KAZAKH KHANATE: DEFINITION OF SOURCES

Abstract

Abstract. The article examines the terminology used in historical sources regarding the Kazakh Khanate.

The sources of the work are Muslim historical and historical-geographical works written in the East, as well as documentary materials stored in Russian archives.

Regarding the national state of the Kazakh people, the Kazakh Khanate, formed in the Eurasian steppes in the second half of the 15th century, various terms are used in historical written sources. For example, in Eastern Muslim works it is called «Kazakh ulus», «Kazakh el-ulus». And in the documentary materials preserved in the Russian archive, the Kazakh Khanate is called the «Cossack (Kazat, Kaisat, Kirghiz-Cossack, Kirghiz-Kaisat, Cossack) Horde». In addition, it is known that the expressions «Barakov Tsarev Cossack Yurt» and «Urusov Tsarev Yurt» were used in relation to him. And in European sources, the Kazakh Khanate is known as the «Cossack Horde» («Kazakh Horde»). Also, in some Persian-language sources, in relation to the Kazakh Khanate, the term «daulet» (state) is used, and in the texts of some Russian embassy documents it is called «state». The terms («Alash (ts) ulus») and «Alash yurt» («Alatsky yurt /  ownership») are found in the letters of the Kazakh rulers of the 18th century Abilkhair Khan and Abylay Khan. Since the 30s of the 16th century, the term «Kazakhstan» - «Land of the Kazakhs» began to be used to designate the Kazakh lands in written Muslim sources. The term «Kazakh Khanate» was first used by the Kazakh researcher M. Tynyshpaev. In eastern sources, the rulers of the Kazakh Khanate are referred to by the terms «khan» and «khakan», and in Russian archives - by the term «tsar» (king). In the relations of the Kazakh rulers in the Persian written sources, the Persian term «padishah» is used.

The study of the terminology used in historical sources confirms the thesis that the Kazakh Khanate in the 15th - early 18th centuries was a sovereign state and acted in the international legal field as a subject recognized by other states. Historical sources clearly indicate that the rulers of neighboring states considered the Kazakh khans as independent rulers of the state and recognized their high status.

For citation: Atygayev N.A. Kazakh khanate: definition of sources // MUSEUM.KZ. 2023. № 2 (1), рр. 85-96. DOI 10.59103/muzkz.2023.02.08