DID THE KYRGYZ DOMINATE IN KOKAND?
The supreme power among the Kokandis belonged to the khan, under whom a council appointed by him operated. This council included the atalyk (regent), minbashi (thousand-man - a military title), atabek, serker, dasturkanchy, risalachi, mekhtar, naib, udai, kozho-kalyan, kazi-askar, as well as shaykh-al-Islam and other responsible figures. According to one of the chroniclers, Mullah Alim, the second most important position after the khan was held by the amir-i lashker and minbashi, followed by kushbegi, parvanachi, isagaul, udai, and others.
The aforementioned positions in the khanate were distributed among Uzbeks, Kipchaks, and Kyrgyz. As for the latter, the organizers of this despotism repeatedly brought representatives of the nobility of this people closer to themselves.
Kyrgyz territories were governed by Kokand appointed ilbegs, who were subordinate to the regional (vilayet) chiefs - hakim, and they, in turn, depended on the chief dignitary of the khanate - kushbegi, who was appointed by the khan, although sometimes khans were elevated by kushbegis, as seen in the case of Khudoyar-khan, the first dignitary and actual ruler under whom Musulmanqul was.
As a result of intrigues and palace coups, representatives of Kyrgyz clans occupied, if not the khan's throne, then a position very close to it. For example, the successor of Madali-khan, who came to power with the help of the Kyrgyz, Sheraly-khan lived among the Kyrgyz in the Chatkal, Aksy, and Talas regions from a young age.
According to historical sources, Sheraly-khan's father Azhybek and minbashi Narboto-biy were blood brothers. Azhybek was killed during the struggle for the khan's throne by the son of Narboto-biy, Alim-khan.
Russian historians who continued to closely observe political events in the Kokand khanate wrote: "At the time when the Russians were advancing deeper into Central Asia, the power of the Kyrgyz began to prevail in Kokand."
Even the formidable Khudoyar-khan, who ruled on the khan's throne for a total of about 30 years, relied heavily on the Kyrgyz. Since he himself grew up and was raised among the Kyrgyz, he could never rid himself of the influence he received in his youth. His contemporaries wrote in their memoirs that his speech, manners, and habits exhibited characteristics typical of the Kyrgyz. According to their records, Khudoyar-khan's favorite dish was a dish called naryn. Until the end of his life, Khudoyar, like all Kyrgyz of that time, divined on a sheep's shoulder blade, did not like city life, and always longed for the mountains. Therefore, he spent most of the year in his nomadic residences. He dedicated much time to hunting with eagles and greyhounds.
Relatives on his Kyrgyz line held a prominent place in his daily life. He treated his mother Jarkyn-ayim with great respect and began each day with a bow-greeting to her, personally visiting the house where they lived; only after that did he proceed to his main affairs. Khudoyar-khan never denied his mother anything. At her request, he sentenced Musulmanqul-minbashi to death, and Kasym-minbashi, who was sentenced to death, was pardoned again at his mother's request. The deterioration of the khan's relations with the Kyrgyz is also largely associated with the death of Jarkyn-ayim in 1869. According to the records of the Russian researcher of that time M. Alibekov, one of the khan's most trusted people was Atabek-naib.
This respected, old, and wise Kyrgyz was a man who came to the khan's camp with Khudoyar-khan's father - Sheraly-khan. Khudoyar trusted him like a father, and in cases when he was absent from the khan's camp, he entrusted him to manage all his affairs.
However, the Kyrgyz later became the organizers of the overthrow of Khudoyar-khan. In 1858, Malabek, offended by the ruler, arrived in Kara-Suu and sought help from the Kyrgyz, which was understood by the clan leaders Asan-biy and Alymbek datka, who, along with their people, supported him. As a result of this struggle, Khudoyar lost power, and his half-brother Mallya-khan ascended to the throne.
In short, during the rise of Kokand, representatives of the Kyrgyz nobility played a significant role in its political life. They willingly participated in court intrigues, the overthrow of some khans, and the elevation of others to the throne. The Kokand rulers, starting from the founder of the dynasty Ming Shahruh-biy and up to the last - Khudoyar-khan, who was raised in the Kyrgyz environment, were closely connected even by family ties with the Kyrgyz. They sometimes trusted them more than their closest relatives, granting key positions in the palace hierarchy.
Often, an illusion was created that the Kyrgyz played a leading role in the affairs of the khanate, which led to some idealization of the character of the Kokand Khanate.
But did the Kyrgyz really dominate the political Olympus of this power? Do not rush to conclusions, as the Kokand rulers prioritized their interests and never compromised them. The attraction of the Kyrgyz nobility was a kind of flirtation to avoid possible confrontations. It was dictated by the fear of a potentially destructive force from the ancient military traditions of the nomadic people.
Undoubtedly, the Kyrgyz clan leaders and tribal chiefs pursued certain personal goals and benefits.
However, ordinary Kyrgyz participated in the political actions of their ambitious leaders, but their motives were different. Each uprising, regardless of the political slogans of the clan nobility, provided an opportunity for their non-noble compatriots to express their anger and protest against the khan's yoke.
Therefore, the working Kyrgyz, in their anti-khan sentiments, often attributed a higher level of historical significance to the uprising than was intended by the political intrigue of the clan nobility.
It reached the point of realizing the necessity of creating their own national state, rather than merely replacing one khan of Kokand with another.
It can be stated with certainty: the proximity of the Kyrgyz feudal nobility to the khan's throne did not mean at all that the majority of Kyrgyz lived well. On the contrary, there is ample evidence that after the final conquest by the Kokandis, Kyrgyzstan found itself under the heavy burden of double oppression: from the Kokand authorities and its own feudal lords. The economic policy of the local rulers did not contribute to the progress of the productive forces of the population. On the contrary, it hindered it. The overwhelming majority of Kyrgyz were impoverished. The poor nomad was guided in his life by the instructions of the feudal clan leader. The Kyrgyz were tied to specific vilayets, bekstvos, serkerstvos, usually based on the location of winter pastures, and not by individual aiyl and communities, but by entire clans.
In the popular memory, this period is reflected as a dark streak of brutal oppression and arbitrariness, of hopeless need and lawlessness. But the popular memory also carefully preserved examples of the heroic struggle of the Kyrgyz against the Kokand yoke, which testified that the proud and freedom-loving mountain people never reconciled with foreign oppression, raising uprisings against their oppressors one after another.
The Deceit of the Kokand Rulers