Sultanov B.K. Kazakhstan Today

Подождите немного. Документ загружается.

20 21

The state takes into account the multiethnic nature of the country’s

population. With the aim of strengthening social stability and inter-

ethnic accord in the country, the Assembly of Kazakhstan’s Peoples

[sic] was set up as an advisory body under the Kazakh president in

1995.

The assembly aims to draft practical recommendations to

consolidate society based on assessment of events and forecasts of

the political situation in the country. As a result of joint efforts by

government agencies and the Assembly of Kazakhstan’s People the

state of interethnic relations is stable and has favourable dynamics.

Kazakhstan has for a long time distinguished itself because of

the peaceful coexistence of many different ethnic groups practising

various religions – Tengrianism, Zoroastrism, Buddhism, Christian-

ity, Judaism and Islam, and in modern history, after the break-up of

the USSR, Kazakhstan has become one of the few new independent

countries to develop steadily and without conﬂ ict.

Kazakhstan, as a multicultural country, now acts as a bridge be-

tween East and West. There are about 3,500 religious organisations,

representing 46 denominations.

The role and place of religion have signiﬁ cantly changed in modern

Kazakh society. In Kazakhstan, like in the entire world, religion is playing

an increasingly noticeable role, and this speciﬁ cally concerns socio-politi-

cal processes. It is through religion that a signiﬁ cant part of the population

is trying to revive traditional values and fundamental morals.

The role and place of religion are also changing in the system

of social relations, which is why a constructive dialogue between

denominations is one of the main ways to achieve stability – both in

the country and in the world.

The third Congress of World and Traditional Religions was held

in Astana in July 2009. Kazakhstan is an ideal place for this type of

meeting because interethnic and inter-religious accord has always

received particular attention here.

Important decisions aimed at ensuring the peaceful and stable

development of Kazakhstan were the closure of the Semipalatinsk

nuclear testing ground and the declaration of the country’s territory as a

nuclear-free zone. Over 40 years (1949-1989) 450 atmospheric, ground

and underground tests had been carried out, which have contaminated

the ground over a considerable area and caused irreparable damage to

the lives and health of almost half a million Kazakh citizens.

Kazakhstan, which obtained independence in December 1991, in-

herited the world’s fourth largest nuclear arsenal, one which exceeded

those of Britain, France and China combined.

This historical step has become a great contribution by Kazakhstan

to the global process of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation,

the signiﬁ cance of which is acquiring increasingly immense topicality.

Since then Kazakhstan has fully freed itself from the entire nuclear

arsenal and destroyed the entire auxiliary infrastructure such as

launching silos and test tunnels at the site. Having voluntarily given

up nuclear weapons and built peaceful relations with the rest of the

world, Kazakhstan has ensured favourable conditions for its economic

development and prosperity.

Another major facility of strategic importance Kazakhstan inher-

ited form the USSR was the world-famous Baikonur space launching

site, which was a symbol of the Soviet Union’s geopolitical power.

All types of Soviet-made booster rockets have been launched from

this cosmodrome. Baikonur is one of the world’s three space launch-

ing facilities, along with the ones on Cape Canaveral (the USA) and

Jiuquan (China), which are designed to launch manned spacecraft. It

was Baikonur that sent the ﬁ rst satellite and the ﬁ rst man into space;

it also launched the manned spacecraft Vostok, Voskhod and Soyuz

and orbital stations Salyut and Mir, as well as the Energiya-Buran

space system and interplanetary space apparatuses.

The cosmodrome experienced a critical period in 1991-1993 after

the break-up of the USSR. The situation was resolved in the follow-

ing way: the cosmodrome, along with the town of Leninsk (renamed

Baikonyr in December 1995) was leased out to Russia in 1994. The

annual rent is $115m, which is paid in kind with military and other

vehicles and equipment. A further $50m per year is provided for

maintaining infrastructure.

Plans to build Kazakhstan’s Baiterek space launching facility

at Baikonur were announced in late 2004. It is expected that it will

In 2007 it was renamed the Assembly of Kazakhstan’s People.

Kazakhstan today

22 23

launch commercial satellites with Angara rocket boosters. Russia and

Kazakhstan will operate the new facility on a parity basis.

Baikonur today is still a complex system, designed to launch

spacecraft and ballistic objects. This base, serviced by space troops,

launches practically all the newest spacecraft that are designed in

Russia.

The greatest value of Baikonur for Russia and global space sci-

ence is that only this cosmodrome is capable of launching manned

spacecraft and heavy Proton rockets, which have to bear the main

workload of commercial launches now.

The space launching site covers an area of 6,717 sq km. A total

of 80,000 people live at the cosmodrome, half of them are Kazakh

citizens who service it and its infrastructure.

Kazakhstan is now an example of successful development among

post-Soviet countries. The former Kazakh SSR was replaced by a

rapidly modernising country which has established itself as a sover-

eign state and an equal member of the international community in its

years of independence. Kazakhstan is a leader in terms of economic

growth not only among CIS countries, but also all countries with

transitional economies.

