Starting from the formation of the Kazakhs

Kazakhs

The Kazakhs are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia ....

 in the mid-15th century, the Kazakhs khans led both the unified Kazakh Khanate

Kazakh Khanate

Kazakh Khanate was a Kazakh state that existed in 1456-1847, located roughly on the territory of present-day Republic of Kazakhstan.-History:...

 and later the three main Kazakh divisions. Khan

Khan (title)

Khan is an originally Altaic and subsequently Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, widely used by medieval nomadic Turko-Mongol tribes living to the north of China. 'Khan' is also seen as a title in the Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289...

 is a title for a ruler used by nomadic and semi-nomadic groups throughout Central Asia

Central Asia

Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...

.

The Kazakhs were originally members of 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...

 tribes who, under the leadership of Abu'l-Khayr Khan

Abu'l-Khayr Khan

Abu'l-Khayr Khan was the leader who united the nomadic Uzbek tribes from which the Kazakh khanate later separated in rebellion under Janybek Khan and Kerei Khan beginning in 1466....

, migrated from the northwestern part of the Dasht-i Qipchaq south towards Ma Wara'un-Nahr in the 1430s and 1440s and attacked parts of the Timurid Empire. Two tribal leaders, Kerei and Janibek, who were themselves descendants of Urus Khan

Urus Khan

Urus Khan was the eighth Khan of the White Horde, and a disputable Khan of the Blue Horde, he was a direct descendant of Genghis Khan. Urus himself is the direct ancestor of khans of the Kazakh Khanate.- Ancestor of Urus :...

 and by extension Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....

, decided to leave the service of Abu'l-Khayr Khan. Those who followed Kerei and Janibek become known as the Uzbek-Kazakhs, Kazakh being a Turkic word which roughly translates as "vagabond" or "freebooter". Abu'l-Khayr Khan died in 1468, and for the next three decades many of his followers began recognizing the authority of the Uzbek-Kazakh khans - Kerei, Janibek, and Kerei's son Burundyq. By 1500, however, a new leader known as Muhammad Shaybani Khan united many of the Uzbeks under his control and pushed further south into modern-day Uzbekistan, while the Uzbek-Kazakhs, who by this time were known simply as Kazakhs, remained in the steppe. The Uzbeks continued to be ruled by Muhammad Shaybani Khan and his descendants, while the Kazakhs were ruled by the descendants of Kerei and Janibek.

After the death of Tauke Khan in 1718 the Kazakh Khanate ceased to exist as a unified entity. Instead, the three different jüz, or hordes, of the Kazakhs became independent units, each with their own khan. Throughout the 18th century the Russians

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...

 continued to expand into the steppe region. As part of diplomatic relations, the Kazakh khans, especially from the Junior jüz in the west, would declare allegiance to Russia and the tsar, though these declarations had no actual impact beyond words. By the turn of the 19th century, however, the Russians began to exert actual control over the Kazakhs and the position of khan. The Russians chose to not appoint a new khan for the Middle jüz after 1819 and abolished the position of khan in the Junior jüz after Shergazy Khan's death in 1824.

The Russians also effected the creation of a new line of khans, the "Inner Horde" or "Bokei jüz". This jüz was made up of members of the Junior jüz who were allowed in 1801 to use pastures west of the Ural river

Ural River

The Ural or Jayıq/Zhayyq , known as Yaik before 1775, is a river flowing through Russia and Kazakhstan. It arises in the southern Ural Mountains and ends at the Caspian Sea. Its total length is 1,511 mi making it the third longest river in Europe after the Volga and the Danube...

 in Russian territory. The position of khan in the Bokei jüz lasted until 1845, when it was also abolished by the Russians.

In the 1840s a man named Kenesary, a descendant of Ablay Khan, launched a rebellion against Russian rule, which by this time extended across most of modern-day Kazakhstan. He was recognized by some Kazakh leaders as Kenesary Khan, and is considered in Kazakh histories today to be an official khan, though he was never recognized by the ruling Russian authorities as such. Though the Russians pursued Kenesary for years across the steppe, he had broad support among the Kazakhs and as a result was able to eluded capture until 1847, when he was executed in northern Kyrgyzstan.

The following list shows the known khans of the Kazakhs from 1456 to 1847.

Kazakh Khans before the split into the 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...

s:

Name	Ruling period	Name in Kazakh
Kerei	1456–1473	Керей
Janybek 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...	1473–1480	Жәнібек
Burundyq (Muryndyk)	1480–1511	Бұрындық (Мұрындық)
Qasym 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...	1511–1518	Қасым
Mamash	1518–1523	Мамаш
Tahir	1523–1533	Таһир
Buidash	1533–1534	Бұйдаш
Qozhamqut	1534–1535	Қожамқұт
Togym	1535–1537	Тоғым
Khaqnazar	1538–1580	Хақназар
Shygai	1580–1582	Шығай
Tauekel	1582–1598	Тәуекел
Esim	1598–1628	Есім
Zhangir	1628–1652	Жәңгір
Batyr	1652–1680	Батыр
Tauke 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...	1680–1718	Тәуке

Junior jüz

Junior Jüz

Little jüz or Alshyns are the Western subgroup of the Kazakhs. They originate from the Nogais of the Nogai Horde, which once was placed in Western Kazakhstan, but in the 16th century it was defeated by the Kazakhs and the Russians and Nogais retreated to the Western part of their khanate, to the...

 khans:

Name	Ruling period	Name in Kazakh
Abul Khair 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...	1718–1748	Әбілқайыр
Nuraly	1748–1786	Нұралы
Eraly	1791–1794	Ералы
Esim	1795–1797	Есім
Aishuaq	1797–1805	Айшуақ
Shergazy	1805–1824	Шерғазы

Khans of Bokei:

Name	Ruling period	Name in Kazakh
Bokei	1801–1815	Бөкей
Shygai	1815–1823	Шығай
Zhangir	1823–1845	Жәңгір

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...

 khans:

Name	Ruling period	Name in Kazakh
Sameke	1719–1734	Сәмеке
Abilmambet	1734–1771	Әбілмәмбет
Ablai Khan	1771–1781	Абылай Хан
Uali	1781–1819	Уәли
Gubaidolla	1819–1822	Ғұбайдолла

The last khan during 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...

:

Name	Ruling period	Name in Kazakh
Kenesary	1841–1847	Кенесары