Kazakh Khanate
Encyclopedia
Kazakh Khanate was a Kazakh
Kazakhs
The Kazakhs are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia ....

 state
Sovereign state
A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...

 that existed in 1456-1847, located roughly on the territory of present-day Republic of Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...

.

History

The Kazakh Khanate was founded in 1456-1465 by Janybek Khan
Janybek Khan
----Janybek Khan was a co-leader of a new Kazakh Khanate, following a successful rebellion against the Uzbek Khan Abu'l-Khayr Khan in 1465 and 1466. Janybek's father was Baraq who was poisoned by emirs of the former White Horde...

 and Kerey Khan, on the banks of Jetysu ("seven rivers") in the southeastern part of the present-day Republic of Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...

. The founding of the Kazakh Khanate is considered the ethnogenesis
Ethnogenesis
Ethnogenesis is the process by which a group of human beings comes to be understood or to understand themselves as ethnically distinct from the wider social landscape from which their grouping emerges...

 of the Kazakh nation. The formation of the independent Kazakh Khanate began when several tribes under the rule of sultans Janybek and Kerey departed from the Khanate of Abul Khair Khan
Abul Khair Khan
Abul Khair Khan was leader of the Kazakh Little jüz in present-day western Kazakhstan. During this period, the Little jüz participated in the 1723-1730 war against the Dzungars, following their "Great Disaster" invasion of Kazakh territories...

. The sultans led their people toward Mogolistan, eventually settleing and founding an independenent state. The new Khanate soon became a buffer state between the Mongolians and the Khanate of Abdul Khair.

Janybek Khan and Kerey Khan (1465-1480)

Although both Janybek Khan
Janybek Khan
----Janybek Khan was a co-leader of a new Kazakh Khanate, following a successful rebellion against the Uzbek Khan Abu'l-Khayr Khan in 1465 and 1466. Janybek's father was Baraq who was poisoned by emirs of the former White Horde...

 and Kerey Khan were considered the founding rulers of the Kazakh Khanate, it was Kerey Khan who initially wielded the most power. Upon the death of Kerey Khan in 1470, Janybek Khan became the sole rule. The early years of the Kazakh Khanate were marked by struggles for control of the steppe
Steppe
In physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...

 against the Uzbek
Uzbeks
The Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China...

 leader Muhammad Shaybani
Muhammad Shaybani
Abu 'I-Fath Muhammad , known in later centuries as Shaybani Khan , was a khan of the Uzbeks who continued consolidating various Uzbek tribes and laid foundations for their ascendance in Transoxiana. of Genghis Khan through his grandson Shayban and considered the Timurids as usurpers of the...

. In 1470, the Kazakhs defeated Muhammad Shaybani at Turkestan (City), forcing the Uzbeks to retreat south to Samarkand
Samarkand
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...

 and Bukhara
Bukhara
Bukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...

.

Buryndyq Khan (1480-1511)

In 1480 Kerey Khan's son Buryndyq became khan. During his reign the Kazakhs were able to muster an army of 50,000 men and to repeatedly defeat the forces of Muhammad Shaybani
Muhammad Shaybani
Abu 'I-Fath Muhammad , known in later centuries as Shaybani Khan , was a khan of the Uzbeks who continued consolidating various Uzbek tribes and laid foundations for their ascendance in Transoxiana. of Genghis Khan through his grandson Shayban and considered the Timurids as usurpers of the...

 along the Syr Darya
Syr Darya
The Syr Darya , also transliterated Syrdarya or Sirdaryo, is a river in Central Asia, sometimes known as the Jaxartes or Yaxartes from its Ancient Greek name . The Greek name is derived from Old Persian, Yakhsha Arta , a reference to the color of the river's water...

 river.

Kasym Khan (1511-1518)

During the reign of Kasym Khan
Kasym Khan
Kasym Khan was the leader of the Kazakh Khanate from about 1511 to 1523.He was the son of Janybek who created the Kazakh Khanate by gaining their independence from Abu'l-Khayr Khan. Kasym khan is viewed as the first leader who united the Kazakh tribes, carrying on the line of the Golden...