Because of its geopolitical location, energy resources, weighed

and balanced foreign policy, modern Kazakhstan acts as a stabilis-

ing factor in the Central Asian region and serves as a catalyst for its

further development.

References

1. Большой Атлас истории и культуры Казахстана / Гл. рук.

проекта – А.Ш. Бимендиев; гл. ред. – К.М. Байпаков (пред.) и др.;

научн. ред. – К. З. Ускенбай. – Алматы: АО «АБДИ Компани»,

2008. – 880 с.

2. Морозов А. А. Казахстан за годы независимости / Под

общ. ред. Б.К. Султанова. Научно-популярное издание. – Алматы:

КИСИ при Президенте РК, 2005. – 236 с.

3. http://www.materik.ru

CHAPTER 1. THE HISTORY OF KAZAKH STATEHOOD

1.1. Kazakhstan before the 15

Century

People settled in Kazakhstan’s territory about one million years ago

in the Upper Palaeolithic Age, and this has been proven by the excava-

tion of cavemen encampments: Borykazgan and Tanirkazgan in the

Karatau Mountains; Kudaikol, Zhaman-Aibat, Obalysai, Ogiz-Tau,

Ulken Ak Maya in central Kazakhstan; Arystandy and Karaungur in

south Kazakhstan; Onezhek in Mangistau Oblast; Kanai, Svinchatka,

Peshchera and Novo-Nikolskoye in eastern Kazakhstan; Shatpakol,

Shoshdaul, Kyz-Yemshek, Kainar, Zhylan-Kaban, Koi-Kara, Saryka-

mys, Shayandy in Atyrau Oblast and other camps.

During this period economic activity was about consuming readily

available natural products – cavemen collected wild crops, fruit and

berries and hunted wild animals.

Kazakhstan today

24 25

Hunting inﬂ uenced the humans’ outlook on the world – a cult of

hunting magic emerged and it was based on a belief in establishing

power over animals by obtaining their image or symbol – so-called

totemism. The main primitive arts were the painting of animals, carv-

ing and primitive sculptural arts.

Preserved and examined monuments of the Palaeolithic Age make

it possible to conclude that proto-Kazakh territory (i.e. the territory

of present-day Kazakhstan) was part of a zone of formation and de-

velopment of humans since the early Palaeolithic Age.

The Palaeolithic Age was replaced with the Mesolithic Age and

later with the Neolithic Age. At that time crop farming and animal

husbandry developed and people made the ﬁ rst bows and arrows to

make hunting easier.

Socially, the Neolithic Age was a period of tribal communities

and the supremacy of collective labour and common ownership of

production tools. In addition, this was the time of greater forms of

societal organisation: formations of tribes or tribal unions, which, in

turn, consisted of several tribal communities united by blood relation-

ship and the homogenous nature of economic activity.

There are currently over 500 known Neolithic monuments in

Kazakhstan; the brightest and most interesting of these are the Kul

Sary camp in western Kazakhstan and Kyzyl-Su in the country’s east.

Neolithic tribes of Kazakhstan, preserving their speciﬁ cs and distinc-

tive cultural traditions, developed in close interaction with tribes of

neighbouring regions.

The period that followed was the Eneolithic Age – copper-stone

age, which started the switch from the use of stone to the use of

metal. The adoption of copper tools of labour gave an impetus to

the development of crop farming and animal husbandry, which, as a

result, gradually replaced hunting and collection. Thus, the consuming

economic formation was replaced with a producing one. The basics

of mining, sowing and ceramic production were then founded. The

sophistication of activity led to further evolution of the social forma-

tion – tribes started uniting into tribal unions.

Among the Eneolithic monuments discovered in Kazakhstan,

researchers single out the monuments from the Botai culture, which

received its name from the Botai railway station in Akmola Oblast

and are dated back to the third to second millennia BC.

Excavations unearthed traces of 158 units of housing. Examina-

tion showed that these were buildings from the last period of the

settlement’s existence. Archaeologists discovered tools made of dif-

ferent types of rocks, clay and bones.

Functional deﬁ nitions showed the sophisticated economic mode

of the population. For example, bone elements of bridles and hopple

clasps pointed to the beginning of domestication of horses; stone

clubs, knives, daggers, arrow-heads, darts and spears were linked

to hunting; harpoons pointed to ﬁ shing. The existence of tools to

process and polish skins, needles, pricks and pierces described the

sophisticated nature of the economic life of representatives of the

Botai culture.

Bronze was invented on the Eurasian steppes at the turn of the

second to ﬁ rst millennia BC. Ancient people managed – through add-

ing tin to copper – to make metal articles much stronger.

Tribes that inhabited Kazakhstan’s territory in the Bronze Age

left archaeological monuments (settlements, burial grounds, mines

and petroglyphs) which belong to the Andronian culture (the name

was derived from the place of the ﬁ rst excavations of a burial ground

outside the village of Andronovo near the town of Achinsk in southern

Siberia). Archaeologist Mikhail Gryaznov discovered similar burial

grounds in western Kazakhstan. Later Andronian monuments were

also found in southern and southeastern Kazakhstan and other parts

of Central Asia.

