Background The Kazakh Khanate was formed as a result of the disintegration of the
Golden Horde, or Ulus of Jochi, which had originally been a ulus of the
Mongol Empire.
Ulus of Jochi within the Mongol Empire The Eastern wing of the Ulus of Jochi Formation The emergence of the Kazakh Khanate was preceded by intense struggles within the
Ulus of Jochi, which unfolded among various Jochid dynasties in the 15th century, already during the time of
Barak Khan, the grandson of the famous
Urus Khan, and intensified after his death. Different descendants of
Jochi Khan attempted to unite the nomadic tribes of the Eastern Desht-i Kipchak under their rule. With the support of powerful Manghit beys, the young
Shibanid Abu’l-Khayr emerged victorious in this struggle. In the following decades, during the 1420s–1450s, he subordinated most of the tribal confederations of the Eastern Desht-i Kipchak and significantly expanded the borders of his state. He also brought under his authority the hereditary domains of the descendants of Urus Khan in the Syr Darya region and around the city of Turkestan. By the end of the 15th century, a truce was concluded between the Kazakhs and Uzbeks. Around 1495–1496, Burunduk Khan and Muhammad Shaybani Khan agreed on a division of territories: the Kazakh rulers retained control over several cities of northern Turkestan, while the Shaybanids held the southern cities such as
Otrar,
Yasi, Arkuq, and Uzgend. To consolidate peace, dynastic marriages were arranged. During this period, Muhammad Shaybani controlled only the southern part of
Turkestan. At the turn of the 15th–16th centuries, he conquered
Transoxiana (Mawarannahr) and founded a new state, the
Shaybanid state. As a result, the descendants of Abu’l-Khayr finally left the Eastern Desht-i Kipchak and, together with subordinate tribes, moved to Central Asia. This group of tribes became assimilated among the local Turkic populations and carried with them the ethnonym “Uzbek”, which, as the final component, was transferred to them. On a significant part of the Eastern Desht-i Kipchak and Turkestan, the rule of the descendants of
Urus Khan was restored. The Kazakh rulers expanded the territory of their state into
Jetisu as well. Later, after the collapse of
Moghulistan in the early 16th century, the process of unification of Kazakh ethnic groups within a single state accelerated, a process that had begun in the early years of the migration of Kerei and Janibek into Moghulistan. The population of Jetisu (the future tribes of the
Senior Juz) recognized the authority of Burunduk Khan, and their lands were incorporated into the Kazakh Khanate.
Burunduk and Kasym Kasym, son of
Janibek, became the khan in 1511 and from that point only the descendants of Janibek Khan ruled Kazakh khanate until its fall. Under his rule, the Kazakh Khanate reached its greatest strength so much that the
Nogai Horde, which occupied the territory of modern Western Kazakhstan, became its number one enemy. Kasym successfully captured the Nogai capital Saray-Juk in 1520, pushing the Nogai Horde to the
Astrakhan Khanate. Under Kasym Khan, the borders of the Kazakh Khanate expanded and the population reached 1 million people. It was during the reign of Kasym Khan that the Kazakh Khanate gained fame and political weight in the modern Euro-Asian arena. Kasym Khan also became a major patron of the arts, literature, and religion, allowing Islam to hold great political and sociocultural importance among Kazakh society. Under his reign, the
Tsardom of Russia also became the first major state to establish diplomatic relations with the Kazakh Khanate. Upon doing so, Kasym Khan established his reputation as a successful leader, as his empire became known in Western Europe as an up-and-coming political entity. The manuscript of "Tarikh-Safavi", written in Persian by Persian historians, wrote about Kasym Khan, bringing most of the
Dasht-i-Kipchak under his absolute control. The manuscript also describes how a Kazakh army of eight thousand soldiers helped Sheibani Khan of Bukhara annex the Iranian city of Khorasan. Kasym Khan also instituted the first Kazakh code of laws in 1520, called (transliterated, – "Bright Road of Kasym Khan"). Kasym Khan also ratified his alliance with the
