Kerey Khan

Currently, there are two versions of the origin of the dynasty of the first Kazakh khans. According to one of them, they came from the house of the Horde-Eden ^[2] , according to another - they were the descendants of the thirteenth son of Jochi Khan - Tuk-Timur . For example, Mahmoud ibn Wali in Bahr al-asrar calls Kerey (Girey) and Zhanibek descendants of Tuk-Timur :

In the second half of the 1450s, part of the nomadic population led by the Sultans Zhanibek and Kerey separated from Abu l- Khaira [Shibanids | Shibanids] who ruled in Desht-i-Kypchak and migrated to Mogulistan , settling in the valleys of the Chu and Kozy-Bashi rivers . The Khan of Mogulistan entered into an alliance with them, counting on their support in the fight against his opponents. About 200 thousand nomads who suffered from endless feudal wars and wars were grouped around Zhanibek Khan and Kerey Khan, whose power was so strong that they aroused fear among Abu l-hair, who undertook a military campaign in 1468 in Mogulistan, but who died suddenly on my way. The move of the Kazakhs Kerey and Zhanibek was an important link in the chain of events contributing to the formation of the Kazakh Khanate. The first mention of the pothole occurs in the Tarih-i-Rashidi of Muhammad Haidar, from where it transferred to many other works (Habib as-siyar by Hondemir , Haft Iklim Amin Ahmad razi, Bahr al-asrar Mahmoud ibn Wali and others). Muhammad Khaidar in Tarih-i-Rashidi writes:

Among the Argyns, there is a legend that the closest persons of Abu l-Khaira were the Koblandy-Batyr from the clan Kara-Kypchak and Dairkhoja, nicknamed Ak-Zhol, from the clan Argyn . Their rivalry ended with the assassination of Dairhodzha (Ak-Zhol) by the Kypchak of Koblandy. Argyns demanded that Abu l-Khair extradite Koblandy; Khan refused their request. Then the Argyns and Kereis , led by the Sultans Zhanibek and Kerey, left Abu l-Khaira and went east. ^[6]

In 1468, Abu l-hair passed away ^[7] , and his son Sheikh Khaidar Khan inherited the supreme power, and all opponents of Abu l-Khair united and began an active struggle against him, in connection with which the reign of Sheikh Khaidar Khan was short-lived. After the assassination of Sheikh Haidar by the Siberian Khan Ibak, the supreme power in eastern Desht was Kerey, who appointed his brother Zhanibek as ruler of the western wing ^[8] . At that time, more and more people adjoined the Kazakhs, their numbers grew, and the area of ​​their nomads expanded in parallel. The number of their supporters reached 200 thousand people. ^[9]

Owing to their patronage, the modern name of the Kazakh nationality was formed, from the end of the 15th century the term “қазақ” (Kazakh) acquires a political character, used to refer to individual feudal possessions created by Kerey and Zhanibek, and from the beginning of the 16th century, after part of the tribes were removed from the modern territory of Kazakhstan led by Sheybani Khan in Maverannahr, the term "қазақ" begins to acquire an ethnic character. ^[9]

There is no consensus in the scientific literature about the movement of Kerey and Zhanibek, as well as on the place and origin of the Kazakh Khanate. Thus, a number of authors wrote that the Kazakh Khanate was formed at the turn of the 15th – 16th centuries, that Kerey and Zhanibek’s rook and the allocation of a number of feudal possessions under their leadership was only an episode in the formation of the Kazakh Khanate. ^[five]

On June 1, 2010, in Astana, near the Museum of the First President of Kazakhstan with the participation of N. A. Nazarbayev , a monument to the khans Kerey and Zhanibek by the sculptor Renat Abenov was unveiled ^[10] . The total height of the monument from the base to the crown of the banner is 12 m, the height of the figure of Zhanibek Khan in full height is 5.25 m, with a splint of 5.45 m. The height of the sitting figure of Kerey Khan is 4 m. The weight of the monument is 16.2 tons ^{[10 ]} .