Ablai (Abilmansur) Khan (1711 - May 23, 1781) was a
KazakhThe Kazakhs are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia ....
khanKhan is an originally Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, first used by medieval Altaic-speaking nomadic tribes living to the north of China and the center of Rumelia Kailar yoruks are mentioned as yorukkhans in Ottoman arvhives...
of the
Middle jüzMiddle jüz is one of three main traditional divisions of the Kazakh nation. The other two are Great jüz and Little jüz.Middle jüz consists of six tribes. The tribes, in turn, are subdivided into clans, creating a hierarchical piramid of affiliations. Some historians claim that Middle Juz have...
. Born as Abilmansur, Ablai Khan belonged to the senior branch of descendants of the 15th century founder of the Kazakh state,
Janybek Khan----Janybek Khan was a co-leader of a new Kazakh Khanate, following a successful rebellion against the Uzbek Khan Abu'l-Khayr Khan in 1465 and 1466. Janybek's father was Baraq...
. In the first half of the 18th century, Ablai Khan proved to be a talented organizer and commander as he headed detachments of the Kazakh militia fighting the Dzungars. He participated in the most significant battles against the Dzungars from the 1720s to the 1750s, for which he was declared a "batyr" ("hero") by the people.
Ablai's activity aimed to create a strong and independent Kazakh state.
Ablai (Abilmansur) Khan (1711 - May 23, 1781) was a
KazakhThe Kazakhs are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia ....
khanKhan is an originally Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, first used by medieval Altaic-speaking nomadic tribes living to the north of China and the center of Rumelia Kailar yoruks are mentioned as yorukkhans in Ottoman arvhives...
of the
Middle jüzMiddle jüz is one of three main traditional divisions of the Kazakh nation. The other two are Great jüz and Little jüz.Middle jüz consists of six tribes. The tribes, in turn, are subdivided into clans, creating a hierarchical piramid of affiliations. Some historians claim that Middle Juz have...
. Born as Abilmansur, Ablai Khan belonged to the senior branch of descendants of the 15th century founder of the Kazakh state,
Janybek Khan----Janybek Khan was a co-leader of a new Kazakh Khanate, following a successful rebellion against the Uzbek Khan Abu'l-Khayr Khan in 1465 and 1466. Janybek's father was Baraq...
. In the first half of the 18th century, Ablai Khan proved to be a talented organizer and commander as he headed detachments of the Kazakh militia fighting the Dzungars. He participated in the most significant battles against the Dzungars from the 1720s to the 1750s, for which he was declared a "batyr" ("hero") by the people.
Ablai's activity aimed to create a strong and independent Kazakh state. He headed the unified forces of the Kazakhs and furthered the centralization of state power in
KazakhstanKazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a country situated in Eurasia that is ranked as the ninth largest country in the world. It is also the world's largest landlocked country. Its territory of 2,727,300 km² is greater than Western Europe...
. Until his election as the khan of the three jüzes, Ablai had to compete with Khan Abul Mambet and his descendants of
Middle jüzMiddle jüz is one of three main traditional divisions of the Kazakh nation. The other two are Great jüz and Little jüz.Middle jüz consists of six tribes. The tribes, in turn, are subdivided into clans, creating a hierarchical piramid of affiliations. Some historians claim that Middle Juz have...
for leadership. Initially, Russia recognized Abul Mambet as the Khan of
Middle jüzMiddle jüz is one of three main traditional divisions of the Kazakh nation. The other two are Great jüz and Little jüz.Middle jüz consists of six tribes. The tribes, in turn, are subdivided into clans, creating a hierarchical piramid of affiliations. Some historians claim that Middle Juz have...
, while Ablai was supported by China. Ablai's talent in playing China against Russia gradually made him the unrivalled Khan of the steppe. Unlike
Abul Khair KhanAbul Khair Khan was leader of the Kazakh Little jüz in present-day western Kazakhstan. During this period, the Little jüz participated in the 1723-1730 war against the Dzungars, following their "Great Disaster" invasion of Kazakh territories...
of Little jüz, Ablai never submitted to Russian rule. In 1771, at the meeting of the representatives of the three
jüzA jüz is one of the three main territorial divisions in the Desht-i Kypchak that covers much of the contemporary Kazakhstan. Variably, a jüz is believed to be a confederation or alliance of Kazakh nomads...
es, Ablai was elected as the Kazakh khan.
Russian EmpressCatherine II , also known as Catherine the Great, born . She was Empress of Russia from until . Under her direct auspices the Russian Empire expanded, improved its administration, and continued to modernize along Western European lines...
requested that the title of khan should be recognized and officially approved by Russia. To that end, she sent an official letter to
PetropavlPetropavl , also known as Petropavlovsk is a city by Ishim River in North Kazakhstan Province of Kazakhstan close to the border with Russia, about 350km west of Omsk along the Trans-Siberian Railway. It is capital of the North Kazakhstan Province...
, where Ablai was expected to receive the title in 1779. He never showed up at the fort, declining Russia's request to appoint him as the khan of
Middle jüzMiddle jüz is one of three main traditional divisions of the Kazakh nation. The other two are Great jüz and Little jüz.Middle jüz consists of six tribes. The tribes, in turn, are subdivided into clans, creating a hierarchical piramid of affiliations. Some historians claim that Middle Juz have...
. In contrast to Ablai, other khans and sultans had been competing for the lavish gifts and stipends of the Emperors of Russia in return for their submission.
During the Qing campaigns against the Dzungars, Ablai Khan chose not to take sides in the Dzungar-
ChineseChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
conflict. Once the conflict was settled, Ablai offered his submission to the
Qianlong EmperorThe Qianlong Emperor was the fifth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty, and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China...
. Ablai was confirmed as Kazakh khan by both the Chinese and the Russians. He lead numerous campaigns against
Kokand KhanateThe Khanate of Kokand was a state in Central Asia that existed from 1709–1876 within the territory of modern eastern Uzbekistan, southern Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan...
and Kyrgyzs. In the last campaign his troops liberated many cities in Southern Kazakhstan and even captured Tashkent. Then he proceeded to present day Kyrgyzstan and won the furious battle with troops of local warlords.
Upon his death in 1781 he was interred in the
Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed YasaviThe Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi is an unfinished mausoleum in the city of Turkestan, in southern Kazakhstan. The structure was commissioned in 1389 by Timur, who ruled the area as part of the expansive Mongol Empire, to replace a smaller 12th-century mausoleum of the famous Turkic poet and...
in
Hazrat-e TurkestanTurkestan , a city in the southern region of Kazakhstan, near the Syr Darya river, is where the capital of ancient Kangju was located prior to being moved to Zhe’she...
.
Shokan Walikhanuli (1835-1865), a Kazakhstani scholar and historian, is a descendant of him.
The life of Ablai Khan is the subject material for the 2005 Kazakhstani film
The Nomad.
Sources