Timurid leader
Babur, particularly after the fall of the
Shaybanids, and was thus praised by the
Mughals and the populace of
Samarqand. Although a truce had been concluded, the
Kazakhs soon returned to active warfare and carried out repeated raids into
Transoxiana, targeting the domains of
Shaybani Khan. By this time the most powerful ruler in Central Asia, Shaybani Khan responded with several punitive campaigns against the Kazakhs, but with no lasting result. In 1510, however, Kasym Khan inflicted a major defeat on a large Uzbek force, a blow that contributed in part to the eventual fall of Muhammad Shaybani Khan. Accordingly, Kasym Khan was described by Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat as the most powerful ruler of the Qipchaq Steppe or the
Jochid Ulus since the reign of
Jochi Khan, possessing an army numbering over one million men. Mirza Muhammad Haidar wrote in his
Tarikh-i-Rashidi that:
Turmoil and civil war Following the death of
Kasym Khan around 1521, the Kazakh Khanate entered a period of rapid decline under the rule of his son
Mamash Khan (1521/1522) and subsequently under Tahir Khan and Buydash Khan, the sons of his brother Adiq Sulṭan. Mamash Khan was killed in combat, while Tah Khan lost the support of most of his followers and was eventually abandoned by them. In the aftermath, the Manghits reasserted their control over the Qipchaq Steppe. After Buydash Khan’s reign, internal fragmentation and political weakness reached such an extent that Muḥammad Ḥaidar Dughlāt observed that after the year 940 AH (1533–1534), “the Kazakhs were completely uprooted.” The Kazakh Khanate regained its control over the eastern Qipchaq Steppe during the reign of
Haqnazar, a son of Kasym Khan (r. around 1538–1581)
Haqnazar Khan (1537–1580) (Emperor) of Dast-i Qipchaq, (1550). Possible portrait of
Kazakh khan. Under Haqnazar Khan, also known as Haq-Nazar or Khaknazar Khan or Ak Nazar Khan, The Kazakh Khanate regained control over the eastern Qipchaq Steppe during the reign of Haqq Nazar, a son of Kasym Khan (r. around 1538–1581), successfully defeating the
Manghits (Nogai Horde). The Kazakhs dealt several significant defeats to the Manghits. For example, in 1557, they captured the brothers and relatives of the Manghit leader Ismail. By 1569, Haqq Nazar, along with about twenty other Kazakh princes, launched raids against the Manghits, and as a result, the Manghit nomads living east of the Ural River were absorbed into the Kazakh state. Haqnazar Khan began to liberate the occupied Kazakh lands. He returned the northern regions of Sary-Arka to the Kazakh Khanate. Having begun a campaign against the Nogai Horde, Haqnazar reconquered Sarai-Jk from the Nogai Horde and the surrounding Kazakh territories as well. In the fight against the Khivans, the Kazakhs conquered the Mangyshlak peninsula but were defeated by the Oirats and the Moghuls in the 1560's when Haqnazar attempted to capture Jeitsu. In 1568, the Kazakhs successfully defeated the
Nogai Horde at the
Emba River and reached
Astrakhan, but were repelled by
Russian forces. Haqq Nazar also became involved in a dispute between two Abu al-Khairid leaders: Abdallah, who had been the effective ruler of Bukhara since 1561, and Baba Sultan, the governor of Tashkent and son of the former Abu al-Khairid khan Nauruz Ahmad (1552–1556). Initially, the Kazakhs supported Baba Sultan, but they later switched their allegiance to Abdallah. Haqq Nazar and several Kazakh princes plotted against Baba Sultan, but he launched a counterattack and defeated them. Haqq Nazar was killed while trying to escape.
Shygai Khan (1580–1582) Shygai Khan, a son of Adiq Sultan and grandson of Janibek Khan, succeeded Haqq Nazar Khan around 1581. He supported Abdallah Khan II in his conflict with Baba Sultan of Tashkent. Shygai went to Bukhara with his son Tawakkul and swore allegiance to Abdallah. In 1582, Shygai and Tawakkul led the vanguard of Abdallah’s army during the campaign against Baba Sultan. Tawakkul caught up with Baba Sultan while he was fleeing and killed him. He was initially rewarded by Abdallah, but their alliance deteriorated after Tawakkul executed Baba Sultan’s son without Abdallah’s approval.
