the army of Kangju out of zhenzhong. Later, Ban Chao stationed troops in Zhenzhong, thus the city was the place that Ban Chao stationed army and cultivated land.
In year thirty six of the Kangxi Reign in the Qing Dynasty(1697), Xierdake brought Islam black Mountain School and Zhuodaniyale to Akto and supported them to capture the throne of Yarkand Khanate ruled by the white Mountain School. the ruins of this city were the barracks of Akebaxiahan The ruins were listed in the dictionary of chinese places of Interest in 1981, which was also known as Zhenzhong City of the han dynasty.
Zhenzhong City, about 120m long, is in square shape with the wall made of earth. the ancient pottery ruins once were found on the ground. At the ginning of 1950s, the wall was basically intact. but because there was rice eld in the north of the city, and the farmers dug the wall for fertile soil, thus he wall was destroyed.
