Almaliq (Uyghur: ئالمالىق; Chinese: 阿力麻里; pinyin: Ālìmálǐ), also spelled Almalik, Almalig, was a medieval city in the Ili basin in present-day Huocheng County, Xinjiang, China along Kazakhstan border. A modern town named Alimali (阿力玛里) in Khorgas, adjacent to Huocheng, has no historical connections with the medieval town.
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Almaliq, Xinjiang in the context of Mongol conquest of the Qara Khitai
The Mongol Empire conquered the Qara Khitai (Western Liao Empire) in the year 1218 AD. Prior to the invasion, war with the Khwarazmian Empire and the usurpation of power by the Naiman prince Kuchlug had weakened the Qara Khitai. When Kuchlug besieged Almaliq, a city belonging to the Karluks, vassals of the Mongol Empire, and killed their ruler Ozar, who was a grandson-in-law to Genghis Khan, Genghis Khan dispatched a force under command of Jebe and Barchuk to pursue Kuchlug. After his force of over 30,000 was defeated by Jebe at the Khitan capital Balasagun, Kuchlug faced rebellions over his unpopular rule, forcing him to flee to modern Afghanistan, where he was captured by hunters in 1218. The hunters turned Kuchlug over to the Mongols who beheaded him. Upon defeating the Qara Khitai, the Mongols now had a direct border with the Khwarazmian Empire, which they would soon invade in 1219.