Every people has leaders they are proud of. For the Mongols, this is Genghis Khan, for the French - Napoleon, for the Russians - Peter I. Among the Kazakhs, such people were the famous ruler and commander Abilmansur Ablai Khan. The biography and activities of this person will be the subject of our study.
The situation in the lands of the Kazakhs
Before we turn to the biography of Ablai Khan, it is necessary to briefly describe the political situation in the territory where the Kazakhs lived, preceding the period of active activity of this outstanding figure.
From the middle of the 17th century, the entire history of the Kazakh Khanate was connected with the fight against the Dzungarian aggression. The Dzungars are a Mongolian tribe that managed to create a powerful state and sought to take over the vast pastures located on the territory of modern Kazakhstan. More than one generation of Kazakhs suffered from the invasions of this people. For a while, the Dzungars even managed to subdue the southern regions of the country.
In the fight against foreign invaders, a single Kazakhthe state in 1718 was divided into three parts - the Junior, Middle and Senior Zhuz.
It was in such a difficult political situation that Ablai was born.
The origin and early years of Ablai Khan
Now it's time for us to learn more about who Ablai Khan was. His biography begins in 1711. It was then that he was born into the family of the noble Kazakh Korkem Uali Sultan. Ablai Khan was named after his grandfather, the famous ruler of the Senior Zhuz, whose residence was Tashkent. But at birth he had a different name - Abilmansur.
Already at the age of thirteen, Ablai Khan lost his father, who was killed in a skirmish with the Dzungars. From an early age, he had to rely only on himself. The boy was hired as a shepherd to Tole-biy, who was a great judge of the Kazakh people. During this service, Ablai Khan got a new nickname - Sabalak, which means "dirty".
Warlord
Thanks to his high birth and firmness of character, Ablai Khan gained authority among the Kazakhs. When Abilmambet became the khan of the Middle Zhuz in 1734, he received the title of sultan and the post of military leader.
In the early 40s in Orenburg, Ablai, Abilmambet and other noble people of the Middle Zhuz agreed on a protectorate of the Russian Empire over their lands. In this way, they hoped to enlist the support of a strong power in the fight against the Dzungars and other Central Asian states.
Initially, in the war against the Dzungars, Ablai acted very successfully, having won a number of victories over them. But already inIn 1742, Ablai Khan found himself in captivity, having been defeated by the Dzungar hordes on the Ishim River. However, this captivity was not in vain. Ablai learned the Dzungar culture, language, customs, became closely acquainted with their ruler Galdan-Tseren and made friends with many noble Dzungars.
In 1743, with the participation of the Russian side, Ablai was exchanged for another high-ranking prisoner.
Meanwhile, the situation has changed radically. Galdan-Tseren died, and a significant part of the lands occupied by the Dzungars was captured by the Manchu troops of the Qing dynasty, which ruled in China. Now the Kazakhs have temporarily teamed up with their old enemies to fight back against the Chinese. But soon this union broke up, and Ablai was forced to make an alliance with the Qing house, and in 1756 he and the Khan of the Middle Zhuz actually recognized vassal dependence on China.
In 1756, Ablai personally visited the Chinese capital of Beijing, where he received the high title of wang from the emperor.
At the same time, the Kazakh military leader did not abandon the Russian protectorate and constantly maintained ties with this northern country.
Acceptance of the Khan's title
His further biography will be no less interesting. Ablai Khan in 1771 received the khan title of the Middle Zhuz. It happened after the death of Abulmambet. And although, according to tradition, one of the close relatives of the deceased was supposed to inherit the throne, the people and the nobility of the Middle Zhuz considered that only Ablai was worthy of the highest title.
During his reign, he was able toto subjugate most of the territories of the other two zhuzes, therefore he rightfully called himself the great khan of all Kazakhs.
At a time when the Pugachev uprising was raging in Russia, Ablai led a rather wise and cunning policy. On the one hand, he promised support to the rebel and even personally met with him, but on the other hand, he negotiated with representatives of the Russian throne and assured them of his loy alty. Ablai, for one reason or another, did not provide actual assistance to Pugachev.
He wanted to carry out a number of significant reforms that were supposed to promote the spread of agriculture among the Kazakhs and, ultimately, lead them to settled life, but he ran into fierce resistance from the nobility, who saw innovations as a restriction of their rights and independence.
Death
Before his death, Ablai, seeing that the nobility did not accept his reforms to transfer the Kazakhs to settled agriculture, voluntarily relinquished power and retired to the lands of the Elder Zhuz. He died in 1781 in Tashkent, and was buried in the mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed.
Ablai left behind a lot of children. There were 30 males alone.
Legacy
Kazakhs still remember what great benefit Ablai Khan brought to his land. Biographies and historical figures are of interest to all people, not only Kazakhs, but for the people the memory of the hero is sacred. Many monuments have been erected to him throughout Kazakhstan, feature films are being made about him. On one of the postage stamps and on a 100 tenge banknotethere is an image of Ablai Khan. Almaty has a street named after the great representative of the Kazakh people.
The memory of Ablai Khan will live forever.
