© Equinox Publishing Ltd. 2024, Office 415, The Workstation, 15 Paternoster Row, Sheffield, S1 2BX JIA 11.1 (2024) 35–58 Journal of Islamic Archaeology ISSN (print) 2051-9710 http://www.doi.org/10.1558/jia.31567 Journal of Islamic Archaeology ISSN (online) 2051-9729 Keywords: Syr Darya delta, medieval urbanization, Khwarazm-Kipchak, Golden Horde, water supply system, Islamization. Submitted February 13, 2023; Accepted August 2, 2023 Geoarchaeological Study of Kyshkala During the 11th–15th centuries AD Madyar Eleuov, 1 Renato Sala, 1 Jean-Marc Deom, 1 Dokei Taleev, 2 Arkhad Moldakhmet 1 and Syrym Esen 3 1. Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Kazakhstan 2. A.K. Margulan Institute of Archaeology, Kazakhstan 3. L.N. Gumilev Eurasian National University, Kazakhstan jeandeom@kaznu.kz Between 2018-2022, the archaeological study of the medieval town of Kyshkaka (11th–15th cen- turies AD) represented a new investigative focus on the pre-Mongol and post-Mongol history of Syr Darya delta and, more specifically, of the Upper Jana Darya basin. As a result of these studies, Kyshkala (Barchinkent), located at the centre of the delta, joining Jankent at the estuary and Sygnak at its mouth, one of the three richest medieval urban zones of the delta region, endowed with the highest potential for irrigation and urbanization, has been examined. In addition to excavations, this study benefited from the fruitful application of geoarchaeological methods, macro-scale sur- veying and mapping, climate-environmental analyses, radiometric dating, and statistical evalua- tions. Supported by the systematization of historical sources and archaeological reports, the recon- struction of the development of the urban complexes of the region, the analysis of the hydrological and water supply systems, and the absolute dating of Kyshkala town have been attempted. The research results allow the discussion of some crucial points of the history of the Upper Jana Darya basin, in particular, concerning the socio-cultural continuity between the pre-Mongol and post- Mongol periods, which was broken only with the establishment of Timurid rule, and the important function played by Kyshkala as a powerful political and Muslim centre that blossomed under the Golden Horde, influencing all the surrounding region from the 12th to the 14th centuries. Introduction: Kyshkala and the Medieval urban complex of the Syr Darya delta This article presents evidence on the role played by the still partly unexplored urban site of Kyshkala (11th–15th centuries) in the context of the hydrological and urban development of the Syr Darya delta during pre-Mongol and post-Mongol times, focusing on the results of ongo-