The City Is Mentioned By Abulfeda As Marking The Extremity Of
"The Empire Of The Barka Tartars," And Ibn Batuta Speaks Of It As "One Day
Distant From The Hills Of The Russians." Polo Therefore Means That It Was
The Frontier Of The Ponent Towards Russia.
Ukek was the site of a
Franciscan convent in the 14th century; it is mentioned several times in
the campaigns of Timur, and was destroyed by his army.
It is not mentioned
under the form Ukek after this, but appears as Uwek and Uwesh in
Russian documents of the 16th century. Perhaps this was always the
Slavonic form, for it already is written Uguech (= Uwek) in Wadding's
14th century catalogue of convents. Anthony Jenkinson, in Hakluyt, gives
an observation of its latitude, as Oweke (51 deg. 40'), and Christopher
Burrough, in the same collection, gives a description of it as Oueak,
and the latitude as 51 deg. 30' (some 7' too much). In his time (1579) there
were the remains of a "very faire stone castle" and city, with old tombs
exhibiting sculptures and inscriptions. All these have long vanished.
Burrough was told by the Russians that the town "was swallowed into the
earth by the justice of God, for the wickednesse of the people that
inhabited the same." Lepechin in 1769 found nothing remaining but part of
an earthen rampart and some underground vaults of larger bricks, which the
people dug out for use. He speaks of coins and other relics as frequent,
and the like have been found more recently.
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