Abylai (Abylmansur) — an outstanding statesman, politician, diplomat, unifier of Kazakh lands. He was born in 1711. His grandfather, also named Abylai, came from the noble generation of Chingizids Zhadig.
Abylai’s father and grandfather ruled the sacred city of the Muslim East — Turkestan. The period of Abylai’s life was the most intense. The constant struggle of the Kazakh people with the Oirat invasion had an imprint on the whole cycle of socio-political and economic life of the Kazakh zhuzes.
The terrible consequences of «Aktaban shubyryndy great disaster» put forward the task of organizing the repulse of the strong enemy. Energetic, courageous Abylai acts on the political arena as one of the organizers of the liberation struggle of the Kazakh people against foreign invasion. Along with Abulkhair and other famous commanders, Abulkhair strives to unite the disparate Kazakh khanates in order to ensure the territorial integrity of the Kazakh land.
The beginning of Abylai’s political activity
In the Kazakh history there are few names so often mentioned as the name of Abylai khan. Akyns, zhyrau, contemporaries of the XVIII century, «Abylai’s century», poets and researchers of later times dedicated their dastans and zhyrs to him. Abylai’s name, while living many legends, was forgotten for many years. And only recently, thanks to positive processes on revival of the true history of the Kazakh people, Kazakh statehood, it became possible to return to the history of the person who played a significant role in it. Such a colorful figure in the history of Kazakhs of the XVIII century was Abylai. He led the liberation struggle of the Kazakh people against the Dzungar and then the Qing (Chinese) conquerors, was one of the first to realize the historical necessity of friendship and good-neighborliness, tried to unite the fragmented Kazakh possessions into a single state formation, forced the rulers of neighboring Central Asian states to reckon with him.
Of course, Abylai is a complex and contradictory figure, it is difficult to give an unambiguous assessment of his activities, to fully reveal the cause-and-effect motives of his policy. The methods he used as a unifier of Kazakh zhuzes, tribes and clans had a feudal tinge, far from civilized forms of government. Nevertheless, the appearance of Abylai on the political arena at a difficult, critical time in the history of the Kazakh people was an event of special importance. In the legends about Abylai, in particular Shakarim Haji, the following is said about the origin of the khan. The son of Zhangir khan (1645 -1652) Valikaby, offended that he did not get the khan’s throne, goes to Urgench, to his mother’s father Kayyp khan. There a son was born from him, who was called Abylai, from him — Korkem Vali, and his son was called Abylmansur. Thus by origin he is Chingizid, is the fourth generation of Zhangir khan.
Abilmansur’s grandfather — bey Abylai by nature was strong and brave yin. In one-on-one fights he defeated and killed his opponents — batyrs, for which he was nicknamed «kanisher Abylai» (bloodsucker). Abilmansur, born in 1711, at the age of twelve returned to Sary-Arka, the native land of his ancestors.
As is known, Tashkent was captured by the Oirats in 1725. In another legend it is noted that he, together with his surviving tribesmen, before going to Turkestan, first visited Tashkent, having arrived there from Urgench. Having lost his father and his mother during the Great Disaster, Abylai under the name of Sabalak wandered around the steppe for several years. According to Valikhanov «Abylai once grazed horses with Bai Dauletbai. Dauletbai’s wife not without surprise noticed that the young man never asked for food himself until given, but even then he took reluctantly and never ate from unwashed dishes. This is absolutely not Kyrgyz behavior, eccentricity, — notes Ch. Ch. Valikhanov — drew the attention of the owner, who through inquiries from Uraz (Abylai’s companion), having learned about his origin at that hour took him to the khan Abulmambet, giving him the best horse from the herd. This chosen horse was that famous Chalkuiryk (flame-tail), the first companion of the campaign of the young sultan Chalkuiryk, on which Abylai made a name for himself as a batyr and respect of Kirghiz».
As a fifteen-year-old young man Abylai took part in the battles of Kazakh militias by the Dzungar conquerors. Separate information about his youthful years is contained in Umbetai’s zhyre. Umbetai, speaking about shouting, has a battle cry-uran of the young sultan Abylai, who entering the battle, shouted the name of his formidable grandfather Abylai. Under this name Abylmansur entered the history. The title of batyr, patronage of khan Abulmambet, who was Abylai’s uncle, and noble origin allowed Abylai to get soon elected the owner of the most numerous and strong Atygai clan, the Argyn tribe. It happened, apparently, in the late 20s-early 30s. In his possession there were several thousand families of Argyn-Atygai.
