Barefooted Flight

Years of Great Disasters
Part of the Kazakh–Dzungar War (1723–1730) of Kazakh–Dzungar Wars
Native nameKazakh: «Ақтабан шұбырынды, Алқакөл сұлама»
LocationJetisu, Southern Kazakhstan, Syr Darya, Fergana Valley, Irtysh, Chu River, Talas River, Kazakhstan
Date1723
TargetKazakh civilians
Attack type
Indiscriminate attack on civilian populations and Forced displacement.
DeathsUnknown, catastrophic
VictimsKazakh civilians
Perpetrators Dzungar Khanate
MotiveTerritorial Expansion

The Barefooted Flight or also known as the Years of Great Disasters (Kazakh: «Ақтабан шұбырынды, Алқакөл сұлама») is a name given to the defeat, indiscriminate attacks on civilians and expulsion of the Kazakhs from Kazakhstan from 1723 to 1725/1727. The expulsion and the indiscriminate attacks on civilians included the Senior Jüz, Middle Jüz and the Junior Jüz, as the Kyrgyz and Karakalpaks. As it was described as the "worst case of nomadic-sedentary relations: steppe pastoralists ravaged the cultivated land of sedentary neighbours".

Background

The death of Tauke Khan in 1718 left the Kazakhs without a recognized leader and plunged them into a succession crisis. Following this, the Kazakhs faced internal rivalries and disputes, while the Dzungar ruler Tsewang Rabtan mobilized his forces for an invasion with the following death of the Kangxi Emperor in 1722, which he had fought against in the Second Dzungar-Qing War. The end of war against the Qing dynasty allowed Tsewang to focus on Kazakhstan, which he made a sudden invasion against them.

The Barefooted Flight

Tsewang Rabtan and his commanders, such as Lobsangsür invaded the upper reach of the Irtysh river, and attacked the nomadic camps of the Jüz, specifically, the Middle Jüz and the Senior Jüz on 1723. Another major Dzungar army attacked to the Chu, Nura, Shelek and Talas rivers, Balkash Steppe—as they swiftly occupied the regions. This allowed for the invasion of Jetisu and Southern Kazakhstan and sacking their territory. Afterwards, a Kazakh militia fought the Dzungars, in which the Kazakhs were expulsed, a Kazakh militia led by an unknown batyr battled the Dzungar army led by Lobsangsür at the city of Sayram and the Kazakhs were defeated again on Tashkent. This led to its capture and plunder by the Dzungars. The Kazakhs retreated to Khara Murut, where they, again, suffered defeat; the Dzungars sacked the city, following this, they went deep on the Syr Darya, defeating the Kazakhs at Turkistan. The Dzungars then swept through the Fergana Valley, which the Dzungars captured Khujand, Andijan and Samarkand. They later captured more cities throughout the rivers of Chirchiq, Arys and Borolday, consolidating their occupation.

Casualties

The question of the scale of Kazakh losses during the Great Disaster remains disputed. There are several views regarding the number of casualties. According to Russian historian Alexander Kadyrbaev, the Dzungar invasion of Central Asia in 1720s had devastating consequences for both nomadic and settled populations. Most people lost their material resources, while refugees were forced to leave their homes and died of starvation. In particular, the historian estimates that approximately one-third of the Kazakh population died during this period.

According to one estimate, up to two-thirds of the entire Kazakh population died during this period. According to Khojamquli-bek Balkhi, of approximately 300,000 Kazakhs, around 100,000 died, while more than 150,000 Kazakh households were forced to migrate towards Samarkand. However, Russian sources do not record such a sharp decline in the Kazakh population, mentioning only the capture of approximately 5,000 Kazakh families. Kazakh historian Zhaxylyk Sabitov considers these estimates of losses to be greatly exaggerated. While acknowledging the significant scale of the human losses, the researcher concludes that a proportion closer to one-third of the population is more plausible. At the same time, the historian notes that the Kazakhs were able to restore their population relatively quickly. In the subsequent period, Bukenbai Batyr estimated the number of Kazakhs at "80,000 troops", which was comparable to the figures from the era of Tauke Khan. In a 1726 message, Koibaghar Kobyakov recorded that the total number of Kazakhs amounted to up to 100,000 warriors.

