6th century CE (568 CE) and is known to have existed until its decline in the 13th century. The third historical period begins with the establishment of a Kokand fortress at the end of the 18th century, which in 1864 was named Auliye-Ata (from the Uzbek words meaning saint and father). In 1936, the city was renamed Mirzoyan (Russian: ), after Levon Mirzoyan. After Mirzoyan's arrest in 1938, the city was renamed to Dzhambul (Russian: ), after the Kazakh traditional folksinger Jambyl Jabayev (Dzhambul Dzhabayev). In 1993, the spelling of the city's name was officially changed to Jambyl/Dzhambyl (Kazakh: , Jambyl), and in 1997 the city was renamed Taraz. The city started to assume its present form when Colonel Chernyev's detachment took over the Aulie Ata fortress and annexed it to the Russian Empire, starting in 1864. Taraz was greatly improved by the Semirechensky railway that passed through the town in 1917. Prehistoric times Discovery of caves and ancient campsites during the investigation of the eastern part of the Talas-Assinsky Oasis, in the Karatau Ranges spur has confirmed Bernshtam's opinion (expressed in 1903) that the Talas Valley was settled before the 1st century BC: "It is doubtless that the continuation of valley's research will give older testimonies of man's stay." Remnants of material culture that were found during excavation of Taraz speak about the lifestyle in this territory to the Neolithic period. Antiquity The discovery of chest ornaments, bronze statues of kings and remnants of ceramic products in separate parts of the Talas river valley are the evidence of the existence of the life in Taraz region in the bronze epoch. According to the archaeological excavation and available written sources, tribal unions of Saka Scythians had been formed in this territory by the 7th-8th centuries B.C. Hanshu, 70 from 1st-century, talk about the fortress constructed on Talas River by Zhizhi Chanyu, a prince of Hun (Ch. Xiongnu, Hsiung-nu, etc.). The fortress is believed to have been at the site of modern Taraz. Medieval Taraz Early references The opinion was expressed in 1903 by the authors of the book Turkistan that ancient Taraz (then known as Talas) was situated under modern Taraz. However scarcity of information, inaccuracy of descriptions, and weakness of geography made it impossible to know the location until 1936. Professor Wilhelm Barthold's research established that the location of ancient Taraz was under the Green Bazaar. Further research and