Abylai’s foreign policy clearly traces mainly three directions: the relationship with the powerful western neighbor — the Russian Empire; Kazakh-Oirat relations; Kazakh-Qing relations. Here we are not talking about putting Russia in the foreign policy of Kazakhstan, in the historical destinies of the Kazakh people on the same level with Dzungaria and Qinukim China. In the name of historical truth, it should be said that the nature of Kazakh-Russian relations was fundamentally different from the relations of the Kazakh khanates with Dzungaria. Russia and the Kazakh khanates needed each other to fight the powerful nomadic empire of Central Asia — the Dzungarian Khanate, because the threat that came from it was no less than the Mongol invasion in the XVIII century.
Obviously, therefore, the existing historical circumstances in the XVIII century — the crisis of khan’s power, the threat from outside and other factors forced Kazakh khans and sultans from the Younger, Middle and Older zhuzes — Abulkhair, Abulmambet, Semeke, Abylai, Barak, Tole biya, Zholbarys and others — to seek alliance with the Russian Empire. — to seek an alliance with the Russian Empire.
Abylai among the first Kazakh rulers made a historical choice, linking his fate and the fate of the Kazakh people with Russia. However, it should be assumed that at that time neither Abylai nor other Kazakh rulers could foresee the development of events in the future, that the process of rapprochement and subsequent accession of Kazakhstan to Russia would be complex and contradictory, that protectorate or suzerainty would be replaced by outright violence of tsarism, turning into colonial exploitation. Abylai was put on the stage of political life by that part of Kazakh feudal lords, which defended the idea of strengthening and development of a strong centralized state, active struggle against conquerors.
Abylai’s role in the liberation struggle of the Kazakh people against the Dzungarian and Qing conquerors
Since 1733 Abylai became the main organizer and the soul of the national liberation struggle of the Kazakh people first against the Dzungar, and then against the Manchurian-Chinese conquerors. The fate wanted to test Abylai once again. At the beginning of 1741 he was captured by the Dzungars and stayed in the Galdan-Tseren bet until the spring of 1743. According to legends, it happened during Abylai’s sleep on the mountain Kzyl-Tau. Documents testify that he at the head of two hundred warriors appeared in the center of arrangement of Dzungarian armies and was captured by them.
Abylai with honor and dignity withstood the hardships of captivity. Being in the position of a prisoner, Abylai learned the Oirat language and Oirat writing, learned well the internal situation of the Dzungarian Khanate and finally came to the idea that the strength of Dzungaria in its unity, in a strong central authority. There he became closely acquainted with such influential noyons as Davatsi and Amursana.
When the Kazakh embassy with a mission of truce arrived in Urga, the Oirat khan, Galdan-Tseren ordered to bind Abylai’s hands and legs so that the ambassador Akchura could see him in such a state. It seems that it was done on purpose, in order to induce the Kazakh owners to be more compliant and to rescue Abylai from the harsh captivity, because after the departure of the ambassadors Abylai was again given a separate kibitka, freedom of movement, of course, under the watchful guard of the guards.
According to Kazakh folk legends, Abylai in one of the battles with the Oirats killed his favorite son Galdan-Tseren Charysh, for which he was actually captured during the hunt. In fact, Charysh was Galdan-Tseren’s adopted son. Abylai made a strong impression on Galdan-Tseren not only by his personal bravery, but also by his statesmanship, shrewdness and inordinate ambition. It was not by chance that it was with him that he concluded a treaty of peace between Dzungaria and the Kazakh khanates after his release from captivity, before Abylai returned to his nomads.
Returning home, Abylai was forced to send one of his sons to Galdan Tseren as a hostage. The Russian government played a certain role in Abylai’s rescue from Djungar captivity. Extremely concerned about the military offensive of the Oirat feudal lords against Kazakhstan, as well as the strongest diplomatic pressure Galdan Tseren to stop the harassment of Dzungaria Orenberg administration on the instructions of the Russian government sent as an ambassador K Miller with the task of achieving the return of Sultan Abylai from captivity.
