 After the end of the Mongol Empire and the gradual decline of the Silk Road after the 1400s, the town began to lose prominence.The modern town began as a Russian military post after the Russian conquest of Central Asia.During the 1916 uprising of the Kyrgyz against colonial rule known today as Urkun, large numbers of Kyrgyz attempted to flee through the Barskoon valley into China, and many perished at Bedel and Seok Pass.