THE KYRGYZ AND THE KAZAKH KHANATE IN THE XV–XVIII CENTURIES

Abstract

The relationship between the Kyrgyz and Kazakh peoples dates back to the Middle Ages. By the time the Kazakh Khanate was established in the second half of the 15th century, Kyrgyz tribes were already occupying the mountain valleys of the Eastern Tien Shan. During this period, the Kyrgyz, together with the Oirat tribes, were trying to gain control over the agricultural areas of Moghulistan. To protect these territories from the attacks of the Kyrgyz and Oirats, the Mughal Esen-Bugha Khan called the sultans Janibek and Kerei there. Arriving in Semirechye, Janibek and Kerey immediately oppose the Kyrgyz and Oirats. The subsequent return of these sultans to Desht-i Kipchak and the relative weakness of the Mughal khans allowed the Kyrgyz to occupy the pastures of the Central Tien Shan. Since that time, the military potential of the Kyrgyz tribes has been actively used by the Mughal nobility. At the beginning of the 16th century, the Mughal prince Sultan Khalil was declared the ruler of the Kyrgyz. Later, the Kyrgyz tribes, led by Mohammed the Kyrgyz, provided support to Prince Sultan Said. Since the appearance of the Kazakh Takhir Khan on the Tien Shan, a period of close and allied relations between Kyrgyz and Kazakhs has been opening. Since that time, many Kyrgyz feudal lords have become part of the ruling elite of the Kazakh Khanate, and many Kazakh khans have received the title "Khan of Kazakh and Kyrgyz." Kazakh Ishim Khan had especially close ties with the Kyrgyz, to whom a separate Kyrgyz poem "Er Eshim" is dedicated. During the reign of Tauke Khan, a separate "Kyrgyz alash" was allocated as part of the six "alashes". With the death of the last autocratic ruler of the Kazakh Khanate, Tauke Khan, the Kyrgyz-Kazakh union also disintegrated. From that time on, a confrontation over territories began between the Kyrgyz and Kazakhs, which would last until the 19th century.