Tawakkul Khan (1586–1598) in Hazrat-e Turkestan, Kazakhstan|320px After succeeding his father, Tawakkul Khan challenged
Abdallah Khan II, who was emerging as the most powerful ruler in the eastern Islamic world in the late 16th century. By 1582, Abdallah had subdued all other Abu al-Khairid rival sultans and formally became khan in 1583 after the death of his father, Iskandar. Abdallah expanded his territories, capturing Badakhshan from the Timurid Mughals under Akbar in 1584 and Khorasan from the Safavids under Shah Abbas I by 1589. Khorezm was also annexed into his empire in 1594–1595. The exact date of Tawakkul’s accession to the throne of the Kazakh Khanate is unknown. According to Iskander Munshi, he “assumed the title of khan,” possibly in 1573. After coming to power, Tawakkul pursued an active foreign policy and established authority over neighboring peoples. Thus, one of his sons was appointed ruler of forty
Karakalpak clans, and Tawakkul’s brother, Shah-Muhammad Sultan, became the head of part of the Oirats bordering the Kazakh Khanate, likely the
Khoshut tribe. In the neighboring
Yarkent Khanate, Tawakkul Khan’s position was also "decisive in resolving the question of who would occupy the throne of this realm". In 1594, a Kazakh embassy led by Kul-Mukhammed arrived in Moscow with the aim of securing the release of Tawakkul’s nephew, Oraz-Muhammad, who was held in captivity, and purchasing weapons for the war against the Shaybanids. The Russian government was also interested in establishing mutual relations, as it hoped to use the Kazakhs against the Siberian khan
Kuchum. However, despite this, the Kazakh request was not fulfilled. To clarify the situation of the Kazakh state, a Russian embassy led by V. Stepanov was sent. In 1597, when Abdallah’s son Abd al-Mu’min revolted, Tawakkul invaded Tashkent and defeated the Uzbek relief forces (
see Kazakh invasion of Northern Bukhara). Abdallah personally led an army against Tawakkul, who retreated to the steppe. Abdallah Khan II died before confronting him. After Abd al-Mu’min was assassinated in 1598, Tawakkul and his brother Ishim launched another campaign in Transoxiana. The Kazakhs captured
Tashkent,
Turkistan,
Andijan, and
Samarqand but failed to take
Bukhara. They were eventually defeated in subsequent battles by the Uzbeks, including forces led by Baki Muhammad, the founder of the Toqay-Timurid (Astrakhanid) dynasty. Tawakkul retreated to Tashkent but soon died from his injuries.
Esim Khan and Tursun khan (1598–1628) After the death of Tawakkul Khan, Sultan
Esim (Yessim), the son of Shygai Khan, became the ruler. His reign marked a period of the Kazakh Khanate’s third major rise in power, following the eras of Qasim Khan and Haqq Nazar Khan. Yesim Khan moved the capital of the Khanate from Sygnak to the city of Turkestan. He suppressed a rebellion by the Karakalpaks, who had seized Tashkent, and in 1613 forced them to leave the middle reaches of the Syr Darya. During this period, the ruling elite in the
Bukhara Khanate changed: power shifted from the
Shaybanids to the Astrakhanids. Upon consolidating his rule, Yesim Khan concluded a truce with the Astrakhanid representatives. As a result, the cities of
Turkestan and
Tashkent, along with their surrounding districts, became part of the Kazakh Khanate for 200 years, and
Fergana was temporarily incorporated as well. However, the truce did not end the struggle between the Kazakh rulers and the Astrakhanids over Tashkent, and competition for control of Turkestan continued later with mixed results. During his reign, Yesim actively fought against the Bukhara rulers Baki Muhammad and
Imam-Quli for control over key cities in the Syr Darya region, including Tashkent, which he captured twice, in 1611 and 1613. Yesim also strongly opposed the separatist ambitions of certain Kazakh sultans and sought to create a centralized state with a strong khan’s authority. However, in the mid-1610s, after Sultan Tursun usurped the khan’s throne, Yesim was forced to leave Kazakh territories and take refuge in
Moghulistan, choosing
Turkestan as his residence. There, he united some Kyrgyz tribes and established an alliance with Abd ar-Rahim, the ruler of Chalish and Turfan. Yesim also made several attempts to recover cities captured by the Moghulistan rulers, including Aksu. During these periods, conflicts also emerged within the Kazakh Khanate among the representatives of supreme power. One figure in particular stood out: Tursun Muhammad Khan. Later, in 1613/14, with the support of the Astrakhanid Imam-Quli Khan, Tursun Khan ascended to the throne of the Kazakh Khanate. In the early years of his reign, the Khanate retained its military and political strength. Sources note that even the warlike
Oirat tribes were reluctant to wage war against the Kazakhs, "because Tursun the Tsar is strong". However, the strengthening of the state was hampered by ongoing internecine wars, which escalated particularly when Yesim, after spending several years in the
Moghul state, decided to return to the steppes. In 1626/27, according to
