History, Culture and Traditions of the Kazakh People

Origin and formation of the Kazakh people

The first written records of early Kazakh history are found in the works of ancient authors (Herodotus, Strabo, etc.) and Chinese sources («Hou Han Shu», «Shi Ji», «Qian Han Shu», etc.). Valuable observations about the life of the Kazakh people in the 11th to 16th centuries are contained in the works of Eastern authors such as Mahmud of Kashgar, Maxidi, Juvayni («The History of the Conqueror of the World»), Nizam al-Din Shami («The Book of Victories»), Muhammad Haidar («Tarikhi Rashidi»), and Ruzbikhan («Mihman Nameh and Bukhara»), among others.

References to the Kazakhs can be found in Russian chronicles and other works of the 17th century («Short Siberian Chronicle», Stroganov and Esipov Chronicles, in the «Book of Great Drawing» and others) (Zhukov, 1965). Systematic study of the history of Kazakhstan began with its annexation to Russia. Since the Kazakhs did not have developed traditions of written information transmission, in the 16th to the first half of the 19th century, almost all historiography of Kazakhstan was represented by written works of people not belonging to the Kazakh ethnic group. The authors of such works were mainly Russian border officials and diplomats, as well as Muslim court chroniclers from neighboring Central Asian khanates (Masanov, N.E., Abylkhozhin, Zh. B. & Erofeeva, I.V., 2007).

The first historical references of Russian scientists about the Kazakhs were presented in the form of travel notes, diaries and travel reports (P. Pallas, I. Falk, I. Georgi). More profound and detailed studies on the history of the Kazakhs are given by the scientific works of I. Kirilov, P. Rychkov, A. Levshin, L. Meyer, M. Krasovsky and others. However, these works had many shortcomings and inaccuracies. Nevertheless, they represented a significant milestone in the quest to understand the history of the formation of the Kazakh ethnic group.

Representatives of the Russian administration operated on the principle that to govern a given territory effectively, one must have comprehensive knowledge of it. Scientific efforts to describe the Steppe region were also aimed at providing practical assistance to the Asian population – supporting the development of animal husbandry, fairs, the establishment of forests in the steppes, artesian wells, communication routes, and so forth (Tugay, 2012).

In the mid-19th century, the first Kazakh scholar, historian, orientalist, ethnographer, and traveler Chokan Valikhanov (1835—1865) began his activities, creating a number of works on the history and ethnography of the Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and Uyghurs. The prominent Kazakh enlightener Ibrahim Altynsarin (1841—1889) also engaged in the history and ethnography of the Kazakhs; he was the first Kazakh teacher and public figure, and the creator of the Kazakh alphabet (Kolcherin, 2010). However, before the October Revolution, historical science in Kazakhstan mainly focused on accumulating materials. It was only under Soviet rule that it experienced significant development.

Many scholars tend to assume that the ethnic history of the Kazakh people initially formed as a synthesis of two groups of ancient populations. One of them, which formed to the west of the Volga in the 3rd to 2nd millennium BC (later AD), became the predominant population of Kazakhstan and the Volga region. The initial period of its ethnic history is associated with the formation of Indo-European languages and the Caucasoid racial type. The other group of tribes had Central Asian origins; within them, Turkic languages and the Mongoloid racial type predominated. The history of interaction and fusion between both groups of the population over two to three thousand years is the process through which ethnic consolidation took place, and the proto-Kazakh and related ethnic communities were formed. It was from within their midst in the second millennium AD that the Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Karakalpak, Uzbek, and other peoples emerged (Klyashtorny, S.G. & Sultanov, T.I., 1992).

The ancient roots of the material culture and anthropological type of the Kazakhs can be archaeologically traced back to the tribes of the Bronze Age (from the mid-2nd millennium BC to the 9th-8th centuries BC), who inhabited the territory of present-day Kazakhstan. This period is referred to as the Andronovo culture. The tribes of that time engaged in pastoral animal husbandry, hoe-based agriculture, hunting, and fishing. These groups were also familiar with bronze metallurgy; they produced axes, knives, daggers, chisels, and arrowheads.

In the later stages of the Bronze Age, the process of the emergence of pastoral tribes began. By the middle of the 1st millennium BC, most of the steppe alliances had transitioned to nomadic pastoralism, which defined the economic activities of the Kazakhs for millennia. These tribes, who inhabited what is now Kazakhstan, were referred to as “Asian Scythians’ by the Greek historian and traveler Strabo (c. 64—63BC- c. 23—24AD). In ancient cuneiform texts, they are collectively called the Saka. The Saka tribes engaged in nomadic pastoralism and irrigated agriculture, and had trade and cultural ties with neighboring tribes and peoples. The leadership of the Saka tribal confederation was held by chiefs chosen at general councils. They distinguished themselves from the majority of their fellow tribesmen by their social and property status (Agapov, P. & Kadyrbaev, M., 1979).

