Kazakh Khanate

Abstract The Kazakh Khanate was created in 1456 by two Chinggisid princes – Karay and Janibek – who broke from the Shaybanid ruler, Abu'l‐Khayr Khan, and moved their clans north from the Syr‐Dar'ia River in Central Asia. After the collapse of Shaybanid rule, the Kazakh tribes had spread across the northern steppe and came to be distinguished from other tribes – increasingly identified as Uzbeks – that remained south of the Syr‐Dar'ia. The ambition of Kazakh khans almost always exceeded their ability to unify the tribes under their nominal control, given the great authority wielded by local and regional subordinates. Terrible conflict with Oirot Mongols that led to repeated destruction of Kazakh resources kept them on the defensive as they grew weaker and weaker in the 17th and 18th centuries, just at the time that the Russian Empire was moving southward into Kazakh lands. The official end of the Khanate is dated 1848.