Representatives of the Andronian culture are related by origin,

economic activity, language and culture tribes and tribal unions.

Studies of Andronian artefacts led to the conclusion that most of

their settlements had been built along river banks. Grain grinders,

rectangular and round pestles for crushing and milling grain, sickles

and stone hoes were found in all settlements.

Animal husbandry played a considerable part in the lives of

Andronians. Animals produced food, wool, leather, bones for items

and dung fuel. The main products were meat and milk and the main

animals were sheep, cows and horses.

Kazakhstan today

Chapter 1. The History of Kazakh Statehood

26 27

Andronians often roamed when pastures around their settlements

became exhausted. Later, in the 15

century BC, they developed the

drive-to-range form of animal husbandry, i.e. shepherds drove animals

to remote pastures and drove them back only in autumn.

The chief ethnographic features of the culture that distinguished

the Andronian population from others are burial grounds in form of

stone fences of different shapes: rectangular, round or oval.

Another distinctive trait of the Andronians was the production of

metal jewellery – earrings, pendants and pieces for head-dresses.

Andronian monuments have been found and studied almost in all

regions of Kazakhstan. In western Kazakhstan the Kirgeldy burial

ground and the settlement of Tasty-Butak were studied; in central

Kazakhstan the Bylkyldyk, Karasai, Temir-Astau, Karabiye, Yelshi-

bek, Balasar, Aksu-Ayuly, Tegibai-Bulak, Buguly, Bota, Akshatau

and Aishrak burial mounds and settlements; in eastern Kazakhstan

the Kanai, Sarykol and Koitas mounds; in northern Kazakhstan

– Borovoye, Alekseyevskoye and Yeﬁ movskoye; in southern and

southeastern Kazakhstan the Tamgaly, and Karakuduk burial grounds

and settlements and the Tegisken mausoleums.

Today a very well-known tourism site is the Tamgaly petroglyphs.

The Tamgaly forge is located 170 km north of Almaty. Archaeologists

believe the gorge was home to a sanctuary for one of the Andronian

tribes. The preserved artefacts are images of sun-headed gods, deco-

rated warriors, grooms and brides, women delivering and multi-ﬁ gure

compositions depicting human beings and animals, scenes of hunting

animals and sacriﬁ cing bulls that had been chiselled on smooth rock

surfaces. Compositions depicting chariots are very rare, while solar

signs are widespread.

Most petroglyphs were painted in the Bronze Age. Pictures

painted in the Sak “animal” style, are mainly separate from much

earlier petroglyphs, but in some cases they complement and even

overlap them.

Apart from petroglyphs, a great number of burial grounds were

discovered at Tamgaly: stone burial boxes of the Middle and Late

Bronze Age, earth mounds and stones dated between the Early Iron

Age and the present age.

Thus, in the Bronze Age of the development of humankind tre-

mendous changes took place in the territory of Kazakhstan. Archaic

forms of economic activity and everyday life of the Neolithic Age

were replaced with crop farming and animal husbandry, temporary

camps with settlements, stone and silicon instruments with high-qual-

ity items of alloys of different metals. Bronze Age tribes developed

distinctive cultures which became the basis of the culture of early

nomads of the Iron Age.

At the beginning of the Bronze Age, in the ﬁ rst millennium BC,

the population of present-day Kazakhstan switched to a nomadic

lifestyle. Tribal unions emerged at that time, and the primitive com-

munal society started decaying. Information about tribes and tribal

unions that inhabited Kazakhstan dates back to the middle of the ﬁ rst

millennium BC.

According to ancient Persian sources, they bore the name of Saks

and occupied Zhetysu (or Semirechiye in southeastern Kazakhstan,

northern Kyrgyzstan and western China) and the basin of the Syr

Darya River; Sauromats inhabited northwestern Kazakhstan, while

Caspians lived on the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea. These tribes

were involved in animal husbandry and crop farming.

It was approximately at that time that states such as Sogd and

Bactria existed in the southwest of the region with a signiﬁ cant level

of culture for the time. In the late fourth-early third centuries BC new

tribes of Uisuns formed in the territory of present-day Kazakhstan

between Lake Balkhash and the foothills of the Tien Shan Moun-

tains, Kangyui in the foothills of the Karatau Mountains and Alans,

descendants of Sauromats, settled in the western steppes of modern

Kazakhstan.

In the ﬁ rst half of the ﬁ rst millennium BC the primitive formation

decayed in these areas and, in the sixth century, it was replaced with

the feudal formation that existed for over 1,500 years. The Great

Silk Road, which cut through modern-day Kazakhstan and linked

China with Byzantium, played a crucial role in the development of

the region. The chief commodity was silk fabrics. As a result, many

towns emerged along the northern path of the route in the basin of

the Syr Darya River.

