Bopay Hanım

There is no reliable information about the life of Bopay Khanym before being hit in the harem of Abulkhair Khan . It is known that she was a Kazakh woman named Batima. Bopay Khanym was the daughter of one of the influential Kazakh batyrs of the Younger Zhuz Suyunduk who was from the Adai family - Tobysh, a subgenus of Tabynay.

In 1709, Abulkhair Khan and Batyr Zhanibek went to the enemy’s nomads and stayed for a few days in the village of a rich aksakal. There Abulkhair Sultan and saw the beautiful young Bopai, daughter Suyunduk batyr, who won his heart and he decided to win her heart. Under a plausible pretext, the sultan deviated from the further path with Zhanibek and, hiding his aristocratic descent from Bopay’s parents, he hired to shepherds to the father of the girl who fascinated him. Brave, tall, handsome and athletically built, Abulhair managed to quickly gain the favor of smart and penetrating Batima, who reciprocated his feelings. For a short period of time, a serious romance began between them, and when Bopai was expecting a child from her fiancé, Abulkhair decided to ask his father Bopai Khanym for consent to their marriage. Tradition claims that Suyunduk batyr, learning about Abulkhair’s intention to marry Bopay, stubbornly did not want to give his only daughter to marry a beggar, little-known and rootless guy from an obscure family, and hoped that in case of insurmountable obstacles he would be forced to leave her, then Suyunduk the batyr demanded that Abulkhair pay him a dowry in the form of "90 bay geldings with white legs and 60 gray geldings with black heels on their legs." Abulkhair accepted the challenge of the adamant old man and told his wife, mother Bopay, that he was traveling for a month and "at all costs will get the required kalym." After long wanderings, he again accidentally stumbled upon Zhanibek batyr, who drove a large herd of horses, and the noble batyr, wanting to help the young torus he loved, chose Abulkhair 150 best stallions from his herd to pay kalym to his future father-in-law. The Abulkhair Sultan drove the horses to the village of Bopay’s parents, and after him, Zhanibek Batyr, who became the matchmaker of the Abulkhair Sultan, came there. The stubborn aksakal had no choice but to agree to marry his beloved daughter to the persistent Abulkhair, and a few days later the Abulkhair Sultan and Bopai Hanim got married.

Bopay Khanym is the beloved wife of Abulkhair Khan , a public activist who participated in the administration of the country, a diplomat . Bopay Khanym was not only the wife and mother of the heirs to the khan’s throne, she became co-ruler of Abulkhair, his wise adviser and reliable support. In resolving issues that determine the domestic and foreign policy of the Kazakh Khanate , Bopay Hanim herself spoke at public meetings, competing in eloquence with recognized masters of the word and experts in popular law. Bopay Khanym established good neighborly relations between neighboring countries, peaceful ties with Russia, thanks to this she was able to resolve many issues through diplomatic means. Bopay Khanym corresponded with the tsarist administrators, Russian empresses and with the Dzungarian rulers. A prominent specialist in the history of Kazakhstan, A. I. Levshin, wrote: “... that Bopay Khanym wisely enjoyed great respect, and sometimes had a very strong influence on the management of the Kazakh Khanate . She had a seal with her monogram, the difference was not at all ordinary among the people, who were used to treating women as slaves, removing them from any participation in public affairs . ” Bopay Khanym gave birth to Abulkhair Khan of five sons and daughter Zuleykhu Hanim. In order to strengthen the union, the Dzungars asked one of the daughters of Abulkhair Khan for the son of Khontaychi. However, Bopay Khanym rejected this idea, recalling that the Kazakh warriors were still captured by the Dzungars, and the mourning for the dead was not over yet. It should be noted that in this matter, on which the foreign policy situation of the Kazakh Khanate depended, the People’s Council supported precisely Bopay Khanym, and not Khan Abulkhair.

On August 1, 1748, Abulkhair Khan died in battle as a result of the ambush of Sultan Barak . From this moment, the reign of Bopay Hanim began. Her first step was a statement addressed to the Russian Empress Catherine - if her son does not become a khan, the agreement with Russia will be terminated. February 26, 1749 Nurala, according to the Decree of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, became a Kazakh khan. Being the mother of the new khan, Bopay Khanim rose to the rank of Khan-ana. Bopay Khanym was such a powerful woman that when Abulkhair Khan died, she had a very strong influence on her sons for ten years. After the death of her husband, Bopai Khanym did not change her political course, pursuing a policy through her son Nurala, who was supported by the well-known biys and batyrs of the Kazakh Khanate. After the death of Abulkhair Khan, Bopai Khanym had to change his mind about kinship with the Dzungars and give his consent to the marriage of his stepdaughter Namurun Khanym with his son Galden-Tsaren. However, the marriage did not take place - stepdaughter Namurun Khanym died. Soon after, Barack also died. People used to say that Bopay Khanym took revenge on the murderer of her stepdaughter.

Bopay Hanım was a very beautiful woman; not only numerous folk traditions testify to this. In 1736, an English traveler and painter John Castle was in the Orenburg steppes. Looking at Castle’s drawings, it’s hard to believe that by this time Bopay Khanum had crossed the forty-year milestone and was already the mother of five children.

Bopay Hanim died on May 31, 1780, she survived her husband for 32 years. Bopay is buried in the upper reaches of the Zhosaly River. The mausoleum of Bopay Khanym, built of gray raw material, became a place of pilgrimage. Unfortunately, the Bopai Khanym mausoleum has not survived to the present day. After the abolition of the khan’s rule, when immigrants from the inner provinces of Russia poured into the Kazakh khanate , the Bopai Khanym mausoleum was destroyed.

• Bopay // Kazakhstan. National Encyclopedia . - Almaty: Kazakh encyclopedias , 2004. - T. I. - ISBN 9965-9389-9-7 .
• Bopay Khanum (c. 1690-1780)
• women: Bopay khanum (inaccessible link)
• Hansha Bopai was a smart, beautiful and flirtatious lady who influenced politics.
• great-daughters-sacred-steppe
• Bopai hansha wife of khan Abulhair
• Renamed streets of Uralsk (1995-2010)
• Second life Bopay Hanim