Brief information about Taylak has been preserved in Chinese chronicles of the 19th century, and he is also mentioned by the Kazakh scholar-traveler Chokan Valikhanov, who visited the Kokand fortress of Kurtka in the middle of the last century. The genealogy of the Kyrgyz — sanjyra — also assigns an honorable place to Taylak. However, more extensive information about him can be gleaned from the historical legends of the people, which have survived to this day, recorded by A. Chorobaev and published in Frunze in 1959 in the Kyrgyz language.
According to genealogical legends, Taylak and his twin brother Atantay were outstanding fighters for the freedom of the Kyrgyz people against Chinese and Kokand feudal lords. Their father Ryskul left no trace in history, except for having been captured by the Chinese, while their grandfather Jambolot was a notable figure in the second half of the 18th century. Being a major feudal lord of the Chirik clan from the Sayak tribe, he actively participated in inter-feudal tribal conflicts, repeatedly organizing raids into the Fergana Valley and Talas, into the basin of the Ili River. The descendants of the captives taken by Jambolot, brought to Central Tian Shan, remained here, forming small clans — remnants of other Kyrgyz tribes such as Kipchak, Munduz, Saruu, Kytai, and even other peoples — Tajiks, Kazakhs, Kalmyks. Jambolot also became famous as an active fighter against Chinese aggression. However, in the late 18th century, his detachment was defeated by superior forces, and Jambolot with his son Ryskul was captured and taken into slavery in China. It was only many years later that they managed to return home. In the early 19th century, the Kokand khans began their conquest raids on Kyrgyz lands. The struggle of the people against both the Chinese and the Kokand was led by the grandsons of Jambolot — the twin brothers Taylak-Batyr and Atantay.
The Kokand governor in Kurtka, Tashmat, once deceitfully lured Atantay into the fortress and imprisoned him in a dungeon. Indignant, Taylak armed himself and began to gather warriors. At that time, the Kokand governor was abducting all the beautiful Kyrgyz girls. A messenger was sent to Taylak for help. Taylak, with his warriors, set an ambush on the path of the Kokand forces and rescued the captive girls. Taylak released the Kokand captives, taking only their horses.
Upon returning, Taylak said to his father: "I am a mature warrior, I cannot bear to see the suffering of my people. The Kokand are abducting girls and oppressing the people with taxes. We can no longer live in eternal fear. We must fight." He told his father how he had freed the girls and released the Kokand captives. "Bless me, father, for military deeds," Taylak concluded his story.
Gathering the people, Taylak moved to besiege the Kokand fortress of Kurtka. Passing through the Kara-Mende valley, the rebels forded the Ala-Buka River, then the Naryn River, and surrounded the fortress. Seeing Taylak's banner, the former captives fled from the fortress and joined Taylak. The Kokand governor Tashmat cowardly fled with 200 warriors. After taking the fortress and freeing his brother Atantay and all the captives, Taylak promised that he would not distribute the goods taken from the Kokand, as they could be used for further struggles against the Kokand, and called everyone to rally under his banners. However, local feudal lords — representatives of various clans — noted that the Kokand khan was very strong: he could come with a large army and destroy everyone. The former khan's governor Tashmat, upon arriving in Kokand, fell at the feet of Madali-khan, begging for mercy. He asked for an army to destroy Taylak. But the enraged Madali-khan ordered Tashmat to be executed. Then an army was gathered under the command of Arab-Batyr and sent against Taylak in Naryn.
Taylak was ready for battle. He went out to meet the Kokand army. As the legend goes, before the battle, there was a duel between Taylak and Arab. In the first clash, they fought with shields, but no one could win. Then a spear fight occurred. Taylak, with a clever maneuver, pierced Arab's neck with his spear. The dead body of Arab fell from his horse. The Kokand army, learning of their commander's death, scattered.
