ETHNOPOLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS OF OIRATS AND KAZAKH ZHUZES IN THE LATE MIDDLE AGES

Abstract

The relationship between the nomadic peoples of Kazakhs and Oirats dates back hundreds of years. Clashes between Kazakhs and Oirats began in the second half of the XV century, almost simultaneously with the formation of the Kazakh Khanate. Тhe Oirats came out from under the rule of the Mongol khans in the second half of the XIV century. Ruled by their Taish, they settled in the territory of modern western Mongolia, Southern Siberia and Dzungaria and became neighbors of the Kazakhs. There are similarities in the socio-political structure of these two neighboring peoples. The aim of this article is to compare the socio-political organization of the Kazakh and Oirat people and to show the similarities of the political structures of states in the Late Middle Ages. The paper reveals the features of the political organization of Kazakhs and Oirats, which are due to the identical socio-economic conditions of nomadic life characteristic of Oirats and Kazakhs. Kazakh and Oirat societies in the Late Middle Ages consisted of unions of several ethnopolitical associations.