Mirza Abū'l-Khair Mūhammed Khan bin Qājı Abdūllah Sultan ( kk, Мырза Әбілқайыр Мұхаммед хан бин Қажы Абдұллаh Сұлтан, ,
romanized: ''Myrza Äbılqaiyr Mūhammed Han bin Qajy Abdūllah Sūltan''), more commonly known by his short name Abū'l-Khair Khan (1693–1748) was leader of the
Kazakh Little jüz
Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt
* ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film
*The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...
in present-day western and central
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
. During this period, the Little jüz participated in the
Kazakh-Dzungar Wars mainly to avenge the "
Great Disaster" Dzungar invasion of major Kazakh territories. Under the strong leadership of Abu'l-Khair, the
Muslim Kazakh ghazis defeated Dzungar forces at the Bulanty river in 1726 and in the
Battle of Anrakai in 1729.
Abu'l Khair Khan was born as the second oldest son of Hajji (Qajı) Abdullah Sultan, a Kazakh ''
mırza'' (aristocrat) who had quickly risen to the royal ranks after completing his
hajj to
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow ...
. Like his father, Abu'l-Khair also began as a ''
mırza'' before rising to the throne. This made him one of the few documented khans of the
Kazakh Khanate to have not been descended from either
Janibek Khan
Abū Saʿīd Janibek Bahadur Khan bin Barak Sultan (, , ), otherwise known by his shortened regal name Janibek Khan, was a co-founder and second Khan of the Kazakh Khanate from 1473 to 1480. He was a son of Barak, Khan of the Golden Horde from 14 ...
or
Kerei Khan
Kerei Khan (, ) (1424, White Horde - 1473/ 4, Kazakh Khanate) was a co-founder and the first Khan of the Kazakh Khanate from c. 1465 to 1473.
History
There are currently two versions how the first dynasty of the Kazakh khans originated. According ...
. Nonetheless, it was likely due to Abdullah's connections with the royal family that Abu'l Khair Khan himself became ruler.
Abu'l Khair Khan took the throne in 1718 as the new
khan of the
Kazakhs. In order to obtain Russian help against the Dzungars, Abul Khair Khan took an oath of allegiance to the Russian crown in 1731. In an attempt to unite his empire and prevent anyone from defecting and helping out the Dzungars, Abu'l Khair Khan also fostered a strong religious identity among the
Sunni Muslim Kazakhs.
He subsequently tried to limit the amount of Russian influence exercised over the Kazakh Little jüz since he still wanted his empire to function as an independent Islamic state. According to a 2019 study, "neither Kazakhs nor Russian officials thought of their relationship as a form of annexation, but rather merely an alliance."
For his contributions in reuniting the Kazakh people and defeating the Dzungars, Abu'l-Khair was bestowed with the title "''Shah-i-Turan''" (
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
for "King of
Turan
Turan ( ae, Tūiriiānəm, pal, Tūrān; fa, توران, Turân, , "The Land of Tur") is a historical region in Central Asia. The term is of Iranian origin and may refer to a particular prehistoric human settlement, a historic geographical re ...
").
Sources
"History of the Republic of Kazakhstan" Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Belgium (English)
Website on the Kazakh Diaspora in Germany
*https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/2018630 DİNÇ, Mehmet Ali. "RUSYA’NIN TÜRKİSTAN’DA YAYILMA SİYASETİNİN İLK ADIMI KAZAK KÜÇÜK CÜZ HANLIĞINI İŞGALİ." Akademik MATBUAT 5.2: 193-212. (Turkish)
References
Kazakh khans
1693 births
1748 deaths
{{Kazakhstan-bio-stub