But the Kokand khan did not rest. He sent a new army against the rebellious Kyrgyz, led by the commander Edige. Edige, upon entering the land of the Kyrgyz, demanded that the leader of the Sarybagash clan, the feudal lord Niyazbek, capture Taylak. But Niyazbek outsmarted Edige. He said that Taylak had an immense number of warriors. And he showed him from a distance an army that was advancing near the mountains. This was actually his own 200 warriors, who, while going behind the mountain, changed horses and emerged anew. Then Edige, arriving in Talas, challenged Taylak to a duel on the condition that if anyone died, his army would surrender without a fight. As the legend goes, a prolonged duel began. At the first strike, both broke their spears. The next fight was with axes. During one of the strikes, Edige's axe flew out of his hands. Then Taylak, seizing it by the belt, lifted it and threw it under the banner. Edige, attempting to rise, was shot, as he had lost the duel. This was required by the rules of that time. The Kokand army fled.
After the victory, Taylak implemented some reforms. He began to develop and settle the high mountain areas of Arpa and Ak-Say, expanding arable lands. Later, the Kyrgyz of the Sayak clan, whose clan leaders became Taylak and Atantay, actively participated in the uprising of Jahangir against the Qing Empire in Eastern Turkestan. The participation of the Kyrgyz in the uprising was motivated by the desire to prevent the predatory raids of Qing military detachments on the "foreign," i.e., Kyrgyz, lands. Chinese sources highly valued the role of Taylak-Batyr as a powerful adversary. To suppress the uprising of Jahangir, the Qing sent a detachment of 1,000 men led by General Bayan-Batu. Stealthily advancing to the Sayak pastures, they attacked the defenseless peaceful population at night and killed everyone, sparing neither children, nor the elderly, nor women. Taylak was not in the clan pastures at that time. Learning of the Chinese attack, he urgently gathered a small detachment of warriors and set an ambush in a narrow gorge. Caught in the trap, the Chinese detachment was completely destroyed, and their leader Bayan-Batu committed suicide. The Qing raids were ended, but the Kokand's aggressive campaigns continued. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Central Tian Shan fell under the control of the Kokand.
The struggles for the freedom and independence of their people Taylak-Batyr and Atantay were defeated and captured by the Kokand. Ch. Ch. Valikhanov describes the events of the 1830s as follows: "Hak-Kuly in 1832 defeated the Sayaks, captured their leaders Atantay and Taylak, and brought them to Kokand, imposing tribute on the Chirik, Baszyzov, and Monaldyrov, and founded Kurtka... Atantay and his brother Taylak did not want to submit to the Kokand and after being freed from captivity migrated to the Ili among the Kyrgyz of the Great Horde, later, after being plundered by the Kaysaks, returned to their clan pastures." The fortress of Kurtka, built by the Kokand khan at the confluence of the Kurtka and Naryn rivers, became a stronghold of Kokand oppression. Here they imposed unbearable taxes on the Kyrgyz, abducted the most beautiful girls to Kokand, and brutally dealt with the disobedient in case of resistance. This caused sharp discontent among the local population and led to their uprising against Kokand oppression. The struggle against the Kokand yoke was led by the same twin brothers Taylak and Atantay.
The Kokand could not come to terms with this and decided to cunningly destroy the leaders of the rebels. As the legend goes, one day Taylak organized a feast with abundant treats and games. While playing ordo, he suddenly felt a severe headache and called for a healer. This healer had appeared in the Kyrgyz pastures three years ago and, as it later turned out, was a spy sent by the Kokand khan. The healer said that Taylak had a lot of blood accumulated in his head and pricked a vein with a needle. Blood gushed out, and it was impossible to stop it. Seeing that the batyr was dying, the healer fled. Thus ended the life of the people's defender Batyr Taylak. The people buried their hero with honors. But the next spring, fearing that the Kokand would come and desecrate Taylak's body, they moved it across the Kurtka River and buried it again. The locals erected a mausoleum in honor of Taylak-Batyr, and later his brother Atantay was buried there as well.