, the territories of the Kazakh Khanate expanded considerably. As Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat
Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat
Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat was a Chagatai Turko-Mogol military general, ruler of Kashmir, and a historical writer. He was a Turkic speaking Dughlat prince who wrote in Persian and Chagatai languages. Prince Haider was a first cousin of Prince Zahir .-Life:He first campaigned in Kashmir in 1533,...

 later wrote in his Tarikh-i-Rashidi, "Kasym Khan now brought the Dasht-i-Kipchak under his absolute control, in a manner that no one, with the exception of Jochi
Jochi
Jochi was the eldest of the Mongol chieftain Genghis Khan's four sons by his principal wife Börte. An accomplished military leader, he participated in his father's conquest of Central Asia, along with his brothers and uncles.-Early life:...

, had ever done before. His army exceeded a thousand thousand". Kasym Khan instituted the first Kazakh code of laws in 1520, called "Қасым ханның қасқа жолы" (transliterated, "Qasım xannıñ qazqa jolı" — "Bright Road of Kasym Khan").

Khak-Nazar Khan (1537-1580)

Under Khak-Nazar Khan, the Kazakh Khanate faced competition from several directions: the Nogai Horde
Nogai Horde
The Nogai Horde was a confederation of about eighteen Turkic and Mongol tribes that occupied the Pontic-Caspian steppe from about 1500 until they were pushed west by the Kalmyks and south by the Russians in the 17th century. The Mongol tribe called the Manghits constituted a core of the Horde...

 in the west, the Khanate of Sibir in the north, Moghulistan
Moghulistan
Moghulistan or Mughalistan is a historical geographic unit in Central Asia that included parts of modern-day Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and the Chinese Autonomous Region of Xinjiang...

 in the east and the Khanate of Bukhara
Khanate of Bukhara
Khanate of Bukhara was a significant state in Central Asia from the second quarter of 16th century to the late–18th century. Bukhara became the capital of the short-lived Shaybanid empire during the reign of Ubaydallah Khan . The khanate reached its greatest extent and influence under its...

 in the south. Initially, Khak-Nazar Khan led the Kazakhs into two major battles against Khanate of Bukhara at Tashkent
Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...

, then against the Chagatai
Chagatai Khans
The Chagatai Khans were the heads of the Chagatai ulus from Chagatai Khan's inheritance of the state in 1227 to their removal from power by the Dzungars and their vassals in 1687...

 leader Abd ar-Rashid Khan I. In 1568, the Kazakhs successfully defeated the Nogai Horde
Nogai Horde
The Nogai Horde was a confederation of about eighteen Turkic and Mongol tribes that occupied the Pontic-Caspian steppe from about 1500 until they were pushed west by the Kalmyks and south by the Russians in the 17th century. The Mongol tribe called the Manghits constituted a core of the Horde...

 at Emba River
Emba River
The Emba River in west Kazakhstan rises in the Mugodzhar Hills and flows some 400 miles southwest into the Caspian Sea. It flows through the north of the Ust-Urt plateau, and reaches the Caspian by a series of shallow lagoons, which were navigable in the 18th century. The lower course traverses...

 and reached Astrakhan
Astrakhan
Astrakhan is a major city in southern European Russia and the administrative center of Astrakhan Oblast. The city lies on the left bank of the Volga River, close to where it discharges into the Caspian Sea at an altitude of below the sea level. Population:...

, but were repelled by Russian
Tsardom of Russia
The Tsardom of Russia was the name of the centralized Russian state from Ivan IV's assumption of the title of Tsar in 1547 till Peter the Great's foundation of the Russian Empire in 1721.From 1550 to 1700, Russia grew 35,000 km2 a year...

 forces.

Tauekel Khan (1582-1598)

Tauekel Khan expanded the control of the Kazakh Khanate over Tashkent
Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...

