Tobolsk

Tobolsk (, ) is a town in Tyumen Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Tobol and Irtysh rivers. Founded in 1587, Tobolsk is the second-oldest Russian settlement east of the Ural Mountains in Asian Russia, and was the historic capital of the Siberia region. Population:

==History== ===Origins=== The town was founded on the site of the Siberian Tatar town of Isker. In 1580, a group of Yermak Timofeyevich's Cossacks initiated the Russian conquest of Siberia, pushing eastwards on behalf of the Tsardom of Russia. After a year of Tatar attacks, Yermak prepared for the conquest of the Khanate of Sibir and a campaign to take the Khanate's capital city, Qashliq. The Cossacks conquered the city on 26 October 1582, sending Kuchum into retreat. Despite the conquest, Kuchum regrouped his remaining forces and formed a new army, launching a surprise attack on 6 August 1584, killing Yermak. There were a series of battles over Qashliq, which passed between Tatar and Cossack control, before the city was finally abandoned in 1588. Kuchum was eventually defeated by the Cossacks in 1598 at the Battle of Urmin near the River Ob, ending the Khanate of Sibir. The Russians had established control over the western Siberia region.