A city of Golden Horde, circa 13th-14th centuries, which played a major role in the trade between Idel-Ural, the Caucasus, and the Black Sea region, but was sacked by Tim in 1395. An important archeological find on the Kuma River, the ruins include buildings, public baths, water pipes and workshops; it minted its own coins, 1311. Ibn Battuta described it: I then set out for the city of al-MÄchar, a large town, one of the finest of the cities of the Turks, on a great river, and possessed of gardens and fruits in abundance.