RISE AND FALL OF ALYMBEK
Such was the state of affairs at the time of the rise of Kurmandzhan's husband, Alymbek, who was one of the major Kyrgyz feudal lords influencing the politics of the Kokand khans. He first appeared on the political scene in 1845 during the uprising of the Alai Kyrgyz. It was only thanks to the resourcefulness and decisiveness of his wife, the later famous Ailai Queen Kurmandzhan, that he was saved from the usurper Musulmanqul, who suppressed the uprising.
In 1847, Alymbek was recruited for a campaign against Kashgar by the descendants of the khojas. Together with Khoja-Tyura, he moved from Gulcha to Central Turkestan. But the Chinese soon reoccupied Kashgar, and Alymbek returned to Alai with his Kyrgyz.
The Kazakh enlightener Chokan Valikhanov referred to Alymbek Datka as the bey of the Kyrgyz tribe Adygine and the vizier to Mallya Khan, whom he helped ascend to the throne. An English agent, Mulla Ad-al Majit, described Alymbek as "the one overseeing the governance of the Kyrgyz," among the most powerful dignitaries of Mallya Khan. It should be added that Alymbek was also the ruler of Osh.
Moreover, the Ailai Datka apparently wielded influence both as a dignitary and as a sort of autonomous lord of the border region, governing the warlike and often troublesome khans of the Kyrgyz. This can also be seen from the records of D. Zainabiddinov, a personal pensioner in Osh, who at one time accepted all the property of Alymbek Datka's madrasa into the waqf department of Osh. D. Zainabiddinov's parents were personally acquainted with Kurmandzhan, and his grandfather Najimitdin Mirzakhamdamin knew Alymbek well, having served for more than 28 years as a qazi and scribe under the Ailai Queen. D. Zainabiddinov recounted that Alymbek conducted a practically independent policy, and in the treaty - "akhda," which stipulated the annexation of Alai to the Kokand Khanate, his right as an independent ruler of Alai was specified.
It should be noted that the Ailai tribal leader regarded the Russian conquerors as enemies. Naturally, he could not take any other position, being a major dignitary of Kokand. During the advance of the imperial troops into the depths of Central Asia in 1860, the Kokand Khan Mallya sent a detachment of Kyrgyz led by Alymbek against them. The "Tarikh-i Shahruhi" recounts the defense of Tashkent by the Kokandis against the Russian conquerors and Alymbek Datka's participation in this affair. A detachment was sent from Tashkent under the ruler Kanaat-shaa towards Pishpek to defend it from the Russians. Mallya Khan, gathering his main military leaders and high dignitaries, upon their advice ordered the ruler of Andijan, "who at that time was a Kyrgyz named Alymbek," to come to his aid across the Kurka River.
Alymbek, with 13,000 warriors from Andijan, joined by the Kyrgyz of Kurka and Ketmen-Tube along the way, moved towards Ashtak and Uch-Almaty, where Kanaat-shaa surrounded the Russian outpost.
In the autumn of 1860, on October 19 and 20, ten thousand Kokand horsemen under Alymbek surrounded a company and a hundred Cossacks in Uzun-Agach, but their attacks were repelled. The detachment of Lieutenant Colonel Kolpakovsky from Kastek, which arrived at 9 PM on October 20, lifted the siege of the fortress. The ensuing winter, the cold, and primarily, the strength of the regular Russian troops made Alymbek doubt a quick victory, and he withdrew his Kyrgyz to Andijan, of which he was the ruler. Alymbek returned and apparently remained in Andijan or Kokand. The English envoy Mulla Abd-al Majit, who visited Alai in 1860 and arrived in Gulcha - the residence of Alymbek - on December 5, found that the Kyrgyz feudal lord was not there. He was told that Alymbek was on an expedition sent to the Russian border.
Reports from imperial officials operating in Central Asia, particularly General Dyugamel, do not fundamentally contradict the information from Kokand chronicles. However, among them, we find significant additions, for example, about Alymbek's organized resistance to Mallya Khan.
After fleeing to Alai, Alymbek rallied the Kyrgyz tribes of Adygine and Mongush against Kokand. But the khan's troops, moving towards the rebels, forced their leader to flee and left the center of Tian Shan. In the upper reaches of the Naryn, Alymbek found support from influential sarybagysh manaps Umbetala, Aji, Adyla, and Torogeldy. This was already a formidable force capable of resisting the khan's troops, especially during the period of the Russians' intensive advance towards the Chui region. Mallya Khan decided to engage with the Kyrgyz manaps: a delegation was sent to Alymbek for negotiations. But the proud feudal lord, feeling his strength, not only did not respond to the khan but even executed his envoys. The enraged khan sent a large detachment to punish the rebellious former dignitary. However, the Kokandis suffered a complete defeat in the Kyrgyz mountains.
The Heavy Burden of the Double Oppression of the Kyrgyz People