Kazakhstan today

Chapter 1. The History of Kazakh Statehood

28 29

Perhaps the best known ancient town is Otrar, which was located at

the conﬂ uence of two rivers – the Arys and the Syr Darya. This place

is called the Otrar Oasis, the ancient names of which are Turband,

Turarband and Turar.

The oasis is now located in South Kazakhstan Oblast’s Otrar

District. To the west it is constrained by the Kyzylkum desert, which

covers an area between the two rivers – the Syr Darya and the Amu

Darya. The Syr Darya’s right bank, which is part of the oasis, is a

plain yet slightly hilly steppe covered with monotonous ﬂ ora. It ends

at the foothills of the Karatau range.

The Otrar Oasis has always occupied a convenient strategic

position in southern Kazakhstan. The Great Silk Road ran through

Otrar, which is why almost all mediaeval Arab and Persian authors

mention it.

Otrar was located at the junction of various geographical land-

scapes and was a trade and transport hub at the time because south-

bound routes along the Syr Darya (to Shash, Sogd and further to

Merv, Nishapur and Rey) and north- and west-bound routes – through

Khorezm (to the Aral Sea region, the Volga region, the Black Sea

region and the Caucasus) intersected there.

Kazakh scientists have been conducting archaeological research

and excavations in the Otrar Oasis since 1969. The ancient towns of

Otrar, Kuiruktobe, Kok-Mardan, Altyntobe and Mardan-Kuik have

been excavated. The town quarters of the 16

-18

, 14

-15

and 11

and 12

centuries; a potters’ quarter from the 13

-14

centuries;

baths from the 13

-15

centuries; a brick workshop from the 13

-14

centuries and a mosque and palace from the late 14

-15

centuries

were unearthed in Otrar.

The juma mosque of the late 14

-early 15

centuries was an in-

teresting building in Otrar. Its construction was linked to Tamerlane,

who ordered the construction of the mausoleum to Hajji Ahmed Yas-

saui in Turkestan and the mausoleum to Arystan Baba in the Otrar

Oasis in Kazakhstan.

No less famous was the town of Sygnak. It was ﬁ rst mentioned

in sources in the 10

century. In the 12

century Sygnak became the

capital of the state of Kypchaks.

The 13

century historian Juvayni described the destruction of the

town by the Mongols in 1219 for showing resistance. He wrote that

Jochi, moving downstream along the Syr Darya, conquered one town

after another. Jochi was accompanied by two local traders – Hasan

Hajji and Ali Hajji. Hasan Hajji was sent to Sygnak to persuade its

residents to surrender. However, the residents killed the trader and

offered resistance to the invaders. Only after seven days of attack

was Sygnak captured and its disobedient population massacred com-

pletely. Life in Syr Darya towns, many of which remained in ruins,

was suspended for a long time.

In the middle of the 13

century, Sygnak, which was listed as

Sgnakh, was visited by Armenian King Hethum I and the town was

mentioned once. In the second half of the 14

century the town became

the capital of the White Horde. Sygnak was ruled by khans – Erzen,

his son Mubarek Hajji, Urus Khan and Tokhtamysh. It had a mint

and a construction boom.

After the failed ﬁ ght of Tokhtamysh against Tamerlane the town

was captured by Tamerlane’s grandson – Ulugbek, who tried to gain

a foothold on the Syr Darya, but in 1423 he encountered a defeat and

was pushed back to the south by troops of Barak Khan, a grandson

of Urus Khan.

Sygnak, located on the border with the always boiling and restless

steppe, occupied a strategic place. One could only rule the steppe

when one controlled Sygnak and the fertile plains cultivated by the

farmers, around it.

In the 14

-18

centuries Sygnak belonged to Kazakhs and was

the largest town in the lower streams of the Syr Darya. Trade was

active in noisy eastern markets and the environs were cultivated and

watered by canals that took water from the Syr Darya – Ordakent,

Kyzyltal, Buzgul-Uzyak, Tyumen-Aryk and others. The best bows

and arrows supplied by nomads were very popular, which meant that

they could buy grain, fabrics and luxury items.

Around the ruins of the town there is now a dry steppe, covered

with saxaul and thorny bushes. Low-rise hillocks with the ruins of

brick buildings and tiles point to the remnants of the architectural

constructions which must have been in abundance around Sygnak.

Kazakhstan today

Chapter 1. The History of Kazakh Statehood

30 31

The town of Taraz, which occupied an important place on the

Great Silk Road, exists and prospers to this day.

The history of the emergence of Taraz is a very ancient one and

is intertwined with the histories of the major tribal unions of Saks,

Uisuns, Kanlys and Alans who inhabited in large tracts of Kazakh-

stan.

The ﬁ rst references to the town were made in the sixth-seventh

centuries: in 568 Byzantine envoy Zemarch, on his way to Turkic

Kagan Dizabul, mentioned Taraz, and Buddhist pilgrim Suan Jian,

who crossed Zhetysu in 630, described some towns in this region,

including Taraz.

