Everything about Kazakh Khanate totally explained
Kazakh Khanate (
Kazakh: Қазақ хандығы,
Russian: Казахское ханство) was a
Kazakh state that existed in 1456-1731, located roughly on the territory of present day
Republic of Kazakhstan.
History
The Kazakh Khanate was founded in 1456-1465 by
Janybek Khan and
Kerei Khan, on the banks of Zhetisu (seven rivers) in the southeastern part of present-day
Republic of Kazakhstan. The founding of the Kazakh Khanate triggered the
ethnogenesis of the
Kazakh nation.
Janybek Khan and Kerei Khan (1465—1480)
Although both
Janybek Khan and
Kerei Khan were considered the founding rulers of the Kazakh Khanate, it was Kerei Khan who initially wielded the most power. But after Kerei Khan's death in 1470, Janybek Khan became the sole khan. The early years of the Kazakh Khanate were marked with struggles for the control of the
steppe against the
Uzbek leader
Muhammad Shaybani. In 1470, the Kazakhs defeated Muhammad Shaybani at
Hazrat-e Turkestan, and the Uzbeks retreated south to
Samarkand and
Bukhara.
Buryndyq Khan (1480—1511)
In 1480,
Kerei Khan's son Buryndyq became the khan of the Kazakh Khanate. During his reign, the Kazakhs were able to raise an army of 50,000. Under Buryndyq Khan, the Kazakhs fought several more times with the forces of
Muhammad Shaybani along the
Syr Darya River.
Qasym Khan (1511—1518)
During the reign of
Qasym Khan, the territories of the Kazakh Khanate expanded considerably. As
Muhammad Haidar Dughlat later wrote in his
Tarikh-i-Rashidi (1541-1545), "Kasim Khan now brought the Dasht-i-Kipchak under his absolute control, in a manner that no one, with the exception of
Juji Khan, had ever done before. His army exceeded a thousand thousand."
Kasym Khan instituted the first Kazakh code of laws in 1520, called "Qasym Khannyn Qasqa Zholy" (Bright Road of Kasym Khan).
Mamash Khan (1518—1523)
Taiyr Khan (1523—1529)
Buidash Khan (1529—1533)
Togym Khan (1533—1538)
Khak-Nazar Khan (1537—1580)
Under Khak-Nazar Khan, the Kazakh Khanate faced competition from several directions: the
Nogai Horde in the west, the
Siberia Khanate in the north,
Mughalistan in the east, and the
Khanate of Bukhara in the south. Initially, Khak-Nazar Khan led the Kazakhs into two major battles against Khanate of Bukhara at
Tashkent. Then, against the
Chagatai leader Abd ar-Rashid Khan I. In 1568, the Kazakhs successfully defeated the
Nogai Horde at
Emba River and reached
Astrakhan, but were repelled by
Russian forces.
Shygai Khan (1580—1582)
Tauekel Khan (1586—1598)
Tauekel Khan expanded the control of the Kazakh Khanate over
Tashkent,
Fergana,
Andijan, and
Samarkand. In 1598, Kazakh forces approached
Bukhara 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.
Esim Khan (1598—1628)
Esim Khan established peace with the
Khanate of Bukhara and returned to them control of
Samarkand. However, Bukhara was still bitter about the loss of
Tashkent, and that led to additional conflicts. Starting with 1607,
Khanate of Bukhara engaged in several battles and eventually obtained control of Tashkent.
Salqam Zhangir Khan (1629—1680)
During Salqam Zhangir Khan's reign, a new powerful rival for the Kazakhs appeared in the east - the
Dzungar Khanate. In 1652, the Dzungar leader Erdeni Batur sent an army 50,000 strong against the Kazakhs, which Salqam Zhangir Khan's forces defeated after a fierce battle. However, in 1680, Salqam Zhangir Khan himself died in a battle with the Dzungars.
Tauke Khan (1680—1718)
Tauke Khan's time saw the continuing struggle of Kazakhs against the
Dzungar Khanate. In 1680, Dzungars defeated Kazakhs at
Sayram, and took control of several cities. In 1687, Dzungars sieged
Hazrat-e Turkestan, but couldn't take it. In 1697,
Tsewang Rabtan 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 "hordes" - the Senior
Jüz, the Middle
Jüz, and the Junior
Jüz. Each Jüz 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 "Jeti Jargi" (seven laws).
Abylai Khan (1771—1781)
Abylai Khan was a khan the Middle
Jüz, who managed to extend his control over the other two Jüzes to include all of the
Kazakhs. Before he became khan, Abylai participated in the wars against the Dzungars and proved himself a talented organizer and commander. During his actual reign, Abylai Khan did his best to keep Kazakhstan as independent as possible from the encroaching
Russian Empire and the Chinese
Qing Dynasty. 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 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 figher and popular as a leading voice against the increasively 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 river Esil in capital of Kazakhstan Astana.
List of Kazakh Khanate's khans
Further Information
Get more info on 'Kazakh Khanate'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://kazakh_khanate.totallyexplained.com">Kazakh Khanate Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