Bahr al-Asrar, Tursun Muhammad Khan and Yesim Khan “forgave each other and renewed the bonds of friendship.” Presumably, Yesim recognized Tursun’s authority as the senior
Chinggisid by age. The Shaybanid Abu-l-Ghazi Bahadur Khan, who was visiting Turkestan at the time, also noted that Yesim treated him with respect. Nevertheless, peace between the two Kazakh rulers was short-lived. When Yesim set out on campaigns against the
Oirats, Tursun Khan took advantage of the opportunity and plundered the khan’s camp. He then attempted to intercept Yesim’s forces “to catch him by surprise and seize him en route.” However, in the battle near
Sayram, Tursun’s army suffered a severe defeat. In
Tashkent, at the critical moment, Tursun’s own subjects killed their khan and submitted to Yesim Khan. Following these events, Yesim became the undisputed ruler of the Kazakh Khanate. After this, Yesim reclaimed the title of khan of all Kazakhs and restored authority over the territories that had been lost. He destroyed the
Katagan clan, which had supported Tursun, and secured from
Imam-Quli a renunciation of claims over the Syr Darya cities. At the same time, he faced raids by Oirat tribes, who attacked Kazakh lands. Yesim managed to defeat the Oirats and temporarily bring them under his authority. His name is also associated with an important legal achievement: the creation of the Kazakh legal code “Yesim Salghan Eski Zhol”, which became the foundation for later legal frameworks, including the code of laws “Jety-Zhargy”, adopted during the reign of Yesim’s grandson, Khan Tauke. Yesim was buried in the Yesim Khan Mausoleum in Turkestan.
Salqam-Jangir Khan (1629–1652) During the reign of
Salqam-Jangir Khan, a new and powerful rival of the Kazakhs appeared in the east, known as the
Dzungar Khanate. Major battle began in the winter of 1643 with the attack of
Erdeni Batur on the Kazakh lands. The Dzungars conquered a large part of the
Jetisu Region and captured about ten thousand people.
Salqam-Jangir Khan marched along the Orbulak River with 600 soldiers to repel the Zunghars. The famous
Battle of Orbulaq took place here. Jalangtos Bahadur, the ruler of
Samarkand, came to help Jangir Khan with 20,000 soldiers. Thanks to the help of Jalangtos Bahadur, Jangir Khan won this battle.
Erdeni Batur was forced to retreat. The defeated Zunghars lost about ten thousand people in this battle. According to the preserved historical data, in this battle, Salqam-Jangir Khan showed great commanding talent and military skill. In 1652, in the third major battle between the Kazakhs and the Dzungars, the Kazakh troops were defeated, and
Salqam-Jangir Khan was killed.
Tauke Khan (1680–1718) Shah Abbas II ’s letter to the Kazakh khan Tauke The Kazakh Khanate saw a significant rise during the reign of
Khan Tauke, whose rule marked an era of important reforms and strengthening of the state. One of his most notable achievements was the creation of a codified system of customary law for the Kazakhs, known as the "
Jeti Zhargy" (Seven Laws). Tauke made the first significant change to the system of power relations. He organized the activities of the
biy (judges), making the meetings of the council of biy regular and constant. The bii councils became an important state body, serving as a vital communication channel within the system of governance. As a result, the authority of the rulers among the common people grew rapidly, enabling the political situation in the country to develop dynamically. During Tauke's reign,
Kazakh-Russian conflicts began. The conflict began due to raids by the Bashkirs, Ural Cossacks, and Kalmyks. Tauke aimed to strengthen his power within the Kazakh Khanate. One of his key initiatives was the reorganization of the council of
biy (the Khan's advisors). He turned it into a permanent body with the authority to make decisive and final rulings. Additionally, Tauke carried out several measures to improve the military strength of the Kazakhs. He significantly increased the number of troops, which could reach up to 80,000 men during wartime. An important step in this effort was the creation of the "Jeti Zhargy" legal code, which regulated various aspects of life and law in the Khanate. Tauke was actively engaged in foreign policy, seeking to strengthen relations with neighboring states. He formed an alliance with the Kyrgyz and Karakalpaks to combat the
Dzungar Khanate. He also maintained peaceful relations with the
Bukhara Khanate. Between 1686 and 1693, Tauke sent several diplomatic missions to Russia, and in 1694, he received Russian envoys at his court. After the suppression of the
Bulavin Rebellion, he defeated the
Cossacks who had participated in the uprising and attacked the Kazakh nomads. In the final years of Tauke's reign, centrifugal forces strengthened within the Kazakh Khanate. Internal conflicts and rivalry between the khans came to the forefront, particularly between the khans Kaiyp and Abulkhair in the Junior Juz and others. After Tauke's death in 1715/1718, the Kazakh Khanate lost its unity, and the Juzes essentially became separate khanates.