In national history

The Kazakh political activist and historian Mukhamedzhan Tynyshpaev wrote several works which described the Flight. His narrative of the events would later form the basis of Soviet-era and Post-Soviet histories of the event.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Holzwarth, Wolfgang. "Relations between Uzbek Central Asia, the Great Steppe and Iran, 1700-1750," in Shifts and Drifts in Nomad-Sedentary Relations Edited by Stefan Leder and Bernhard Streck. Wiesbaden, 2005.
  2. ↑ Erofeeva, I. V. (2014). Epistoliarnoe nasledie kazakhskoi praviashchei elity, 1675–1821 godov. Almaty: Abdi co. 79, Erofeeva, I. V. p. 79.
  3. ↑ Viatkin, M. P. (1947). Batyr Srym. Moscow: Akademiia Nauk SSSR. Viatkin, M. P. p. 154.
  4. ↑ Adle, Chahryar (2003). History of Civilizations of Central Asia (5th ed.). UNESCO, Adle Chahrayar. p. 98. ISBN 978-8120820463.
  5. ↑ Unknown, Unknown (1988). История средней и центральной Азии в X-XIX веках, Ташкент, 1988 [History of Central and Middle Asia in the 10th-19th centuries, Tashkent, 1988] (in Russian). Tashkent: Unknown. p. 265.
  6. 1 2 Моисеев, В.А. Джунгарское ханство и казахи (XVII-XVIII вв.) [Dzungar Khanate and the Kazakhs (17th to the 18th centuries)] (in Russian). Моисеев В.А. p. 72.
  7. ↑ Fuat, Dr. Vecihi Sefa. 18. VE 19. YÜZYILLARDA KAZAK TÜRKLERİ RUS İŞGALİ VE ULUSAL BAĞIMSIZLIK MÜCADELESİ [“18th and 19th Centuries Kazakh Turks” “Russian Occupation and the National Independence Struggle”] (in Turkish). Dr. Vecihi Sefa Fuat HEKİMOĞLU. p. 19. ISBN 978-605-2149-53-9.
  8. ↑ Adle, Chahryar (2003). History of Civilizations of Central Asia (5th ed.). UNESCO, Adle Chahrayar. pp. 98–99. ISBN 978-8120820463.
  9. ↑ Adle, Chahrayar (2003). History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Volume V: Development in Contrast: from the Sixteenth to the Mid-Nineteenth Century. Paris: UNESCO Publishing. p. 99. ISBN 9789231038761.
  10. ↑ History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Volume V: Development in Contrast: from the Sixteenth to the Mid-Nineteenth Century. Paris: UNESCO Publishing. 2003. p. 89. ISBN 9789231038761.
  11. ↑ Unknown, Unknown (1988). История средней и центральной Азии в X-XIX веках, Ташкент, 1988 [History of Central and Middle Asia in the 10th-19th centuries, Tashkent, 1988] (in Russian). Tashkent: Unknown. p. 265.
  12. ↑ Suleimenov RB, Moiseev VA From the history of Kazakhstan in the 18th century (about the foreign and domestic policies of Ablai)  : [Russian] . — Alma-Ata: Science: Institute of History, Archeology and Ethnography named after. CH Valikhanov Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR, 1988. - 144 p. 21.
  13. ↑ Unknown, Unknown (1988). История средней и центральной Азии в X-XIX веках, Ташкент, 1988 [History of Central and Middle Asia in the 10th-19th centuries, Tashkent, 1988] (in Russian). Tashkent: Unknown. p. 265.
  14. ↑ Erofeeva, I, V (2007). Хан Абулхаир: полководец, правитель, политик [Abulkhair khan, commander, ruler, politics] (in Russian). Almaty: Daik press, Erofeeva I, V. p. 162. ISBN 978-9965-798-64-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ↑ Adle, Chahryar (2003). History of Civilizations of Central Asia (5th ed.). UNESCO, Adle Chahrayar. p. 99. ISBN 978-8120820463.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 Sabitov 2016, p. 745.
  17. ↑ Parmer, M. Hancock (2015). "The Soviet study of the Barefooted Flight of the Kazakhs". Central Asian Survey. 34 (3).

Sources