It is conventionally believed that Taraz was founded in 568 when

it was ﬁ rst mentioned in Greek written sources. The emergence of the

town was helped by favourable conditions – a relatively mild climate,

fertile soil, rich pastures of its environs, which attracted many peace-

ful animal herders and tillers.

Archaeologists believe that the ancient Taraz consisted of the

traditional parts of Central Asian towns: a citadel and a shahristan

(the centre of town).

The ruler of the town lived in the citadel with the walls stretch-

ing 145 and 113 metres – he possessed the entire oasis. The citadel

housed treasures, weapons and stockpiles of goods owned by the ruler,

nobility and traders. The citadel also minted copper coins from the

eighth century and, later, bronze coins.

In the eastern part of the shahristan archaeologists discovered a

“lock” of gates overlooking the Talas River. Arab geographer Makdisi

observed that the chief gate of the shahristan had been the eastern gate.

The shahristan represented a rectangular site oriented to all cardinal

points. The eastern side stretched for 390 metres, the northern for 360

metres; total area was about 14 ha.

Excavations discovered a pipeline, pre-gate buildings, fort walls

and many other facilities. The most amazing fact is that excavations

unearthed ﬁ ve cultural layers of the town and each of them produced

many ﬁ nds (samples of ceramic items of different shapes), proving

the high level of production. It is worth noting that the third layer

produced many Tyurgesh and Muslim coins.

The most ancient lawyer of Taraz is the ﬁ fth – the poorest in terms

of ﬁ nds. However, wells and holes were discovered in several places

and many ﬁ nds were unearthed in them – the handle of a burial sar-

cophagus in a form of monkey head, a statue of a horse with a saddle

and the entire harness, items with handles in forms of bird heads and

tile pipes with a length of 45 to 70 cm and a diameter of 21 to 23 cm,

with a total length of 12 metres, were found in these.

Studies of the water pipeline showed that the town was supplied

water in three ways: ﬁ rstly, water was supplied directly from the Talas

River (it used to ﬂ ow nearby town walls); secondly, from irrigation

ditches and wells (excavations showed that these were numerous);

thirdly, from a water pipeline.

One of the major discoveries was the location of an ancient temple.

Historical sources tell us that it used to be a church which Ismail ibn

Ahmed later turned into a mosque.

One of the most interesting facilities of the town is a mediaeval

bath, located at the northeastern corner of the citadel. A rectangular

shape, it consisted of ﬁ ve rooms and was decorated with frescoes. In

some rooms paintings covered the whole wall. The element of the

paintings is a geometrical ornament: octagon stars linked via crosses,

octagons and trefoils of red, black and yellow colours.

Within the walls there were heat-transmitting pipes laid under

the ﬂ oor and walls which evenly heated the entire premises. Water

buckets and a bath were found in the rooms. This sort of heating

was popular and was used in the time at Uzbeks baths in Bukhara,

Samarkand and other Central Asian towns. People entered the bath

from the north. A ﬂ oor was preserved from it as it was made of square

tiles of burnt clay.

Archaeological excavations discovered the artisans’ quarter in an-

cient Taraz. A building with an original ceramic stove was preserved

inside a clay-wall building. It had a cupola-shape form and walls (5-6

cm wide) of burnt bricks made of crosshatched walls. The stove was

about one metre in diameter and 40 cm tall. The stove was similar to

tandoori used now to bake ﬂ at bread.

Judging by the tandoori and its relatively small size and its com-

plicated conﬁ guration (double walls and air-pumping pipe), the stove

Kazakhstan today

Chapter 1. The History of Kazakh Statehood

32 33

was used to bake spherical and conical containers. This demanded

high temperatures. Not far from the stove, within the building, several

of these containers (not decorated) were discovered.

During excavations a great number of irrigation and household

ceramic items were found, which were usually of good quality and

had good burning. Most watering vessels, such as plates, bowls and

pialas had, along with geometrical ornaments, Arabic writings – ex-

cerpts from the Koran or prayers to God.

A vessel of Sogdian type with a glossy surface decorated with

big ornaments reminiscent of narcissus ﬂ owers looking down was

also found.

The numerous ﬁ nds show that at the time Taraz was a major trade

and cultural centre of the Talas valley with busy, noisy bazaars, shady

gardens and magniﬁ cent mosques. Little craft workshops produced

household items, unique and original. These items were popular in

regions far away from Taraz.

Taraz, like other towns, decayed at the beginning of the 12

century

as a result of the Genghis Khan invasion.

The town is linked to a tragic event known as the Otrar catastrophe

when Genghis Khan sent a trade caravan of several hundreds of camels

loaded with leather, jewellery, furs, silver and gold accompanied by

450 people in summer 1218 to Otrar. “Otrar ruler Kypchak Kayir-

Khan Inalchik suspected traders of spying and ordered their killing,

and robbed their caravan. Genghis Khan through his envoys demanded

the extradition of Kaiyr Khan, but in response his envoys were killed”

[1, p 55]. Genghis Khan could not forgive such an impudent move

and took his troops to wage a war against Central Asia.