After returning from captivity, Galdan Tseren and Abylai outwardly established friendly relations, which were remembered even after the death of Galdan Tseren in 1745. His thirteen-year-old son Tsevan-Dorzhi came to the throne, who in May 1750 after another conspiracy was killed. The new ruler of Dzungaria was the illegitimate eldest son of Galdan Tseren Lama-Dorzhi, who was solemnly crowned on October 12, 1750. From the very first days of his rule he met with hidden resistance, and after that hostility from many noble feudal lords — descendants of Dzungarian khans. Among them were Noyon Davatsi, a descendant of the founder of the Dzungar Khanate Batur and the son of Galdan Tseren Amursan. In the fall of 1751 after internecine wars Davatsi, Amursana and their allies were defeated and they fled to Abylai. It should be noted that the fugitives found in the Kazakh nomads quite a warm welcome.
Later in Kazakh-Djungarian relations the main issue was the return of the Oirat princes Davatsi, Amursana and Banchzhur to Dzungaria. In case of refusal to extradite them Lama-Dorzhi threatened with war. Meanwhile, Abylai and his influential batyrs Bogenbai, Daut-tarkhan (son of Janybek), Yapyak, the Sultan of the Younger Juz Yerali and others agreed not to extradite them to the Dzungarian Khan. A certain role was played by friendly relations and feelings that Abylai and Davatsi had for each other. However, the main motive was the desire to put his own man on the Oirat throne, thereby putting an end to aggressions on the part of Dzungaria and Qing China standing behind them.
Having received Abylai’s refusal to extradite Davatsi, Amursana and Banchzhura, Lama-Dorzhi decided to take them by force, subduing the Kazakh khanate. So in September 1752 the Oirat army of 20000 warriors invaded the territory of Kazakh nomads. Having received the first information about the attack of the Dzungarian troops, Abylai immediately sent out messengers with the instruction to gather in the tract of Bayan-Aul. Abylai and his supporters did not lose hope to settle the conflict peacefully, as the peace treaty concluded with Galdan Tseren remained in force. The battles that unfolded in the fall and winter of 1752 between the Oirat army and the Kazakh militia were fought with varying success, but the preponderance was increasingly leaning towards the Kazakhs.
Despite the military setbacks, the Oirat ruler rejected all of Abylai’s proposals for peace negotiations and cessation of hostilities. Having thrown the main forces of his troops into Kazakhstan, Lama-Dorzhi left his headquarters without reliable cover, which was taken advantage of by Davitsi and Amursana, who with a detachment of 600 soldiers made a hidden campaign, unexpectedly broke into Urga on January 12, 1753 and massacred Lama-Dorzhi. Davatsi was proclaimed Khan of Dzungaria. Having seized power, Davatsi recalled troops from Kazakhstan and sent Abulmambet and Abylai a message with a proposal to live in peace and friendship. The essence of Abylai’s tactics in relations with the Oirat authorities was to maintain constant quarrels in Dzungaria, not to let any of the khans or yons strengthen and to ensure the security of the Kazakh lands, to get more and more concessions from the Oirat owners.
In Abylai’s foreign policy in the conditions of the attack on the Kazakh steppes of two powerful empires — Russian and Chinese, the main thing was to preserve the maximum of independence, to achieve the return of once captured by the Dzungars Kazakh nomadic lands, to ensure the right of wide trade in the markets of Xinjiang.
The Steppe Sultan had to face now the sophisticated tactics of the Qing Empire. For thousands of years China had been surrounded by countries and peoples inferior to China in terms of territory, population, military power, often lagging behind China economically and culturally. All this gave rise to the concept of the superiority of all things Chinese over foreign, the idea of Chinese-centrism, and the idea of a messenger of heaven on earth.
Abylai’s first contacts with the Qing court were established in 1755-1756 during the period of China’s defeat of the Dzungar Khanate. Qing troops twice in 1756 and 1757 made large-scale invasions into Kazakhstan. The liberation struggle of the Kazakh people against the Qing invaders was led by Abylai, who was wounded in one of the battles. After the final defeat of the uprising in Dzungaria by the Qin, Abylai, fulfilling the decisions of the Council of the Middle Juz, concluded a truce with the Qin command and sent an embassy to Beijing. Here it is important to clarify the positions of the parties in the diplomatic game. The goals and objectives of Russian diplomacy were to isolate Abylai from the Qing influence, to prevent him from accepting Chinese citizenship, thereby neutralizing the Qing intrigues in Kazakhstan.
