Politics in Eastern Turkestan in the Late 50s-60s of the 18th Century.

The Defiance and Bravery of the Kyrgyz

The ambitions of the Qing dynasty and their aggressive policies in Eastern Turkestan in the late 50s-60s of the 18th century tightened the alliance between the Kokand domain, Kyrgyz, and Kazakh tribes, which seriously concerned the Qing authorities, who did not lose hope of subjugating the northwestern border areas. In particular, in the second half of the 18th century, the Chinese made attempts to advance into Naryn, following the route: Terek Pass - Aksai - Atbashi, but were stopped.

Episodic invasions by Qing troops met with armed resistance from the Kyrgyz population. The Chinese detachments were forced to halt south of the Kyrgyz pastures of Alai, Tian Shan, and Sary-Jaz. Even at that time, a natural border between Kyrgyzstan and China was established, which was later confirmed by a series of treaties with Russia and which remains in place today.

After the fall of the Dzungar Khanate, representatives of the Kyrgyz tribe of Sarybagysh, who returned from the vicinity of Andijan to the Chui Valley, did not completely sever ties with their southern compatriots.

The memory of their stay in the south has long been preserved in Kyrgyz traditions. According to these traditions, recorded a hundred years later by G. Zagryazhskiy in the vicinity of Tokmak, the Sarybagysh, while still near Andijan, engaged not only in livestock breeding but also in agriculture (evidenced by the irrigation canal dug by the Kyrgyz feudal lord Tynai, named after him). The sons of this very Tynai - Atake and Satybaldy, according to legends, engaged in raiding, constantly troubling the Andijan bek, for which he expelled them. The brothers settled in the Chui Valley. Thus, in the collective memory, the fact of the confrontation between the southern Kyrgyz and the Kokand rulers transformed, explaining the reasons for the migration of an entire tribe to the north. As a result of this migration, the southern tribes weakened, while the northern Kyrgyz tribes strengthened, remaining independent until the 1820s. Therefore, we cannot agree with the assertion made by B.P. Gurevich (in his generally quite substantiated article) that the Kyrgyz of the Issyk-Kul region, just like the Kyrgyz of Southern Fergana, were already under the control of the Kokand, Andijan, and other beks by the late 50s of the 18th century. This occurred significantly later, both in the south and in the north of Kyrgyzstan.

During the same years in Semirechye, Kyrgyz feudal lords had to engage mainly in internecine struggles with the feudal lords of the Kazakh zhuz - Ablai Khan, Khan Khoja, Berdi Khoja, and others. It should be noted that the Kyrgyz lived quite amicably with the Kazakhs of the Senior zhuz. I. Georgi directly wrote that the Great Horde was friendly with the Buruts and was even considered one people with them, and moreover, indigenous... However, feudal strife did not cease with the sultans of the Middle zhuz, who themselves were at odds with the feudal lords of the Senior zhuz of the Kazakhs.

In 1774, a flare-up of internecine conflicts among Kyrgyz and Kazakh feudal lords occurred, leading to a campaign into the Kyrgyz pastures by the sultans Ablai and Abulfeiz. And in the late 1770s, Ablai Khan, the sultan of the Middle zhuz of the Kazakhs, requested armed assistance from Russia to fight the Kyrgyz, but his request was "not honored." Then, around the end of 1779, he attacked the Kyrgyz with his own forces, "inflicted a heavy defeat on them, took hostages from them, and remained to pasture near Turkestan." On the Talas River, Ablai Khan built a burial mound for his son Adil - a small fortification from which he was to govern the surrounding Kazakhs of the Senior zhuz (and probably the Talas Kyrgyz).

The struggle of Berdi Khoja against the Kyrgyz feudal lords in 1785-1786 is comparatively well reflected in the literature, resulting in the Kazakh feudal lord being captured and killed. Russian researcher N. Aristov, by the way, expresses doubt that this refers to internecine conflicts between the Kazakhs and Kyrgyz. He leans towards the assumption of feudal strife between Berdi Khoja and the "Great Horde," i.e., the Kazakhs of the Senior zhuz (the confusion supposedly arose from the mixing of the Kazakh clan Kuchuk on the river Lepse and the Kyrgyz clan Kuchuk from the shores of Issyk-Kul).

The northern Kyrgyz tribes at the end of the 18th century acted as disparate detachments, not recognizing the authority of either Kokand, the Kazakh zhuz, or China, reflecting any attempts and claims to their independence.

The defiance and bravery of the Kyrgyz in their pastures have been repeatedly noted by sources. In this regard, historian A. Levshin concludes that Kyrgyz warriors, "accustomed to eternal battles, were not easily defeated. The Chinese also experienced their bravery and were repelled by them more than once." However, the struggle exhausted their strength, and the constant threat kept them on guard at all times.

The Joining of the Kyrgyz to Kokand in the Late 18th Century.