It seems that Genghis Khan paid particular attention to his assaults

against Muslim countries. He seemed to collect information from

Muslim traders and defectors about the internal situation and military

power of the state of Khorezmshah.

In September 1219 Genghis Khan started his campaign. His army

was made up of 150,000 troops, including 111,000 Mongols and oth-

ers were soldiers of Genghis Khan’s vassals – Uighurs and Karluks.

The route of the Mongol army’s advancement to Maverannahr lied

through the Irtysh River and densely-populated and economically

most developed parts of Kazakhstan – through Zhetysu to towns

along the Syr Darya.

The population of present-day southern Kazakhstan was ﬁ rst to

face the Mongol invaders and they offered resolute resistance. The

Mongols staged en-masse terror and violence and destroyed whole

regions and many towns.

Arabic and Persian sources listed about 30 towns in different

regions where the population was fully massacred by the Mongols

[2, p 6].

Genghis Khan’s invasion played an important role in Kazakhstan’s

history because its territory became part of the three Mongol Uluses:

the largest (steppe) part was ruled by the Jochi Ulus, southern and

southeastern Kazakhstan by the Chagatai Ulus and the northeastern

part of Zhetysu by the Ugudei Ulus.

The Jochi Ulus occupied vast lands to the west of the Irtysh River

encompassing the northern part of Zhetysu and the whole of Desht-e

Kypchak to the lower Volga region. The Chagatai Ulus, in addition

to previously mentioned areas, occupied East Turkestan and Mav-

erannahr (an area between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya). Ugudei

possessed western Mongolia, the upper streams of the Irtysh River

and the Tarbagatai range.

Genghis’s descendants tried to turn their realms into independent

possessions. After the death of Genghis Khan this trend increased and

the empire fell apart into several independent countries.

The successor to Jochi, who died in the same 1227, was his

son Batu. He conquered western Desht-e Kypchak, the lands of

Volga Bulgars and further western areas. He destroyed major

Russian princedoms and devastated Poland, Hungary, the Czechs

and others.

As a result of a seven-year campaign (1236-1242) Batu took hold

of lands west to the Volga River to the lower streams of the Danube,

including the Crimea and the North Caucasus and West Kypchak

steppes. Batu founded a new Mongol state – the Golden Horde which

included the territories of Jochi Ulus – Eastern Desht-e Kypchak, part

of Khorezmshah and western Siberia as well as newly conquered

lands in the west.

Kazakhstan today

Chapter 1. The History of Kazakh Statehood

34 35

Russian principalities destroyed by Batu became vassals of the

Golden Horde. Russian princes received titles from the Golden Horde

and paid taxes, but remained relatively independent.

According to some eastern sources, Batu’s state was called the Jochi

Ulus and it was known as the Golden Horde. Its capital was Sarai-Batu

(near Russia’s Astrakhan) and it was later known as Sarai-Berke.

Initially, the Golden Horde was subordinated to greater Mongol

khans, but by 1260 the Mongol Empire disintegrated into independent

uluses. Then under Berke Khan (1256-1266), a brother of Batu, the

Golden Horde became an independent state. Its successor Mengu

Khan (1266-1280) started minting his own coins.

The Golden Horde turned out to be an unstable country because

it was weakened by internal discord, which resulted in the formation

of the Ak Orda (White Horde) Khanate in the territory of present-day

Kazakhstan between the Syr Darya River and the Aral Sea and the

Ishim River in the northeast.

By the beginning of the 15

century, Ak Orda had been broken up

into several pieces: the Nogai Horde which occupied the area between

the Urals Mountains and the Volga and the Uzbek Khanate which

stretched from downstream Syr Darya to the Urals and the Tobol

River. In the second half of the 15

century Kazakh khanates started

to form and this process completed the formation of the Kazakh eth-

nos in the early 16

century. The ethnic composition was made up of

ancient tribes of Uisuns, Kanlys, Kypchaks, Konyrats, Dulats, Argyns

and Mongol tribes who arrived here in the 13

century; tribes that

came from the Volga-Urals region, and tribes from the disintegrated

Siberian Khanate of Kuchum.

As often happens in history, it is hard to judge the events of that

time. Obviously, the Mongol conquest was accompanied by the

destruction of towns and large-scale massacres, the destruction of

production and the blossom of slave trade.

However, the Mongol rule encouraged trade, international relations

and established postal services. Moreover, the Mongols, following

their idea of centralised power, united previously chaotic tribes. The

norms of nomadic lifestyle were regulated by Genghis Khan’s Yasa

– a collection of common law adopted for the new conditions.

1.2. Kazakh Khanate (15

-18

Centuries)

The reference point in the establishment of Kazakh statehood is

believed to be the emergence of the Kazakh Khanate in 1456.

The formation of the Kazakh Khanate was closely linked to the

history of both the Golden Horde and Mogulistan. By the 14

-15

centuries most of present-day Kazakhstan was part of the Golden

Horde. The south and Zhetysu of Kazakhstan was part of Mogul Stan

– the state of Chagatais which was established in 1370 after Tamerlane

seized power in Central Asia.