China’s diplomacy was reduced to induce Abylai to take his side, to secure a promise to support them in case of war with Russia and to achieve submission to Bogdikhan. Abylai’s diplomacy was based on the fact that Kazakhstan was in the grip of two powerful empires, that in this situation it was important for him to adhere to the policy of good-neighborliness, friendship with both Russia and China, not to enter into conflicts with either side.
Abylai’s inclination to constant negotiations was explained not by «eastern insidious policy», but by the desire to strengthen the Kazakh khanate. Fearlessness, prowess, military cunning, physical strength, lively mind, extraordinary talent made Abylai a recognized chief, a leader of the entire Kazakh society, an influential political figure about whom the whole steppe knew.
Abylai after his election as khan
In 1771 the aged khan of the Middle Juz Abulmambet died. Despite the fact that he still had sons — Sultan Abulfenz and others, as well as children of Sultan Barak, who enjoyed authority in the steppe, there were no two opinions about Abulmambet’s successor. It was Sultan Abylai who was to become Khan. His power and influence even in 60 years of XVIII century surpassed the power of Abulmambet Khan.
The election of Abylai Khan took place in the same year 1771, in Turkestan, in the mosque of Khozha Akhmet Iassaui. According to the accepted Kazakh custom, the ceremony of the election of the khan took place in this order. For the election of the khan a certain time and place was appointed, where the authorized people gathered for this assembly. Before the beginning of the people’s meeting carpets, colored felts are spread out, on which all participants of the meeting are seated according to their seniority. Representatives of the strongest and most numerous clans set the tone of the assembly and largely determined its decision. After the election of one of the sultans as khan, he was raised on a white koshma, then the clothes of the chosen one were torn into pieces and taken away by the participants of the meeting with them. The new khan was dressed in khan’s clothes.
Five years later Abylai, yielding to the persistent requests of the Orenburg administration, appealed to the Russian Empress Catherine II with a request to confirm him in the rank of khan of all three Kazakh zhuzes. In February 1776 Abylai’s embassy headed by his son Togum went to St. Petersburg. During the audience Togum handed over to Catherine II Abylai’s petition to confirm him in the khan’s dignity. In the calculations of the tsarist government, which had long ago appropriated the right to authorize the election of khans in the Younger Juz, it was not included to promote excessive strengthening of the khan’s power in Kazakhstan, no more to approve one man as khan of all three zhuzes. By the imperial decree of May 24, 1778, that is, in two and a half years Abylai was approved as khan of only one Middle zhuz. The diploma and signs of khan’s dignity were to be handed over to him in Orenburg or in Troetsk.
But offended Abylai naturally refused to come to Orenburg and Troetsk, proposed to move this ceremony closer to his nomads in Petrovskaya fortress. Later Abylai did not come there, and the tsarist authorities were forced to deliver to Abylai’s bet the letter of approval as khan of the middle zhuz. Signs of khan’s dignity — sable coat, cap, saber, remained in the Peter and Paul fortress.
In the history connected with Abylai, such a fact was preserved. One day during Kazybek biya dzhigits decided to play a joke on him and one of them dropped Abylai’s hat with a stick. The latter did not raise his hat and silently left. Some time later in Kyzylzhar at the fair by order of Abylai were seized relatives of the offenders, including the younger brother of Kazybek biya Botakan, who was buried alive in the ground. With great difficulty the bloodshed was prevented.
Another example of Abylai’s cruelty is his clash with the tribal nobility of the Kipchaks in 1772. Dissatisfied with the rule of the khan, the Kipchaks decided to separate from him and go to the Younger Zhukh. However Abylai having collected up to one thousand five hundred people of the army, resolutely stopped by force of arms this attempt to break out from under his authority.
Abylai, according to information collected by Ch. Ch. Valikhanov, had 12 wives, 30 sons and 40 daughters. In the spring of 1780, he migrated with his auls near Tashkent, as explained by contemporaries, to subdue the wild Kirghiz nomadic in the mountains. In the fall of 1780 Abylai became seriously ill and died at the age of 69. His ashes were delivered and buried with great honors in Turkestan in the Mausoleum of Khozha Akhmet Iassaui. More than 5 thousand people gathered at Abylai’s wake. Then elections of the new khan also took place. Abylai’s eldest son Vali became him. On August 18, 1781 Catherine II approved the decision of the Middle Juz to elect Vali Sultan as khan.
Abylai was a son of his people, whose interests he defended more energetically and skillfully, which allowed him to occupy a leading position in Kazakh society.