Kazakhstan, located in Central Asia, spans both Continents of Asia and Europe, with an area of 2.72 million square kilometers, is the largest landlocked country in the world. Kazakhstan is a large resource country, with nearly 14 billion tons of proven oil reserves on land and 3.5 trillion cubic meters of natural gas reserves, accounting for 17.2% and 7.5% of the world's total oil and gas reserves, respectively, so the Caspian Sea is called the "second Middle East". In other respects, Kazakhstan has the eighth largest coal reserves in the world and the fourth largest copper reserves in the world.
First, the corridor of the nomadic peoples of Asia and Europe
Because kazakhstan is rich in resources, it has become an important energy base in Asia, and many of China's oil and gas are imported from here. But in ancient times, the history of Kazakhstan was very low-key. Until now, many people did not know how the Kazakh state was formed. This article roughly sorts out the historical context of Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan is located in the middle of Eurasia and is generally in northern Central Asia, between China and the Caspian Sea. The terrain here is generally gentle, with vast grasslands. Thus, ancient Kazakhstan was the pasture of the Nomadic peoples of Asia and Europe and the corridor of migration of ancient nomadic peoples. Throughout history, many nomadic peoples have hurried past here, leaving behind many beautiful and bloody legends.
The original Kazakhs were the land of the Europa race. The earliest human being recorded here in history is the Scythians, that is, the "Cypriots" recorded in Chinese literature. They are similar to the Iranian nation and their language is Also East Iranian. The distribution of the Cypriots is very extensive, from the Hexi Corridor in the east to the Don River Basin in the west. Judging from the tombs unearthed in the Cypriot region, the Cypriot culture is mainly influenced by the Persian culture, but it is also economically related to China, Greece, India and so on. Early exchanges in Eurasia were mediated by Cypriots.
As the Persian Empire moved north, the Cypriots were hit hard. By the 3rd century BC, the rise of the Huns in the north of the desert further oppressed the space of the Cypriots and made the geopolitics of Central Asia more fragmented. In the Han Dynasty, Zhang Qian went to the Western Regions and opened up the "Silk Road", which enabled Chinese to have a direct understanding of Central Asia. According to the historical data of the Han Dynasty, the Activities of the Kazakh region at that time included Yueban, Kangju, Xiangcai (Alan) and other countries, of which Alan was a branch of the Scythians.
In the later period of the Northern Xiongnu, under the pressure of the Han Dynasty and Xianbei, they were forced to move west. According to the traditional concept: the Northern Xiongnu began to move westward in 1991, began to migrate to Kangju in 160, conquered Xiangcai in 260, and then disappeared from Chinese historical records. Around the 4th century, the Huns appeared in Eastern Europe, and many scholars consider the Huns to be the Huns.
Second, the conquest of the Turks and Mongols
After the Huns, it was the Turks who arrived. Chinese historical sources cannot verify the westernmost territory of the Western Turks, but from the historical sources of Central Asia, West Asia, and Rome, the westernmost part of the Western Turks has reached the northern shore of the Caspian Sea. The Turks pursued the Avars to the northern shore of the Caspian Sea, some believe that the Avars were Rouran, and some believe that they were Gaoche (Tiele), neither of which has strong evidence. The Turks established diplomatic relations with Eastern Rome during their western conquest of the Avars. Today's Kazakh area became a Turkic ranch.
After the collapse of the Turkic Khaganate, the Tang Dynasty, the Arab Empire, the Tubo, and the Uighurs competed in Central Asia, but none of them reached the Kazakh region, so the Turks continued to survive here. These Turkic tribes, later known as the "Chincha", were active in northern Central Asia and the northern shores of the Caspian Sea, and it can be said that the Chincha are the source of today's Kazakh people. The Chincha were Turkic, known to the Arabs as "Kuman", the Rus' as the Borovic, and the Eastern Romans as the Komaloi.
In 1206, Genghis Khan established the Mongol Khanate, completely changing the pattern of Eurasia. In 1218, Genghis Khan embarked on his first expedition to the west, the purpose of which was to exterminate the flower-pulled mold. In pursuit of The Sultan of Khalazim, a vanguard Mongol force invaded the Chincha steppe from the Caucasus Mountains, defeated the combined Chincha alliance and the Rus' army, and finally returned east from bypassing the Caspian Sea. This western expedition broadened the vision of the Mongols and laid the foundation for the second western expedition.
Turkic languages
In 1235, Wokoutai ordered a second expedition to the west, targeting chincha and Eastern Europe. After several years of conquest, the Mongol armies conquered the Chincha steppe and made the Rus' states called Themsons. In 1243, Battus established the Khanate of Chincha over a vast area from Eastern Europe to Kazakhstan. As early as after Genghis Khan's first western expedition, this area was divided into the eldest son Shuchi, and this western expedition was the practice of dividing the seals.