The Saka were subordinated to the tribal unions of the Alans, Kangju and the Wusuns in the 3rd-2nd centuries BC. The Kangju lived in the areas of Karatau and the middle course of the Syr Darya. The Alans in the first centuries AD were located to the west of the Aral Sea, and also influenced the ethnogenesis of the Kazakhs.

In Semirechye, the Wusuns migrated under pressure from the steppe people of the Syunnu, overcoming the Sayan-Altaic highlands and the Irtysh River below Lake Zaysan. The Wusuns occupied a vast territory in Semirechye, stretching from the Chu River to the Tian Shan Mountains, and from Lake Balkhash to Lake Issyk-Kul. The Wusun tribal confederation existed from the 2nd century BC until the 4th century AD, more precisely until its incorporation into the Turkic Khaganate. According to Chinese sources, the population of this entity numbered 120,000 yurts (families), totaling 630,000 souls, with a military force of up to 183,000 soldiers. The Wusun tribes maintained close economic, political, and cultural ties with China, Mawarannahr, and the Volga region. The Great Silk Road passed through Wusun lands. Among the Kazakhs of the Senior Zhuz, the Kyrgyz of the Issyk-Kul basin, and some Uzbeks, clan ethnonyms such as «Sary-Uysun,» «Uyshun,» and others have been preserved, indicating the possible participation of the Wusuns in the ethnogenesis of these peoples (Semenov, 2010).

In the mid-6th century AD, part of the modern territory of Kazakhstan was included in the Turkic Khaganate. However, by the end of the 6th century, the western part broke away from it, and the Western Turkic Khaganate was formed in Semirechye. At the same time, tribes that came from the East (Turgesh, Tele, Karluk, etc.) settled on the territory of Kazakhstan. In the 7th century AD, two principalities were formed in Semirechye: Dulu (to the east of the Chu River) and Nushebi (to the west of the Chu River), which were politically dependent on the Eastern Turkic Khaganate until the beginning of the 8th century AD.

Subsequently, various short-lived confederations emerged in different regions of Kazakhstan, comprising local nomadic groups as well as some sedentary Turkic-speaking tribes. Thus, throughout the 8th century, the Turgesh Khaganate existed in Semirechye, which was later succeeded by the Karluk Khaganate, lasting until the mid-10th century.

However, as early as the 9th to 10th centuries, confederations of the Oghuz were established, and by the end of the 10th century, the Karakhanid state emerged. Between the 8th and 11th centuries, confederations of the Kimaks and Kipchaks also appeared. The territory of the Oghuz served as a transit route for trade caravans traveling to Mawarannahr, Iran, China, the Caucasus, and the Volga region. The Oghuz Khaganate maintained relations with Rus’. The Kimaks and Kipchaks occupied vast steppe territories of present-day Kazakhstan, known as the Eastern Desht-i-Kipchak.

The rise of the Karakhanid state in the 10th to 12th centuries contributed to the ethnic consolidation of the local tribes. However, this state proved unstable, as internecine conflicts among various feudal factions intensified.

In the early 12th century, the territory of Kazakhstan was subjected to invasions by the Khitans (Karakhitai), which led to the final disintegration of the Karakhanid state (The Karakhanid state was a medieval state in Central Asia. After the defeat of the Uyghur Khaganate in 840, a descendant of the noble Edgish clan, which was part of the Chigil tribe, the Karluk yabgu and ruler of Isfidzhab Bilge- Kul, who had the nickname «Kara» («Black»), openly declared his rights to supreme power and adopted the title of «khan». It is possible that the Karakhanid clan originated from this moment. The names accepted in literature (Karakhanids, less often ileks) are conventional and were constructed by historians of the 19th century from two common titles: kara-kagan and ilek). Having penetrated the region of Semirechye in the 1130s, the Khitans established the Karakitai state in Central Asia, encompassing Semirechye and Southern Kazakhstan. Subsequently, the Karakitai intermingled with the indigenous Turkic-speaking population. Their rule was also precarious and persisted until the Mongol invasions.

Following a brief period of Karakitai dominance, Kazakhstan was subdued by the Mongols and incorporated into the Golden Horde. These events occurred between 1219 and 1221, resulting in the division of the territory of the Kazakh state among Genghis Khan’s sons.

After the disintegration of the Golden Horde, the territory of modern Kazakhstan was part of the White Horde (Ak-Orda) and Moghulistan. In the early 15th century, the White Horde fragmented into several principalities, among which the largest were the Nogai Horde and the Uzbek Khanate (Uzbek ulus). The territory of the Nogai Horde covered the area between the Yaik (Ural) and Volga rivers (The Yaik River (Kazakh: Zhaiyk) after the peasant uprising led by E. Pugachev was renamed Ural by decree of Catherine II), while the Uzbek Khanate extended from the Aral Sea to the Yaik River in the west, Tobol in the north, and Irtysh in the east. Ethnically, the populations of both khanates were nearly identical. They were Turkic-speaking tribes (Kipchaks, Argyns, Karluks, Kanglys, Naimans, etc.) and parts of Mongolic-speaking groups, mixed with the local population.

The consolidation of the Kazakh nationality was facilitated by the migration caused by internal conflicts in the Uzbek khanate, which from the mid-15th century led a significant part of all tribes from the Southeast to the territories of Moghulistan. The tribes that left the Abulkhair khanate to the west of Moghulistan were led by Janibek and Girey, which contributed to the unification of tribes into the Kazakh Khanate. Semirechye, reviving after Mongol domination, became the center of the Kazakh tribes. At the same time, Uzbek tribes led by Sheibani Khan left Desht-i-Kipchak for the agricultural regions of Central Asia. The formation of the Kazakh Khanate marked the completion of the formation of the Kazakh nationality, the main components of which were the local tribes that existed in the territory of Kazakhstan.

Initially, the population of this region was referred to as Uzbeks, Kazakhs, and often Uzbek-Kazakhs. The term Kazakh began to be applied to the entire population of the steppes that had previously been part of the Uzbek Khanate from the 1930s of the 16th century onward, and to the areas located to the east of it. In the mid-16th century, the ethnic composition of the Kazakhs was supplemented by tribes that had migrated from beyond the Ural Mountains after the collapse of the Nogai Khanate, and by clan groups from Siberia and Eastern Semirechye.

The newly formed Kazakh Khanate was strengthened under Khan Kasym (1455—1523), the son of one of the founders of the Kazakh Khanate, Janibek. Under Kasym’s leadership, the Khanate expanded, strengthened its position, and established control over vast territories of Eastern Desht-i-Kipchak. Following the disintegration of the Nogai Horde, and later the Moghulistan and Siberian Khanates, Kazakh clans that had previously been part of these states united with the core population of their people. During this period, reports of the growing influence of the Kazakh Khanate reached the Russian monarchs, and chronicles of the time began to mention the Kazakhs under the names Kaisaks or Kyrgyz-Kaisaks. Under the reign of Grand Prince Vasily III, the Grand Duchy of Moscow established diplomatic relations with the Kazakh Khanate (Klyashtorny, S.G. & Sultanov, T.I., 1992). In the struggle against the Golden Horde, Ivan III repeatedly sought the support of the Kazakh Khans (Bekmakhanov, 1957).

After the death of Kasym Khan, his son Mamash ascended to the throne, but he soon perished in battle, suffocated by the weight of his armor. Following Mamash’s death, internecine strife and internal discord escalated within the Kazakh Khanate. In 1523—1524, Tahir Sultan was proclaimed khan. The domestic and foreign policies he pursued proved disastrous for the Khanate and for Tahir himself. Rejected by his own people, he retreated to the Kyrgyz, where he died in impoverished conditions around 1531—1532. The rise of the Kazakh Khanate at the beginning of the 16th century was thus followed by years of hardship and turmoil.

Among the Kazakh sultans of those years who held the title of khan approximately at the same time, researchers point to Ahmad Khan and Tugum Khan. Tugum Khan was the son of Jadik Sultan, and Jadik himself was the fourth son of Janibek Khan, one of the founders of the Kazakh Khanate. Historians suggest that Tugum Khan died around 1537—38 in the Chagat region. Along with him fell 37 Kazakh sultans – all descendants of Tugum Khan (Klyashtorny, S.G. & Sultanov, T.I., 1992).

After the death of Tugum Khan, Khak-Nazar (Ak-nazar), the son of Kasym, ascended to the throne of the Kazakh Khanate. Under his rule, the power of the Kazakh people was restored. As researchers note, in the 1550s, the Kazakh Khanate experienced a revival in domestic and foreign policy under the leadership of Khak-Nazar, whose reign lasted more than 30 years. During this period, the borders of the Russian state approached, having conquered the Kazan, Astrakhan and Siberian khanates.

During the period from 1580 to 1582, the head of the Kazakh Khanate was Shigay, the son of Jadik Sultan. Shigay’s son, Taukhel (his year of birth is unknown; he died in 1598), in 1586 seized cities in Turkestan. Kazakh Khan Tauekel was one of the first Kazakh khans to initiate negotiations with Russia. Seeking to recover his nephew Uraz-Muhammad, who had been taken hostage (Amanat is something given for safekeeping, both immaterial (language, culture) and material (things, real estate). Khans could present their sons as amanats) by the Russians, Taukhel sent envoys to Moscow in 1594 (Brockhaus, 1895). As part of this visit, the Kazakhs aimed to establish diplomatic relations with Russia with the goal of forming a military alliance. Additionally, their mission included conveying to Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich a number of interesting details about the state of the Kazakh Khanate under Taukhel’s rule.

In the period from 1598 to 1628, Ishim, the son of Shigay, an accomplished diplomat, ruled the Kazakh Khanate. In 1598, he made peace with Bukhara and ended a long struggle for territories. Now the Kazakhs have the Turkestan cities: Tashkent (for 200 years) and Fergana (Fergana is a city located in the southern part of the Fergana Valley. Modern Uzbekistan). At the same time, Khan Ishim renounced Samarkand and Bukhara.

After the death of Khan Ishim, internal conflicts resumed within the Kazakh Khanate. Ultimately, Ishim’s son, Zhangir (1635—1652), was proclaimed khan. During his reign, the internal stability of the Kazakh steppe was highly unstable. The southern cities experienced decline. The khanate fragmented, feudal strife intensified, and Dzungar raids began (Mukhidinova, 2015).

A clear representation of the genealogical connections of the Kazakh khans is presented in Ch. Valikhanov’s work «Genealogical Tree of the Kaisak Khans and Sultans» (Valikhanov, 1964).

Thus, the developmental period of the Kazakh Khanate, beginning with the separation of Janibek and Girey and extending up to the 17th century, was marked by a gradual political strengthening and territorial expansion. The consolidation of the Kazakh state’s power and its rulers at this stage facilitated its entry into diplomatic relations with other countries. Information about the Kazakh Khanate had already reached the Moscow state, and their rulers established political ties. However, emerging internal conflicts and civil strife hindered the further strengthening of Kazakhstan’s external position.

Kazakhstan in the 17th – 19th centuries and its annexation to the Russian Empire

Since the time when the Kazakh Khanate controlled Tashkent and Turkestan (in the 12th century – Yassy), the khans resided in Tashkent until 1723. This period marks the second era of the Kazakh state’s power. By this time, historians believe, the Kazakh tribes had already been united into three zhuzes: the Senior Zhuz (in Semirechye), the Middle Zhuz (in the Syr Darya region, as well as Northern, Eastern, and Central Kazakhstan), and the Junior Zhuz (in Western Kazakhstan) (Semenov, 1865). In the 17th century, these zhuzes formed independent khanates.

The Senior Zhuz, located to the east of the Middle Zhuz to the Alatau Mountains, was formed by the Jalayir, Dulat, Alban, and other tribes. The Middle Zhuz was made up of the Naiman, Kerei, Argyn, Kipchak, Konrat, and Uak tribes. The Junior Zhuz, stretching west from the Middle Zhuz to the Ural Mountains, included the generations of the Alimuly, Baiuly, and Jetiru (Brockhaus, 1895).

Overall, the power of the Kazakh khans grew until the end of the 17th century, largely thanks to Khan Tauke (c. 1652—1718), the son of Zhangir. The reign of Khan Tauke is called the «Golden Age,» a period when destructive feudal conflicts ceased. It was an era of relative legal supremacy, economic development, and flourishing trade. Khan Tauke was the last khan of Kazakhstan as a unified and independent state. He was a strong ruler whose authority extended over all three zhuzes, reconciling them with one another. After Tauke Khan’s death, the zhuzes transformed into independent khanates, which, however, did not have distinct names. Each khan referred to himself as the Khan of the Ulu Zhuz (Senior Zhuz), the Khan of the Orta Zhuz (Middle Zhuz), or the Khan of the Kishi Zhuz (Junior Zhuz). This period marks the end of the history of the Kazakh Khanate and the beginning of the history of the Kazakh khanates.