Korla (simplified Chinese: 库尔勒; pinyin: Kù'ěrlè) is a city south of Karashahr (Yanqi), and is the capital of the Bayinguoleng Mongolian Prefecture , the largest prefecture in China. The city (41° 39' N; 86° 08' E) had 200,374 inhabitants in 1999, of whom the majority were Han Chinese, with a large minority of Uighurs and samller numbers of Mongols and Tibetans.
It is about 47 km southwest from Karashahr (Yanqi) to Korla. Korla has long been the biggest centre in the region after Karashahr itself, having abundant water and extensive farmlands, as well as controlling the main routes to the south and west of Karashahr.
The Iron Gate Pass (Tiemenguan) leading to Karashahr is about 7 km (4 miles) north of the city and, as it was easily defended, played an important part in protecting the ancient Silk Roads from raiding nomads from the north.
History
Korla was known as Weili during the Han Dynasty. Weili is said in the Hanshu or 'History of the Former Han' (covering the period 125 BCE to 23 CE), to have had 1,200 households, 9,600 individuals and 2,000 people able to bear arms. It also mentions that it adjoined Shanshan and Qiemo (Charchan ) to the south.
See also
References
- Hill, John E. 2004. The Western Regions according to the Hou Hanshu. Draft annotated English translation.[1]
- Hill, John E. 2004. The Peoples of the West from the Weilue 魏略 by Yu Huan 魚豢: A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 CE. Draft annotated English translation. [2]
- Hulsewe, A. F. P. and Loewe, M. A. N. 1979. China in Central Asia: The Early Stage 125 BC – AD 23: an annotated translation of chapters 61 and 96 of the History of the Former Han Dynasty. E. J. Brill, Leiden.
- Mallory, J. P. and Mair, Victor H. 2000. The Tarim Mummies: Ancient China and the Mystery of the Earliest Peoples from the West. Thames & Hudson, London.
- Stein, Aurel M. 1921. Serindia: Detailed report of explorations in Central Asia and westernmost China, 5 vols. London & Oxford. Clarendon Press. Reprint: Delhi. Motilal Banarsidass. 1980.[3]
- Stein Aurel M. 1928. Innermost Asia: Detailed report of explorations in Central Asia, Kan-su and Eastern Iran, 5 vols. Clarendon Press. Reprint: New Delhi. Cosmo Publications. 1981.
- von Le Coq, Albert. 1928. Buried Treasures of Turkestan. Reprint with Introduction by Peter Hopkirk, Oxford University Press. 1985.
External links
Korla's are a species in the Animorphs science fiction book series.
The korla's live on the planet Tranin. They are mainly green and purple snakes with a humans brains.
