Abd al-Ghaffar's rebellion — the uprising of the

Karakalpaks The Karakalpaks or Qaraqalpaqs (; ), are a Kipchak languages, Kipchak-Nogai Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group native to Karakalpakstan in Northwestern Uzbekistan. During the 18th century, they settled in the lower reaches of the Amu Darya a ...

, led by their proclaimed ruler “False-Abd al-Ghaffar Sultan”, against the Kazakh Khanate.

Background

The new ruler of the Kazakhs was Yeshim, the brother of Tawakkul. He chose not to continue the war and agreed to peace, which the representatives of the Bukharan Khan had persistently sought. As a result of the negotiations, Pir-Muhammad ceded Tashkent, Sayram, and Turkestan to Yeshim but retained the ancient capital of Mawarannahr—Samarkand.

Uprising

Among the political rivals of Yeshim Khan, sources particularly highlight two sultans — the impostor Abd al-Ghaffar and Tursun-Muhammad. The story of the first is described in the work ''Musakhkhir al-bilad'' by Muhammad-Yar ibn Arab Katagan. The events he describes took place after the death of Shibanid Abdullah and his successor Abd al-Mumin, during the reign of Janid Baki-Muhammad in Mawarannahr and Yeshim Khan in Kazakhstan. In the autumn of

1603 Events January–March * January 24 – Anglo-Spanish War: English Admiral Christopher Newport leads an unsuccessful attempt to take the Spanish-controlled Caribbean island of Jamaica, where he was attempting to pillage the area t ...

, corresponding to the Year of the Leopard, the Karakalpaks in Turkestan enthroned a man, proclaiming him Abd al-Ghaffar Sultan—allegedly the son of Shibanid Baba Sultan. In response, Yeshim Khan, Bahadur Sultan, and other Kazakh sultans gathered an army and marched from Tashkent and Sayram to confront the impostor. The battle lasted twelve days, but on the thirteenth day, the Kazakh army suffered defeat. As a result, the impostor Abd al-Ghaffar Sultan seized

Turkestan Turkestan,; ; ; ; also spelled Turkistan, is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and East Turkestan (Xinjiang). The region is located in the northwest of modern day China and to the northwest of its ...

, Sayram,

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

, Ahsikent, and

Andijan Andijan ( ), also spelt Andijon () and formerly romanized as Andizhan ( ), is a city in Uzbekistan. It is the administrative, economic, and cultural center of Andijan Region. Andijan is a district-level city with an area of . Andijan is the most ...

, making Tashkent his capital.

Battle of Karakamysh

In the spring of

1605 Events January–March * January 1 – William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', copyrighted 1600, is given its earliest recorded performance, and witnessed by the Viscount Dorchester. * January 7 – Shakespeare's play ' ...

, the Year of the Hare, he left

and set up camp in the clearing of Kara-Kamysh, about three to four kilometers from the city gates. At the same time, Yeshim and Bahadur, who had marched with their army from Ala-Tag to fight the impostor Abd al-Ghaffar, approached the outskirts of Tashkent. They captured a prisoner who revealed important information. Learning about the situation of the impostor Abd al-Ghaffar, Yeshim and Bahadur launched a sudden attack on the camp in Kara-Kamysh at dawn. The impostor was still asleep. Awakened by the sound of galloping horses, he ran out of his tent in fear. At that moment, Yeshim Khan appeared and pierced his stomach with a massive saber. Yeshim Khan defeated Abd al-Ghaffar, after which the Kazakhs regained control over the Syr Darya cities, Tashkent, and

Fergana Fergana ( uz-Latn-Cyrl, Fargʻona, Фарғона, ), () or Ferghana, also Farghana is a district-level city and the capital of Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan. Fergana is about 320 km east of Tashkent, about 75 km southwest of A ...

Reference

Bibliography

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Recommendation of literature

* {{Cite book , last=Atygaev , first=N. , title=Казахское ханство: очерки внешнеполитической истории XV-XVII веков , date=2023 , publisher=Евразийский научно-исследовательский институт МКТУ им. Х.А. Ясави , isbn=978-601-7805-24-1 , location=Almaty , language=ru Military history of Kazakhstan Kazakh Khanate