Osh at the End of the 17th — Beginning of the 18th Century
In 1638, Abdallah Khan seized supreme power in Moghulistan (with its center in Yarkand) and, in order to strengthen his position in the state, decided to conquer the neighboring mountainous regions of Kyrgyzstan adjacent to Eastern Turkestan. After campaigns to Pamir (in Bolor and Badakhshan), Abdallah Khan directed his troops to raid the city of Osh. The Kyrgyz successfully repelled the invasion twice but were soon forced to surrender to the mercy of the victor. However, after conquering Osh, Abdallah Khan decided not to physically eliminate the Kyrgyz feudal lords but rather to persuade them to join his side and use them in the struggle against his rivals in Eastern Turkestan, for which he granted them considerable power and awarded them high military positions and important state posts.
From this time, the Kyrgyz began to play a significant role in the struggle of claimants for the Kashgar throne from various representatives of the theocratic groups ("khodjas"). This continued until the Dzungar Khanate conquered Eastern Turkestan at the end of the 17th — beginning of the 18th century. During this struggle, part of the Kyrgyz were pushed from the Tian Shan and Eastern Turkestan into the Fergana Valley. Here, they played a decisive role in political events for a time, often acting together with nomadic Uzbek tribes both in the fight against the Bukhara Emirate and in repelling the aggression of Dzungar feudal lords.
In 1684, the Dzungar ruler Galdan Boshoktu Khan captured and plundered Osh, then moved on to Andijan, but, encountering a joint resistance from the united Kyrgyz and Uzbeks, was forced to retreat. This was a significant success for the Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in the context of the unstable political situation in Fergana.
A brief period of complete independence for Osh ensued, which, it is believed, was governed by Kyrgyz tribal leaders who maintained an alliance with Uzbek feudal lords. As Eastern chronicles testify, at the beginning of the 18th century, the main role in Fergana was played by the Kyrgyz and Uzbek tribe of Yuz. With the conquest of Fergana by the Bukhara dynasty of Mangyts, the main opposing force consisted of the same Uzbeks and Kyrgyz.
Central Asian sources contain information about the campaign of the Kokand ruler Rahim-biy (1721/22—1734—?) against Samarkand. In "Tarikh-i Rahim-khani," for example, it is stated that "Samarkand was in the hands of the Kyrgyz for about six years during the turmoil...".
Around 1741, there was an invasion of Dzungars (Kalmyks) into Fergana, and Kokand was besieged (but apparently not captured, although some Central Asian sources state that "after some resistance" the local beks led by the governor of Kokand "were forced to submit to these infidels"). Most likely, as other sources narrate, the ruler of Kokand Abd al-Karim-biy (1734—?—1750/51) gave the Dzungars his heir Baba-biy as a hostage, thus calming them. After the death of Karim-biy, Baba-biy was sent by the Dzungars to Kokand as a viceroy. However, "the Kokand people did not like Baba-biy and, taking advantage of the infighting among the Kalmyks, killed him in Bish-Aryk," and his brother Irdana became the bek of Kokand. Thus, even the nominal dependence on the Dzungar Khanate lasted very briefly — only a few months of Baba-biy's rule.
The city of Osh is not directly mentioned in connection with these events, but Irdana views it as a coveted object for conquest. Meanwhile, the surrounding Kyrgyz tribes did not even formally recognize Dzungar vassalage.
... Life went on as usual. The herdsman would take his flocks up to the summer pastures of Aalaï, the farmer cultivated wheat, rice, and cotton in the vicinity of the city, and the merchant waited for the peasants to finish their seasonal work and come to the market for goods that craftsmen tried to prepare by that time. And everyone anxiously thought about the encounter with the tax collectors. When the tax pressure became too tight, the "spring of patience" of the people would snap, striking back at the exploiters. With the suppression of popular uprisings by the feudal lords, everything would return to its place, and only in songs and legends did the people express their dream of a cloudless future, of a happy life.