The Struggle for Power Among the Political Elite of Kokand
So, was the emergence of the future Alaï queen in the close circle of the political elite of Kokand accidental?
Of course not: from the very beginning of the existence of the khanate, a number of tribes of the southern Kyrgyz played a significant role in it, having become subjects of the khanate.
In one of the chronicles, a series of which was compiled in 1734 for the Russian Empress Anna about the Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, Bukharians, and other Central Asian peoples, there was mention of a certain Kyrgyz possession: “There is also in the vicinity of the Vodokshanskaya (Badakhshan - Ed. note) land a small province of the Kyrgyz, where their own khan resides, from where the peaks of the River Anda begin, flowing into Great India.” The highlighting of an independent Kyrgyz “province,” which even had its own “khan,” draws attention.
Thus, in the 18th century, the southern Kyrgyz represented a real force, actively participating in the foreign policy affairs of their neighbors. Eastern chronicles hint that the successor of Shah Rukh, Abd ar-Rahim, was already in alliance with the Kyrgyz and sided with them in the feudal strife surrounding the Samarkand possession.
In any case, Muhammad-Wafa-Kerminiy in his work “Tarikhi Rahim-Khani,” referenced by A.Z. Validov, states that, according to legends, during the turmoil and feuds in Central Asia in the first half of the 18th century, the city of Samarkand was in the hands of “Kyrgyz” feudal lords for about six years. At the same time, the Kokand ruler Rahim-biy supported the rebels.
Rahim-biy appeared on the political stage of Central Asia as a major Fergana ruler. He seized Khojent, and his authority was recognized by half of the tribes of the Kazakhs of the Senior Zhuz under Khan Jolbars. Nevertheless, Rahim-biy's main influence extended primarily over Central Fergana, although for a time even Tashkent was under his control. Eastern and Southern Fergana at that time likely acted independently and were governed by Kyrgyz feudal lords. Muhammad Hakim-khan, the author of the manuscript “Muntakhab at-Tavarikh,” reports on the struggle between the ruler of Khojent Akbuta-biy (under whom there was a Kyrgyz detachment with its pansat) and the Kokand troops of Rahim-biy. This information is confirmed by other sources - the manuscript “Tuhfat at-Tavarikhi Khani,” which also tells about the Kyrgyz detachment serving the Khojent ruler Akbuta-biy. By the way, Akbuta-biy himself is referred to here as a Kyrgyz.
Abd ar-Rahim-biy ruled for less than 10 years and was killed by conspirators. His successor was his own brother Abd al-Karim-biy, the second son of Shah Rukh. It is he whom G. Potanin refers to as “some owner of Western Turkestan” under the name Abdü-Karim.
The time of Abd al-Karim's rule is marked in the sources by an alliance with Kyrgyz tribes and a joint resistance against the Dzungar invasions. The aggression of this people, who called themselves Oirat, and according to Kyrgyz sources were referred to as Kalmyks, initiated the Kokand-Kyrgyz political alliance. Initially, the expansive predatory policy of the Dzungar feudal lords had a largely negative impact on the historical development of the Kyrgyz people in the 17th to mid-18th centuries. Temporarily pushed from their northern pastures into Fergana, the Kyrgyz did not cease their struggle and did not sever ties with the remaining tribes in Semirechye and Eastern Turkestan. Therefore, the organization of a joint Kokand-Kyrgyz resistance against the Dzungars in Fergana can be assessed as a major political success for the Kyrgyz and Kokand, leading to a military victory over the Dzungars and the preservation of independence.
The clash occurred in 1745 when the ruler of Dzungaria, Galdan-Tseren, sent 20,000 troops under the command of his generals Septen and Khotola to Fergana (where many Kyrgyz refugees from the northern regions had concentrated in the foothills). The Dzungar troops (the ethnic self-designation of the people is “Oirat,” while the Kyrgyz called them “Kalmak”) had ten small iron cannons loaded onto camels, which posed a serious threat to the irregular forces of the Kokandians and the cavalry - the Kyrgyz nomads. A thousand “dym” of Kyrgyz participated in the struggle. This clash is described by N. Aristov, referencing a later lost manuscript article by G.N. Potanin “Map of the Distribution of Foreigners in Tomsk Province with Notes” (submitted to the Ethnography Department of the RGO in 1873). During the battle, the Dzungars were defeated, and only half of the troops managed to escape.
The nomadic and sedentary agricultural tribes inhabiting a significant portion of the territory of the khanate were rarely in agreement with each other. Competing factions frequently initiated changes in rulers. For example, after Shah Rukh's death, his son Abd ar-Rahi-biy ascended to the throne. The latter, although he had an heir - his son Irdana, was replaced by his brother. He, in turn, was succeeded by his nephew. This series of palace coups continued until finally the previously sidelined Irdana was proclaimed biy.
How the Kyrgyz entered the Kokand Khanate