In the 10th to 13th centuries it was one of the most important centres of the fur trade in Volga Bulgaria. The city was the capital of the Cükätaw Duchy. In 1236 Cükätaw was destroyed by Batu Khan's troops during the Mongol invasion of Volga Bulgaria. Following the Russian pirate raids in the 14th and 15th centuries, the city's power declined. After the town was sacked by Yuri of Zvenigorod in 1414, it was abandoned. The ruins are situated near the modern village of Danaurovka.