Kazakhstan is a state belonging to both Europe and Asia, with a population of more than 18 million people. The country of the Baikonur cosmodrome and rare animals such as the snow leopard and gazelle. A country with pristine nature and rich history, in which there are still many "white spots". And one of the most interesting and little-studied questions for historians is the question of the zhuzes of the Kazakhs. Do you know what that is?
What is zhuz? Distinctive features
Zhuz is a specific form of association of Kazakhs that has developed historically. There were three of them. Senior, Middle and Younger, and among themselves, they divided almost the entire territory of modern Kazakhstan, capturing a small part of neighboring states. Zhuzes had their own distinctive features: internal ethnic unity, a separate territory, tribal ties, traditions and customs.
The opinion of historians about the period of the emergence of zhuz
The causes, internal structure, organization - all this causes a lot of controversy and opposing opinions. The views of historians also differ on the period of occurrence of such a phenomenon as the zhuzes of the Kazakhs.
Linguist Sarsen Amanzholov, one of the founders of Kazakh linguistics, holds the version of their appearance in the 10-12 centuries, even before the unification of the Mongols and Turks into a single Turkic-Mongol empire
Soviet orientalist Vasily Bartold, an Islamic scholar and an Arabist, considers the 16th century to be the time of the emergence of zhuzes.
The historian Chokan Valikhanov linked the emergence of the zhuzs with the period of the collapse of the Golden Horde.
The Russian ethnographer and orientalist Nikolai Aristov attributed the creation of the zhuzs to the period of the Dzungar raids.
The orientalist Tursun Sultanov, noting the scarcity of information, was more likely to attribute the time of the emergence of zhuz to the second half of the 16th century - in his opinion, it was during this period that the ulus system was transformed into a zhuz system.
Zhuzes of Kazakhstan
There is a Kazakh proverb:
Give the Elder Zhuz a staff and let the cattle graze, give the Middle Zhuz a feather and let it solve the disputes, give the Younger Zhuz a spear and send it to the enemy.
Pretty curious, isn't it?
In total, there were three Kazakh zhuzes. We have already mentioned them. Senior (Uly Zhuz), Middle (Horta) and Younger (Kishi). The elder occupied the territory of Semirechye and Southern Kazakhstan. Medium - the territory of Central Kazakhstan A The younger Kazakh zhuz was located in the territory of Western Kazakhstan.
Interesting fact! The eldest was not the largest in territory or number. It got its name because of the seniority of the clans that were part of it.
Zhuzes existed as different khanates with their rulers, customs, and clan ties. But at the same time, the inhabitants never forgot that in general they are a single people, they did not arrange wars among themselves, and when threatened by an external enemy, they joined forces.
Features of education
What features of upbringing and behavior were adopted in associations that were called zhuz? This, for example, is a feature of raising sons. Traditionally, the children were "divided" like this: the eldest son was given to grandparents "to raise", the middle son grew up with his parents and later remained in this family, helping until old age, but the youngest was raised for the army. Younger sons from childhood knew about their mission and learned the skills that could be useful on the battlefield - fencing, archery and more.
Each member of this community had to know perfectly well the zhuzes and the clans that inhabited it. Knowing your family tree is a holy duty for all inhabitants from an early age.
To know the “ins and outs” of all relatives up to the tenth and beyond the knee is not a whim of the elders. The fact is that in zhuzes anyone, even the most distant relative, could count on all kinds of help, no matter what time he turned to her for his help. The importance of kindred mutual assistance is a distinctive feature of worldview.
Marriages
In zhuzes the rule "no closer than seven knees" was strictly observed at the conclusion of marriages. Spouses could not be of the same kind - Kazakhs strictly followed the exogamous nature of marriages, avoiding ties between relatives. Violation of this norm was strictly punished, as a rule, by the death penalty.
Older
South Kazakhstan, Dzhambul and the south of Almaty region are all former Senior Zhuz. These are the lands of Southern Kazakhstan, Semirechye and even partially the territory of modern western China.
The Syr Darya and Ili rivers flow through these territories. The main tribes that lived on these lands and are the basis of the Elder Zhuz are Dulat, Albanian, Kanl, Jalair, Uysun, Suan. By the beginning of the 20th century, the population was about 1 million people.
This zhuz is the last of the three that ended up in the Russian Empire. Moreover, he still had to compete with the Kokand Khanate - in the literal sense of the word. And the diplomatic war for the Semirechye also had to be arranged, but already with China.
If the tribes of the Middle and Younger Zhuzes were nomadic, the Elder Zhuz was distinguished by the presence of settled Kazakhs.
The wealth of the Elder Zhuz is uranium deposits. In recent years, Kazakhstan has become a leader in its production, greatly increasing production.
There is a high birth rate, many Uzbeks and Kyrgyz are moving here with pleasure.