From the second half of the 14

century, the process of split and

later of disintegration of the Golden Horde began. Many differ-

ent independent khanates emerged in the territory of Kazakhstan,

among which the formation named the State of Nomadic Uzbeks by

historians was distinguished. This khanate reached its zenith under

Khan Abulkhair (1429-1468). The population of this khanate were

Uzbek-Kazakhs.

In the late 1450s Sultan Dzhanibek and Sultan Kerei, with tribes

of Alshyns, Argyns, Kereis, Kypchaks and Zhalairs, moved to the

territory of Mogulistan. In 1456 Sultan Kerei was elected khan in

the territory of present-day southern Kazakhstan – the supreme ruler

of Kazakhs. This moment was the beginning of the history of the

establishment of Kazakh statehood.

Ever since the emergence of the Kazakh Khanate on Central Asia’s

map the word Kazakh has become an ethnonym – the name of a people.

From the emergence of the Kazakh Khanate the gradual process of its ex-

pansion started because of various Kazakh tribes voluntarily joining.

Historians single out Khan Kasym (1511-1518), Khan Khak-Nazar

(1538-1580), Khan Tauekel (1582-1598) and Khan Yesim (1598-

1628) from among political ﬁ gures of that period as personalities

who played an important role in the formation and strengthening of

the Kazakh Khanate.

Under Khan Yesim the process of uniting Kazakh tribes into

one state was completed. That period included the division of the

Kazakh people into three Zhuzes – Great (Uly), Middle (Orta) and

Little (Kishi).

Kazakhstan today

Chapter 1. The History of Kazakh Statehood

36 37

Zhuz is an economically and geographically speciﬁ c district in-

habited by a group of communities which, until the formation of the

Kazakh ethnos, was the territory of a tribal union. The word Zhuz

means “part” or “side”. The foundations of the formation of Zhuzes

were a merger of certain tribes into tribal unions.

Zhetysu, the homeland of the Great Zhuz, is one of the main centres

of the ethnogenesis of the forming Kazakh ethnos. The Great Zhuz

was populated by Uisuns, Kanlys, Dulats, Albans, Suans, Zhalairs,

Sirgeli, Oshakty and other tribes, most of which were related to an-

cient inhabitants of Zhetysu. In Russian sources the Great Zhuz was

sometimes called the Uisun Horde or the Great Uisun Horde.

Another speciﬁ c district of roaming was to the north of Zhetysu.

The main winter grounds were in the areas around the Syr Darya,

the Karatau Mountains and the Moyunkum desert, while summer

grounds were around the Tobol, Yesil, Nura and Sary-Su rivers in

central Kazakhstan. These vast lands were inhabited by the main tribal

unions of the Middle Zhuz: Kypchaks, Argyns, Naimans, Kereits,

Konyrats and Uaks. However, the synonym of the Middle Zhuz was

the name of the union of Argyns. As early as in the 17

century, like

now, Argyns made up the majority of the Middle Zhuz.

Western Kazakhstan had its own, relatively closed district of win-

ter and summer grounds. Winter pastures were in the lower reaches

of the Syr Darya and the Ural River and in the meeting point of the

Yrgyz and Turgai Rivers and other places, while summer ground

were along the Ural, the Tobol, the Yrgyz Rivers and the Mugalzhar

Mountains. That is where the Little Zhuz was formed by three main

tribal unions – Alimuly, Baiuly and Zhetiru. The nomadic population

of the Little Zhuz was linked to the sedentary districts of the Volga

and Ural Rivers.

Despite the relative distinctiveness, representatives of all three

Zhuzes spoke in one language. There were tiny differences in dia-

lects but they could understand one another perfectly. There were

also differences in everyday life, dresses, furniture and utensils and

folklore.

The social relations of the Kazakhs were conditioned by the no-

madic lifestyle – domestication of livestock and grazing it on pastures,

and the consecutive processing of products of economic activity. One

of the earliest forms of ownership was the ownership of livestock, and

this phenomenon helped property and social differentiation deepen.

At the same time, some scientists believe, there was no private

ownership of land, in contrast to sedentary societies. Land belonged

to a community or tribe. Routes of roaming had been developed by

centuries-long experience. Kazakhs grazed their livestock on hills in

the summer, and on the plains in winter.

Some Kazakhs were involved in farming crops, mainly, in southern

Kazakhstan, Zhetysu and the areas around the Shu, Talas, Syr Darya

and Arys rivers.

Crafts and household trades related to the processing of animal

products – tanning, blacksmith and shoe-making – also played a

particular role in the economy of Kazakhs. Carpentry and jewellery

also developed at that time.

The social organisation of the Kazakhs was above all a combina-

tion of different relations, primarily genealogy. Major groups, even

an ethnos, as Kazakhs understood it, was a result of the segmentation

of one initial family. Family is still a key notion for Kazakhs today.

