During the 15th and 16th centuries, numerous tribes and clans from the Small Hundred became integral to the Nogai Horde. These groups played a pivotal role in the growth, historical development, economy, and politics of the renowned Nogai Horde. Their contributions are not to be underestimated. Today, the literature of the 'Kazakh-Nogai' era, including the works of poets and writers, is a valuable heritage of two distinct peoples. Furthermore, the history of the Nogai in the Middle Ages closely intertwines with the history of our Kazakh people in the 15th-16th centuries. This connection is why we link the events related to the Nogai with the history of the Kazakhs.

Historical works about the Nogais

It is known that the Kipchaks had ninety-two clans and tribes, "Uzbek nomads," who lived in the Middle Ages under the names "Ninety-two Uzbeks" and "Ninety-two Kipshaks." If we say so, the name "ninety-banded Nogai" determines the size of the tribe and the flag of the Nogai people who lived in the Middle Ages. Today, Vadim Vintserovich Trepavlov, a famous scientist studying the Nogai people, based on various records he collected, shows that the Nogai people included about seventy tribes, as well as about one hundred and thirty-nine clans and tribes, including their subdivisions. In the 17th century, the Turkish traveller Aulie Chelebi, who gave valuable information about the North Caucasus and Crimea, reported about one hundred and forty clans and tribes among the Nogai people. The names of ninety-two tribes are mentioned in the medieval works "Nasab name-yi Uzbek", and "Tuhfat at-tauakhrikh-i khani", "Majmu at-tauakhrikh". In the table of Nogai clans and tribes compiled by Vadim Vintserovich Trepavlov, we can find some tribes that are part of our territory today.

The words "Mongol" and "Nogai" carry significant historical context. First, Nogai is not an independent tribal name but an association or combination of several tribes. On the other hand, the Mangits are considered an independent tribe. In addition, after they became a determined and powerful tribe, all tribes and clans that made up the nation received the title "Mangyt". Generally speaking, the meanings of the words Mangyt and Nogay are different. Since these terms have different meanings, from the 15th century, they have had an ordinary ethnic meaning and have become one name for the nomadic people of Turkic origin along the Zhem and Volga rivers. The origins of these tribes along two rivers were called Mangit or Nogai, and their ethnopolitical unification was called Mangit Ulysy and Nogai Horde.

Four independent regions

At the end of the 14th century, four independent regions were formed on the territory of Zhochi Ulysi. Kuyurshik, appointed by Amir Temir, ruled the palace; Temir-Kutlyg ruled Hadji-Tarkhan and the Volga River; the defeated Tokhtamys occupied Crimea; They settled in Edi with their Mangyt tribes on the left slope of the mountain.

The central part of the Nogai Horde was located in the steppes between the Volga and Zhaiyk, and its centre was in the lower part of the Volga (Saraishik, including areas along Zhaiyk). In the east, the Nogais migrated along the left bank of the Zhaiyk. The places of their migration reached the West Siberian Plain in the northeast, the city of Kazan in the northwest, the Aral Sea region and the northern Caspian region in the southwest, and sometimes they entered Mangistau and Khorezm.

Edige's politics

At the end of the 14th century, Edige's policy positively impacted the formation and development of the Nogai Horde between the Zhaiyk and Zhem rivers. After Aksak Temir's campaign in 1395-96. Tokhtamys Khan was removed from power but did not give up the political struggle. If he established himself in the Crimea, then Koyirchak, the son of Urs Khan, in Sarai, Temir Kutlyk in Hadji Tarkhan, as well as between the newly resettled Mangit tribe in the eastern part of the Volga region between Zhaiyk and Zhem established power in Yedi. To strengthen his son politically and economically, