The books of the Black City
Journal
A Book of Unspeakable Things
Type
newspaper article
Date Issued
2008-10-28
Author(s)
Abstract
In May 1909, a group of horsemen were seeking shelter as a violent sandstorm blocked out the skies above the Gobi desert. Colonel Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov and his cossacks entered the ruins of Karakoto, the Black City. The Russian officer noted in his journal that it was here, in 1209, that an entire garrison had committed suicide by slitting their throats while the city was not even under siege. What explanation can there be for this mass suicide? As he was contemplating this question, his men drew him from his thoughts: in a corner tower they had found some books that they wanted to use to make a fire. Kozlov examined them and managed to make out some of the archaic writing of the Tanguts who were wiped out by Genghis Khan. The following morning, they discovered thousands of books that described in great detail the long agony of the city.
Language
English
Keywords
Tangut (Xixia) (1032-1227)
Karakoto (Heicheng
Inner Mongolia)
Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov
Silk Road studies
HSG Classification
contribution to education
Refereed
No
Publisher
Maison d'Ailleurs
Publisher place
Yverdon-les-Bains
Number
1
Start page
8
End page
9
Pages
2
Subject(s)
Eprints ID
215053