The socioeconomic relations that existed in nomadic societies

were unique. In traditional Kazakh society there were three large

social groups. Social status, not material wellbeing, was the deﬁ ning

factor.

Ak-suiyek (white-bone) aristocrats, including the Tore and Kozha

(Hajji) subgroups, were the highest social stratum. The Tores were

believed to have descended from Genghis Khan. The Kozhas were

believed to be descendants of ﬁ rst followers of Islam and enjoyed

huge authority among Kazakhs. The Tores and Kozhas were not part

of the traditional Zhuz system and were believed to constitute the

steppe aristocracy.

Middle classes – kara-suiyek (black-bone) – were the biggest

group: these were families which ran their own economic entities.

They were the main force of a tribe, its human, military and produc-

tion resources.

There were several groups among the black-bones which had

professional and administrative nature. These were bis (judges) and

Kazakhstan today

Chapter 1. The History of Kazakh Statehood

38 39

batyrs (warriors). The bis were the most authoritative people in the

steppe and they performed administrative and judicial functions.

Batyr-warlords mainly acted during military campaigns and led

militias of tribal unions.

The lowest class was the Kuls, or slaves who had practically no

rights. However, the institution of slavery in the nomadic society was

not developed to such a great extent as in sedentary society and the

number of slaves was insigniﬁ cant.

This social organisation was characteristic of the Kazakh Khanate,

which occupied western Zhetysu and the valleys of the Shu and Talas

Rivers by the middle of 15

century.

The Kazakh Khanate was not a centralised state and its po-

litical and administrative system was inﬂ uenced by the nomadic

lifestyle and living conditions of the population. The khanate

consisted of feudal possessions – uluses, which were headed by

sultans who were descendants of Genghis Khan. The head of state

was the khan, who combined supreme powers (civil, military and

administrative).

The Kazakh Khanate reached its highest level of development in

the 17

century under Khan Tauke (1687-1817). Scientists credit his

rule with the establishment of the legal basis of Kazakh society – the

Zheti Zhargy (Seven Principles) code of laws. This code regulated

land, military, judicial and family relations; it also detailed punish-

ment for criminal offences.

The judicial system was based on the common law – adapt – and

the Muslim law – the sharia. Judicial functions were performed by the

bis who also headed tribes. Particularly complicated cases were heard

by a congress of bis. Sultans and even the khan took part in hearing

some cases. For hearing cases, bis, sultans and the khan received

remuneration – bilik, khanlyk and some other gifts.

If the defendant avoided hearings or fulﬁ lling rulings, the claimant

had the right to perform the barymta (forced seizure of livestock).

According to Zheti Zhargy, usually criminal liability was extended

directly to the guilty person, but the principle of collective responsibil-

ity of a community was also practised. For example, if the defendant

did not turn up at hearings or did not pay the obligatory kun (price),

then the ﬁ ne was recovered from the entire community. In such cases

members of the community exercised the right to punish the guilty

person. A measure of punishment, such as imprisonment, did not exist

in Kazakh society, so there were no prisons.

After the death of Khan Tauke feudal internal ﬁ ghts worsened, as

a result of which the Kazakh Khanate was politically divisive. In that

period the foreign political situation also worsened. Volga Kalmyks

and Yaitsk Cossacks raided the Kazakh Khanate from the west, Si-

berian Cossack and Bashkirs from the north and Bukhara and Khiva

troops from the south.

However, the chief enemy was the Dzungars or western Mongolian

tribes who united into the Dzungarian Khanate. Dzungars advanced

into the steppe gradually: ﬁ erce ﬁ ghts interchanged with truces, so

raids stopped for some time, but peaceful periods were short-lived.

The Dzungarian Khanate strengthened and grew, demanding new

resources.

In spring 1723, Dzungars launched a large-scale assault on the

Kazakh Khanate. This war was remembered as years of great disaster.

Kazakhs had to retreat and moved away to Khiva, Samarkand and

Bukhara.

After receiving a temporary respite, and, with a desire for revenge

the Kazakh people managed to consolidate and offer armed resistance.

A year later Kazakhs, led by Khan Abulkhair, achieved a number of

victories and relieved the Dzungars of Otrar, Shymkent, Turkestan

and Sairam.

In 1726 the tribal leaders of all three Kazakh Zhuzes held a con-

gress and elected a sardar – the supreme commander-in-chief of united

Kazakh troops. Little Zhuz Khan Abulkhair became the sardar and

led the Kazakh militia to several victories, including the well-known

battle at Bulanty in the Ulytau foothills in Central Kazakhstan and

the Anrakay battle near Lake Alakol.

Despite the victories, Khan Abulkhair called his numerous troops

back and returned to his tribal lands in western Kazakhstan. This was

prompted by an agreement that he, as a victor over the Dzungars, was

to occupy the throne of Kazakh khan, but Sultan Abilmambet was

elected khan, and this seriously offended Abulkhair.

Kazakhstan today

Chapter 1. The History of Kazakh Statehood