Place Names of Urghuybalïq

Abstract

Little has been known about Weiwu’erbali, a place name found only in Chinese records from the Ming Dynasty. As this place name has not been thoroughly examined in sources other than Chinese, discussion related to it has so far been limited to its approximate location. However, Chaghatay documents recently found in Qomul shed new light on the place. By referring to documents and oral sources, the present study aims to identify the precise location of Urghuybalïq mentioned in the Chaghatay documents, and trace the change of the place name until its fall into oblivion.