, Fergana
Fergana
Fergana is a city , the capital of Fergana Province in eastern Uzbekistan, at the southern edge of the Fergana Valley in southern Central Asia, cutting across the borders of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan...

, Andijan
Andijan
Andijan or Andizhan is the fourth-largest city in Uzbekistan, and the capital of the Andijan Province. It is located in the east of the country, at , in the Fergana Valley, near the border with Kyrgyzstan on the Andijan-Say River...

 and Samarkand
Samarkand
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...

. In 1598, Kazakh forces approached Bukhara
Bukhara
Bukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...

 and sieged it for 12 days, but afterwards the Bukharian leader Pir-Muhammad and reinforcements under the command of his brother Baki-Muhammad pushed back the Kazakhs. In that battle, Tauekel Khan was wounded, and died during the retreat back to Tashkent
Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...

.

Esim Khan (1598-1628)

Esim Khan established peace with the Khanate of Bukhara
Khanate of Bukhara
Khanate of Bukhara was a significant state in Central Asia from the second quarter of 16th century to the late–18th century. Bukhara became the capital of the short-lived Shaybanid empire during the reign of Ubaydallah Khan . The khanate reached its greatest extent and influence under its...

 and returned to them control of Samarkand
Samarkand
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...

. However, Bukhara was still bitter about the loss of Tashkent
Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...

, and that led to additional conflicts. Starting with 1607, Khanate of Bukhara
Khanate of Bukhara
Khanate of Bukhara was a significant state in Central Asia from the second quarter of 16th century to the late–18th century. Bukhara became the capital of the short-lived Shaybanid empire during the reign of Ubaydallah Khan . The khanate reached its greatest extent and influence under its...

 engaged in several battles and eventually obtained control of Tashkent.

Salqam-Jangir Khan (1629-1680)

During Salqam-Jangir Khan's reign, a new powerful rival for the Kazakhs appeared in the east — the Dzungar Khanate. In 1652, the Dzungar leader Erdeni Batur
Erdeni Batur
Erdeni Batur was a Choros-Oirat prince and is generally considered the founder of a new Oirat state in Central Asia known as the Dzungar Khanate....

 sent an army 50,000 strong against the Kazakhs, which Salqam-Jangir Khan's forces defeated after a fierce battle. However, in 1680, Salqam-Jangir Khan himself died in a battle with the Dzungars.

Tauke Khan (1680-1718)

Tauke Khan's
Tauke khan
Tauke Khan was a Kazakh khan of the Kazakh khanate.In 1652 after the death of Jangir khan, the son of Khan Esim, the ruler of Jungars Batyr had strengthened the military pressure on Kazakh khanate. Eventually he dies in 1670...

 time saw the continuing struggle of Kazakhs against the Dzungar Khanate. In 1680, Dzungars defeated Kazakhs at Sayram
Sayram
Sayram is a city located in southeastern South Kazakhstan Province on the Sayram Su River, which rises at the nearby 4000 meter mountain Sayram Su. In medieval times, the city and countryside were located on the banks of the Arys/Ares River, into which the Sayram Su river flows.The city...

, and took control of several cities. In 1687, Dzungars sieged Hazrat-e Turkestan
Hazrat-e Turkestan
-References:*Hill, John E. Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty, 1st to 2nd Centuries CE. BookSurge, Charleston, South Carolina. ISBN 978-1-4392-2134-1.*Hulsewé, A. F. P. and Loewe, M. A. N. 1979...

, but could not take it. In 1697, Tsewang Rabtan
Tsewang Rabtan
Tsewang Rabtan was a Choros-Oirat prince and the Khong Tayiji of the Zunghar Khanate from 1697 until his death in 1727. He was married to Lha-bzang Khan's sister.Tsewang Rabtan married his daughter to Lha-bzang Khan's son in 1714...

 became the leader of the Dzungar Khanate, and several major wars followed between the Dzungars and the Kazakh Khanate (1709, 1711—1712, 1714, 1718). With Tauke Khan's death in 1718, the Kazakh Khanate splintered into three "jüz
Jüz
A jüz is one of the three main territorial divisions in the Kypchak Plain area that covers much of the contemporary Kazakhstan. Variably, a jüz is believed to be a confederation or alliance of Kazakh nomads...