Now in the territory of the former zhuz is the city of Alma-Ata with a population of more than one and a half million people.
Interesting fact: most of the leading posts in the country, a significant part of the ruling elite - come from the Senior Zhuz. The most striking example is the president of the country, Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Middle
In other words, Orta-zhuz is the largest of the Kazakh zhuzes in the territory. It occupied mainly the north and east of the country, as well as its central part. If we consider this zhuz in the context of modern Kazakhstan, then we are talking about such areas as Kustanai, Akmola, North Kazakhstan, Pavlodar, East Kazakhstan, Karaganda. As well as part of the Alma-Ata and Dzhambul regions.
The Irtysh, Ishim and Tobol rivers flowed through the Middle Zhuz . 6 main tribes lived in it: Argyns, Naimans, Kipchaks, Konyrats, Kereis and Uaki. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the total number of the Middle Zhuz was about 1 million 300 thousand people.
If we talk about the accession of the Middle Zhuz to Russia, then the year 1739 turned out to be important. This year, a congress of Kazakh sultans took place in Orenburg; from the Middle Zhuz attended by 27 foremen. At this congress, the sultans swore allegiance to the Russian Empire, and part of the Middle Zhuz became part of it. But not everything went smoothly, part of the khans challenged this decision, and as a result, the final accession of the Middle Zhuz dragged on until the middle of the 19th century.
Looking at the territory of the Middle Zhuz in modern conditions, one can see that in addition to the indigenous population - Kazakhs and Russians - Chechens, Ukrainians, Germans, and Tatars now also live on these lands. Karaganda and Astana are the largest cities located in this territory.
Younger
This zhuz occupied the territory of modern Aktobe, West Kazakhstan, Atyraus, Mangyshlak regions and partially Kyzylorda region. If you look at the map, this is the western part of Kazakhstan from the Urals to the Caspian Sea. The main rivers flowing through the lands are the Syr Darya and the Yaik.
The junior zhuz of Kazakhstan for the most part consisted of three tribal unions - alimul, bayul and zhetyru. These are three main groups, each of which, in turn, was composed of smaller ones - the group of alimul included 6 more genera, the group of bailles - 12, and the group of zhetyru - 7 genera. By the beginning of the 20th century, the number exceeded 1 million 100 thousand people.
If we consider the joining of the zhuzs to Russia, then it was the younger one who joined first and of his own free will. The 18th century turned out to be generally difficult for Kazakhstan, the warlike neighbors of the Dzungars from the East devastated the land, negatively affected the economic life of the Kazakhs, they needed a strong patron. In 1726, the senior khan sent a petition to Russia for patronage. The adoption of the Younger Zhuz in the empire took place in 1731 after the signing of the corresponding decree by the empress Anna Ioannovna.
The largest city in the modern territory is the city of Akhtubinsk with a population of over 370 thousand people. In addition to Kazakhs and Russians, representatives of the Korean nation now live in these parts.
The territory occupied by the Junior Zhuz is the land of arid steppes resembling a desert. But in this desert there are strategically important resources for Kazakhstan - oil, chromium and uranium are mined here.
Zhuzes in modern Kazakhstan
At present, in percentage terms, the residents of Kazakhstan are divided as follows: 35% - residents of the Senior Zhuz, 40% - residents of the Middle and 25% - the Younger.
Also in Kazakhstan there are two small, but revered by the majority of Kazakhs population groups:
- Tore - direct descendants of Genghis Khan.
- The skin is the descendants of the first Arabs who brought Islam to the steppes of Kazakhstan.
These two groups are the so-called "white bone". They are considered the ancient aristocracy of the Kazakhs.
Modern Kazakhstan is trying not to emphasize the differences between zhuzes, and even better - completely erase the differences between them. But the matter is not very successful - nevertheless, this is a country's history of several hundred years, and the commitment to traditions in the Kazakh steppe is very great.
It is significant how officials from the highest echelons of power try to negate the importance of origin from any zhuz. As an example, take the statement of the adviser to the president Yermukhamet Ertysbaev:
I don’t know at all what kind I am, what zhuz. I am Kazakh. Twenty-first century, and we think in terms of the era of the Mongol-Tatar invasion.
The importance of zhuz in the history of Kazakhstan
The presence of zhuzs definitely played an important role in the history of the entire state. First of all, it was thanks to them that the Kazakh ethnic group was so well preserved. The fact that customs, language, cultural features and traditions of the ancient Kazakh society have survived to our days is no accident. China, the Central Asian khanates, and Russia exerted pressure on the country. All this could depressingly affect the ethnicity and culture of the Kazakhs. But thanks to the zhuzes, the loss of this unique culture did not happen.
You must also understand that the Kazakhs occupied a fairly large territory. Effectively managing it from any one center was problematic, but impossible at other times. The presence of respected zhuzs helped to save the country for posterity in the form in which we see modern Kazakhstan now.