# Ilan Uti

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**Ilan Uti** (*Īlān Ūtī*) also called *Āq Kūtal* ("White Pass"), is a strategic passage between the [Zarafshān Valley](/source/Zarafshon_(river)) and the [Eurasian Steppe](/source/Eurasian_Steppe), separating [Samarkand](/source/Samarkand) from [Jizakh](/source/Jizzakh), [Ūrā Tippa](/source/Istaravshan) and [Khojand](/source/Khujand). Located two hours east of Samarkand, it formed an extremely narrow gorge which was said to teem with snakes. This earned it the moniker "Snake Pass". Many travelers passing through in the nineteenth century called it the "Gateway of [Tamerlane](/source/Timur)".[1]

## Geography

**Ilon Uti** is a mountain gorge with a pass between the [Malguzar](/source/Malguzar) and [Nurata](/source/Nuratau_Mountains) mountain ranges, located in the narrow valley of the [Sangzor River](/source/Sangzar_river) in the [Jizzakh region](/source/Jizzakh_Region) of [Uzbekistan](/source/Uzbekistan). It is 16–18 km long and 200–500 m wide, with the riverbed narrowing to 30 m at its narrowest point. The absolute elevation of the pass ranges from 450 to 550 m, while the surrounding mountain slopes rise to 650–700 m.

The ancient [Turkic](/source/Turkic_languages) name of the pass was Temir Qapigh ("Iron Gate"). Additionally, it has been historically referred to as the "Jizzakh Road" and the "Sangzor Valley", second most popular names is "Gateway of [Tamerlane](/source/Timur)".

A local mountain-valley wind blows through the pass, with an average speed of 2.3–2.8 m/s, reaching 25–28 m/s at its strongest. The slopes of Ilon Uti rise steeply on both sides. The Malguzar Mountains consist of [shale](/source/Shale), [sandstone](/source/Sandstone), [marbled limestone](/source/Limestone), and [porphyrites](/source/Porphyry_(geology)) from the [Lower Paleozoic](/source/Lower_Palaeozoic), while the [Qoytash Mountains](/source/Qoytash_Mountains) are composed of intrusive rocks such as [granite](/source/Granite) and [granodiorites](/source/Granodiorite).

The Sangzor Valley was formed in the early [Middle Pleistocene](/source/Middle_Pleistocene) due to the river eroding the Malguzar Mountains, cutting through the rock. During this period, tectonic movements caused the [Mirzachul region](/source/Mirzacho%CA%BBl) to subside, directing the river's flow into its present course.[2]

## History

Bukhari, the chronicler of [Ubaydallah Khan](/source/Ubaidullah_Khan) (r. 1702-1711), twice mentions *Äq-Kütal* among the places on the [Mawarannahr](/source/Khanate_of_Bukhara)-[Qazaq](/source/Kazakh_Khanate) frontier, but does not specify its position. According to 17th century geography, *Äq-Kütal* separated [Samarkand](/source/Samarkand) and the Zarafshan Valley from Khujand, Ura-Tepe and Dizzaq and other eastern districts.[3] A 19th century author depicts *Aq-Kütal* as a place on the route from [Samarkand](/source/Samarkand) to [Jizaq](/source/Jizzakh) and [Zamin](/source/Zomin).[4] In its narrower sense, the "White Pass" *(Äq-Kütal)* probably corresponds to a defile of the Jizaq river on the hill route linking Samarqand with Jizaq.

### Ilanutti inscriptions

Main article: [Ilan Uti inscriptions](/source/Ilan_Uti_inscriptions)

Rock inscriptions discovered at the site underline its strategic importance between the Samarkand oasis and the [Great Steppe](/source/Eurasian_Steppe). One epigraph commemorates the safe return of the Timurid Mirza [Ulugh Beg](/source/Ulugh_Beg) from a campaign to the "[land of the Moghuls](/source/Moghulistan)". Another inscription reports how in 979/1571-72 the Shaybanid [Abdalläh Khän's](/source/Abdullah_Khan_II) forces confronted 400.000 men from Turkistan, Tashkent, Farghana and the Dasht-i Qipchaq, slaying so many enemies that the Jizaq river was bloodstained for a month.

## References

1. Wilde, Andreas (2016). *What Is Beyond the River? Power, Authority, and Social Order in Transoxania, 18th–19th Centuries* [225]. Wien: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften. ISBN 978-3-7001-7866-8.

1. *[National Encyclopedia of Uzbekistan](/source/National_Encyclopedia_of_Uzbekistan),* Volume-1. Tashkent, 2000

1. Mahmud bin Wali "More train", 55

1. Muhammad Hakim Khan, "Muntakhab I" 185

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