QASHLIQ

'Qashliq', 'Isker' or 'Sibir' (Tatar language: ''Qaşlıq'' or ''İskär'') was a medieval (14th-16th century) Siberian Tatar city near the right bank of the Irtysh river (12 miles south-east of the modern Tobolsk). Since the end of the 15th century it was the capital of the Siberia Khanate. The period of the most development was in the first half of the 16th century. In 1582 the troops of Cossack ataman Yermak seized and ruined Qashliq. The ruined city was retaken by the Tatars in 1584 only to be lost forever in 1586. The nearby city of Tobolsk was founded in 1587. The ruins of Qashliq are usually referred to as ''The Fort of Kuchum'' by modern Russians.