es" — the Great jüz, the Middle jüz
Middle Juz
Middle jüz is one of three main traditional divisions of the Kazakh nation. The other two are Great jüz and Little jüz.Middle jüz consists of six tribes. The tribes, in turn, are subdivided into clans, creating a hierarchical pyramid of affiliations. Some historians claim that Middle Juz have...

 and the Little jüz. Each jüz
Jüz
A jüz is one of the three main territorial divisions in the Kypchak Plain area that covers much of the contemporary Kazakhstan. Variably, a jüz is believed to be a confederation or alliance of Kazakh nomads...

 had its own khan from this time forward.

Tauke Khan is also known for refining the Kazakh code of laws, and reissuing it under the title "Жеті Жарғы" (transliterated, "Jeti Jarği" —"Seven Charters").

Ablai Khan (1771-1781)

Ablai Khan was a khan of the Middle jüz
Middle Juz
Middle jüz is one of three main traditional divisions of the Kazakh nation. The other two are Great jüz and Little jüz.Middle jüz consists of six tribes. The tribes, in turn, are subdivided into clans, creating a hierarchical pyramid of affiliations. Some historians claim that Middle Juz have...

 who managed to extend his control over the other two jüzes to include all of the Kazakhs
Kazakhs
The Kazakhs are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia ....

. Before he became khan, Ablai participated in the wars against the Dzungars and proved himself a talented organizer and commander. During his actual reign, Ablai Khan did his best to keep Kazakhstan as independent as possible from the encroaching Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

 and the Chinese Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

. He employed multi-vector foreign policy to protect the tribes from Chinese, Tatar and Zhongar aggressors.

Kenesary Khan (1841-1847)

Kenesary Khan was proclaimed khan of the Kazakhs when the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

 was already fully in control of Kazakhstan, and in fact the Kazakhs were prohibited (by Russian law) from selecting their leader after 1822. Kenesary Khan's popular rise was in defiance of Russian control of Kazakhstan, and his time as khan was spent on continuous fighting with the Russian imperial forces until his death in 1847. Widely regarded as a freedom fighter and popular as a leading voice against the increasingly aggressive and forceful policies of the Russian Empire, Kenesary was ruthless in his actions and unpredictable as a military strategist. By 1846, however, his resistance movement has lost momentum as some of his rich associates had defected to the Russian Empire, having been promised great riches. Betrayed, Kenesary Khan grew increasingly suspicious of the remaining members of the Resistance, possibly further alienating them. In 1847, the Khan of the Kazakhs found his death in Kyrgyz lands while his assault on northern Kyrgyz tribes. He was executed by Ormon Khan, the sarybagysh tribe leader who was subsequently rewarded by the Russians with a larger estate and an official administrative role, but was still widely regarded as a traitor by most nomadic tribes. Kenesary Khan's head was cut off and sent to the Russians.

During the last decade, Kenesary Khan is increasingly regarded as a hero in Kazakh literature and press. This, however, is a relatively recent trend since more outspoken views were not possible until Kazakhstan was no longer part of USSR. Today, a monument to Kenesary Khan can be seen on the shore of the river Esil in the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana
Astana
Astana , formerly known as Akmola , Tselinograd and Akmolinsk , is the capital and second largest city of Kazakhstan, with an officially estimated population of 708,794 as of 1 August 2010...

.

See also

  • History of Kazakhstan
    History of Kazakhstan
    The history of Kazakhstan describes the human past in the Eurasia's largest segment of the steppe belt that was the home and crossroads for numerous human groups starting with extinct Pithecanthropus and Sinanthropus 1 mln - 800,000 in the Karatau Mountains, Caspian and Balkhash areas; Neanderthals...

  • List of Kazakh khans
  • List of Sunni Muslim dynasties
  • Nomad (2006 film)
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