After Batu established the Khanate of Chincha, he divided the vast areas of Central Asia into his brother Hu'erda and established the White Horde. For the next 100 years, the White Horde was a vassal state of the Khanate of Chincha, and the two were at peace. In 1359, Chincha Khan Beldibi died, and the White Horde Khan succeeded the Khan of Chincha, so the two countries merged again. In 1428, Abu Hair of the Shabaan (Badu brother) family occupied the Kazakh region and established the Uzbek Khanate, ruling the vast region of Central Asia.
Third, the establishment and demise of the Kazakh Khanate
Since then, Abu Hair has continued to conquer the cultivators, and finally was killed by the local people in 1350. In 1471, the Uzbeks were defeated by the Eastern Chagatai, and the Uzbek Khanate collapsed, and the descendants of the White Horde in its north re-established the khanate, the Kazakh Khanate. Some people believe that the word "Kazakh" was first used as "Khazar", meaning "warrior", the Turks once established the Khazar Empire in the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea, practiced Judaism, and later became the main source of Russian Jews. Many Kazakhs in Russia are known as "Cossacks" and are Orthodox.
The Turks were originally Buddhist, but since migrating to Central Asia, they have switched to Islam. During the Chincha Khanate, Islam was established as the state religion, so the Kazakhs were completely Islamized.
During the Kazakh Khanate, they dominated Central Asia for hundreds of years, and their territory stretched from the Irtysh River in the west, the Ishum River in the north, the Caspian Sea in the west, and the Syr Darya River in the south, with a population of millions and an army of 300,000. The 16th century was the pinnacle of the Kazakh Khanate, which once forced the submission of Bukhara and Khiva in southern Central Asia.
Soon, however, the Kazakh Khanate encountered a formidable enemy, the Wala (Weyrat Mongols), the founder of the Dzungar Khanate. In 1524, Weyrat was ostracized by Theonandayan Khan and forced to move west, thus clashing with the Kazakh Khanate, and the "Two Hundred Years' War" of Verat-Kazakhs broke out. In the early days, Weyrat was attacked on both sides and suffered repeated defeats, and the Kazakh Khanate took advantage of Dayan Khan's western expedition to occupy the Seven Rivers region.
In 1628, the Kazakh Ngashmu Khan died, and Kazakhs began to decline. Southern Mongolia, on the other hand, was constantly attacked by the Later Jin Dynasty (Qing Dynasty) and went into decline, so the crisis of Weyrat was lifted and began to become strong. Thereafter, the Dzungars in Weyrat were strong and launched three large-scale counterattacks against the Kazakhs. In 1652, kazakh Yangir Khan was killed, the Kazakh khanate was divided into three, and the Dzungars took the opportunity to recover the Seven Rivers region, bounded by the Balkhash River.
The Dzungar defeated the Kazakh Khanate and relieved the crisis in the west, so he established the Dzungar Khanate and began a U-turn crusade to try to snatch the vast Mongolian steppe from the Qing Dynasty. Thus, the Hundred Years' War between the Qing Dynasty and the Dzungars broke out. During these 100 years, Kazakhstan was in chaos, and Russia took the opportunity to infiltrate in Central Asia. In 1757, the Qing Dynasty finally destroyed the Dzungar Khanate, and the Kazakh kings submitted.
Over the next 100 years, Russia accelerated its encroachment on Kazakhstan, culminating in the completion of complete control of Kazakhstan in the mid-19th century. In 1864, Russia took advantage of the fire and robbery to force the Qing Dynasty to sign the "Treaty on surveying and dividing the Northwest Boundary", which allocated 440,000 square kilometers of land in the Seven Rivers Region and the Tangnu Uliang Sea to Russia. In 1920, central Asia established the Kyrgyz Republic, part of the Russian Federation. In 1925, the Soviet Union divided the nationalities in Central Asia and established the Kazakh Republic here. In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed and Kazakhstan was established, thus becoming an independent state. Kazakhstan also inherited the Seven Rivers region, russia's outward expansion.
To sum up, the history of Kazakhstan is a history of the westward migration, conquest and integration of nomadic peoples. Today's Kazakhs are not only descendants of the Mongols, but also descendants of the Cypriots, Huns, and Turks, who are the result of a fusion of major ethnic groups. Since ancient times, Kazakhstan has been the corridor of Eurasia and a necessary place for the overland Silk Road. Today, China is advocating for the construction of the "Belt and Road" in Asian and European countries, and The status of Kazakhstan is particularly important. Coupled with Kazakhstan's abundant energy, Kazakhstan has become an important partner of China. The stability of Kazakhstan is also conducive to China's development.
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