Muhammad Qasim bin Janibek Khan (,

romanized In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and transcription, ...

: ''Qasym bin Jänıbek Han''), known by his shortened regal name as Qasim Khan (also spelled as Kasym Khan) was a son of Janibek Khan. He ruled as the fourth Khan of the Kazakh Khanate from about 1511 to 1521. He is viewed as the greatest leader to unite the Kazakh tribes. Although, Burunduk Khan was the Khan of the Kazakhs, the control of the government was in the hands of Qasim Khan. Eventually, he sent Burunduk Khan into exile who died in

Samarkand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...

. Qasim Khan had a brother named Adik Khan who was married to Sultana Nigar Khanim, daughter of Yunus Khan of

Moghulistan Moghulistan, also called the Moghul Khanate or the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, was a Muslims, Muslim, Mongol, and later Turkic peoples, Turkic breakaway khanate of the Chagatai Khanate and a historical geographic area north of the Tian Shan, Teng ...

. When Adik Khan died, Qasim Khan took her as his wife.Qasim Khan is generally regarded as one of the greatest rulers of the Kazakh Khanate. Shortly after taking the throne in 1510, Qasim Khan fought against his cousin Muhammad Shaybani for control of the

Desht-i-Kipchak The name Cumania originated as the Latin exonym for the Cuman–Kipchak confederation, which was a tribal confederation in the western part of the Eurasian Steppe, between the 10th and 13th centuries. The confederation was dominated by two Turki ...

region. After Shaybani and the

Uzbeks The Uzbeks () are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, being among the largest Turkic ethnic groups in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakhs, Kazakh and Karakalpaks, Karakalpak ...

suffered severe losses in numerous battles near Lake Balkhash, the

Uzbek Khanate The Uzbek Khanate, also known as the Abulkhair Khanate, was an Uzbek Shaybanid state preceding the Khanate of Bukhara. During the few years it existed, the Uzbek Khanate was the preeminent state in Central Asia, ruling over most of modern-day ...

agreed to give Qasim Khan and the

Kazakhs The Kazakhs (Kazakh language, Kazakh: , , , ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia and Eastern Europe. They share a common Culture of Kazakhstan, culture, Kazakh language, language and History of Kazakhstan, history ...

all former Uzbek lands north of the Syr Darya. This effectively allowed Qasim Khan to conquer all of modern

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

, much of modern-day

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

, and parts of southwestern

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

, western

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, and

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

. The Kazakh Khanate consistently controlled of all of these lands until the 18th century, when they began suffering attacks from the

Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia, also known as the Tsardom of Moscow, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of tsar by Ivan the Terrible, Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter the Great in 1721. ...

in the north, the Emirate of Bukhara to the south, and the Dzungars in the east. After his conquests against Muhammad Shaybani, Qasim began to advance the power of the Kazakh state for the long term. He is credited with creating the first written code of laws for the

, which he called "The Bright Road of Qasim Khan" as well as creating some of the first written records of the

Kazakh language Kazakh is a Turkic language of the Kipchak branch spoken in Central Asia by Kazakhs. It is closely related to Nogai, Kyrgyz and Karakalpak. It is the official language of Kazakhstan, and has official status in the Altai Republic of Russia ...

, which used the

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

script until the early 20th century. Qasim Khan, a devout

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

himself, was also a proponent of

Islamic culture Islamic cultures or Muslim cultures refers to the historic cultural practices that developed among the various peoples living in the Muslim world. These practices, while not always religious in nature, are generally influenced by aspects of Islam ...

and a patron of the arts. Under his reign, all inhabitants of modern-day

fully adopted

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any Succession to Muhammad, successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr ...

, which had begun spreading throughout the

steppe in the 13th century but only became firmly established under him and the Shaybanid rulers before him. Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat, the Kazakh Chagatayid governor of

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

, wrote extensively about Qasim's success in the Tarikh-i-Rashidi. With the relatively notable exceptions of Ottoman

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

Selim I Selim I (; ; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute (), was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite lasting only eight years, his reign is ...

and Safavid Shah Ismail I, Dughlat considered Qasim to be one of the most powerful rulers of the eastern Islamic world. Qasim oversaw the construction of numerous mosques and mausoleums, especially in northern

, many of which still stand today. Towards the end of his reign, Qasim built an alliance with the rising Timurid prince Babur, who shared a common enemy of Muhammad Shaybani with him. Qasim had three sons by his two wives: Khanzada Abu'l Khair was born to Sultan Nigar Khanum, while Khanzada Haqnazar and Khanzada Muhammed were born to Khanyk Sultan Khanum. Since he was the oldest, Khanzada Muhammed ultimately succeeded his father as khan, followed by Haqnazar long after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Kasym Kazakh khans Year of birth missing Year of death missing

See also

References