# Abaskun

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Abaskun
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Abaskun.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abaskun
> Source revision: 1279213237
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|Medieval port in the southeastern Caspian Sea}}
'''Abaskun''' was a port that existed in the [Middle Ages](/source/Middle_Ages) on the southeastern shore of the [Caspian Sea](/source/Caspian_Sea) in the area of [Gorgan](/source/Gorgan).<ref name="Abaskun">Bosworth, C. E. "{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20071009204158/http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v1f1/v1f1a032.html Abaskūn]}}". ''Encyclopaedia Iranica''. Accessed on June 6, 2007.</ref>

==Location==
In his ''[Geographia](/source/Geographia)'', [Ptolemy](/source/Ptolemy) mentions a river Sokanda in [Hyrcania](/source/Hyrcania), which may have given the name to the city. The exact location of Abaskun remains unclear; most likely, it was situated near the mouth of the [Gorgan River](/source/Gorganrud_River). According to [Arab](/source/Arab) geographers, Abaskun was within a one- or three-day journey from [Gorgan](/source/Gorgan).<ref name="Abaskun"/>
Its coordination's may be near to today's village of [Khvajeh Nafas](/source/Khvajeh_Nafas) or [Gomishan city](/source/Gomishan_city) {{coord|37|01|N|54|00|E|}}<ref>[http://www.cgie.org.ir/shavad.asp?id=123&avaid=25 The Center for the Great Islamic Encyclopedia(in Persian)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114003524/http://www.cgie.org.ir/shavad.asp?id=123&avaid=25 |date=November 14, 2007 }}</ref>

==History==
Abaskun was a prosperous trading hub from which merchants travelled to [Daylam](/source/Daylam), [Derbent](/source/Derbent), and [Atil](/source/Atil) in the land of [Khazars](/source/Khazars) on the [Volga trade route](/source/Volga_trade_route). The city's products included [shagreen](/source/shagreen), woolen cloth, fish, and seabirds' feathers, which were used for decorating garments. In the 10th century, Abaskun possessed a [citadel](/source/citadel) built of fired brick and a congregational [mosque](/source/mosque) in the market quarter. The city's wealth and vulnerable location made it a target of the [Caspian expeditions of the Rus](/source/Caspian_expeditions_of_the_Rus).<ref name="Abaskun"/> The [Rus](/source/Rus'_(people)) staged their first small-scale raid on Abaskun sometime between 864 and 884,<ref>[Golden, P.B.](/source/Peter_Benjamin_Golden) (2006) "Rus." ''[Encyclopaedia of Islam](/source/Encyclopaedia_of_Islam)'' (Brill Online). Eds.: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill.</ref> pillaging the city in 909 or 910 and again in 913 on a very large scale.<ref name="Abaskun"/> 

In 1220, [Muhammad II of Khwarezm](/source/Muhammad_II_of_Khwarezm), the fugitive ruler of the [Khwarezmid Empire](/source/Khwarezmid_Empire), hid from the [Mongols](/source/Mongols) on an island near Abaskun. After that, the city is not mentioned in documents. In the 14th century, the [Persia](/source/Persia)n geographer [Mostawfi](/source/Hamdallah_Mustawfi) wrote that Abaskun was an island which was submerged due to the rise of the Caspian Sea caused by a temporary change in the course of the [Oxus](/source/Oxus), which briefly flowed into the Caspian instead of the [Aral Sea](/source/Aral_Sea).<ref name="Abaskun"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

Category:Medieval history of Iran
Category:History of the Caspian Sea
Category:History of Golestan province
Category:Ports and harbours of Iran

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Abaskun](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abaskun) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abaskun?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.