Ablai Khan (1771–1781) Ablai Khan was a khan of the Middle jüz or Horde who managed to extend his control over the other two jüzes to include all of the
Kazakhs. Before he became khan, Ablai participated in the
Kazakh-Dzungar Wars and proved himself a talented organizer and commander. He led numerous campaigns against the
Kokand Khanate and the Kyrgyz. In the latter campaign, his troops liberated many cities in Southern Kazakhstan and even captured
Tashkent. During his actual reign, Ablai Khan did his best to keep Kazakhstan as independent as possible from the encroaching
Russian Empire and the Chinese
Qing dynasty. He employed a multi-vector foreign policy to protect the tribes from Chinese and
Dzungar aggressors. He also sheltered the Dzungar
Oirat taishas Amursana and
Dawachi from attacks by the Dzungar Khan
Lama Dorji, as the
Dzungar Khanate fractured following the death of
Galdan Tseren in 1745. However, once Amursana and Dawachi were no longer allies, Ablai Khan took the opportunity to capture herds and territory from the Dzungars.
Fall , 1826 On October 10, 1731, the khan of the Junior Jüz, Abu'l Khayr, swore fealty to
Anna of Russia to obtain Russian help against his rival Sultan Qayip and to secure economic stability. Shortly thereafter the Middle Jüz's Khan Semeke agreed to suzerainty under the same terms. Neither khan remained very loyal to the Russians, but from this point Russian sovereigns began to assert the right to appoint the khans of the Junior and Middle Jüzes and to exert greater influence on them. The Kazakhs in turn began to view the khanate with greater suspicion, as khans increasingly sought Russian help against their rivals within the Khanate. Following the rule of Abu'l-Mansur Khan's death in 1781, the Middle Jüz was nominally ruled by his son Vali, but Vali never achieved control of the entire jüz. In an attempt to establish some order in 1798, Russia created a tribunal at
Petropavlovsk to resolve disputes among the Kazakhs, but it was ignored by the Kazakhs. Following Vali's death in 1817 and his rival Bukei's death in 1818, Russia abolished the Khanate of the Middle Jüz. In 1822, Russia began to refer to the land until then occupied by the Middle Jüz as the territory of the Siberian Kirgiz and introduced a set of administrative reforms, some of them intended to encourage the Kazakhs to become farmers, but the Kazakhs remained nomadic. 1827–28 saw the first serious Kazakh resistance to the Russians, as Qayip Ali led fighters of the
Bukey Horde against a Russian garrison blocking them from crossing the Ural River to find needed grazing land. In the following years, Qayip Ali helped
Isatay Taymanuly build a resistance movement designed to free his people from both the khan of the Bukey Horde and the Russians. The movement was crushed in July 1838. By 1837 some tribes of the
Middle jüz led by
Kenesary Kasymov started war with the Russian occupiers. Support for the resistance was fueled by Russians' refusal to allow them much-needed additional grazing land, taxes, and the feeling that they were being exploited by Russian merchants. Kasymov managed to unite the entire Middle jüz for the last time in popular opposition to the Russians. The resistance came to an end when Russia deployed sufficient forces to make Kenesary surrender in 1846. He died the next year fighting Kokand forces in Kirgizia.
Kenesary Khan was the last Kazakh
Khan who defeated Shergazi Muhammad Khan (khan of the Junior jüz) and Gubaidullah Khan (khan of the Elder jüz) to unite the
Kazakhs one last time. Following his rule, he became the leader of the national liberation movement that resisted the capture of Kazakh lands and
segregation policies by the Russian Empire. He was the grandson of
Ablai Khan and is largely regarded as the last ruler of the Kazakh Khanate. By the mid 19th century, the Kazakhs fell under the full control of the Russian Empire and were banned from electing their own leader or even given representation in the empire's legislative structures. All fiscal/tax collections were also taken away from local Kazakh representatives and given to Russian administrators. Kenesary Khan fought against the Russian imperial forces until his death in 1847. ==Economy==