Wednesday, June 5, 2013

KZ History in Ten Panels: Panel 5--Ablai Khan

Ablai Khan was one of the Kazakh heros or batyrs who led the fight to defend the Kazakh khanate agains the invading Dzungars. While the last panel shows the devastation caused by the Dzungar invasion, this one is decidedly triumphant.

According to the great Kazakh historian Shokan Valikhanov (more about him in a future panel) "their lands were threatened from all sides, their cattle were driven away and entire families were taken captive by the Dzungars, Volga Kalmuks, Yaik Cossacks, and Bashkirs" in the early 1720s. These were the years of the Great Disaster.

In the 1730s, the Kazakhs were able to reverse the tide of the invasion under the leadership of several important batyrs, of whom Bogenbay and Raimbek and Ablai are probably the most famous. Starting in 1726, the three juzes or hordes (Great Horde, Middle Horde, and Small Horde) united in their fight against the Dzungars. They took back control of their homeland over the course of the next decade, though the fighting continued beyond that. The Battle of Anrakai in 1730 was a major turning point in this fight; under the leadership of Abul Khair Khan the united Kazakhs defeated the Dzungars and forced to retreat toward the territory of the Dzungar Khanate (present-day northern China). In 1758, Ablai Khan led a united Kazakh army which forced the Dzungars out of Kazakh lands for good. The Kazakhs were aided by the fact that the Dzungars were under attack by the Chinese Empire at the same time.

To sum up, during the middle 18th century, the Kazakhs took back control of their homeland from the invading Dzungars. While they remained divided into three separate juzes, they sometimes united under one khan. The khans of each juz were selected by the collective leaders of each aul, which is a community with extended family ties. I find the political structure of the nomadic Kazakhs fascinating. While Soviet historians typically described it as a feudal state, current historians more often describe it as a "military democracy," with political authority given to leaders based on military strength and leadership. To learn more about this, check out Martha Brill Olcott's excellent book, The Kazakhs, some of which can be read online through Google Books.

No comments:

Post a Comment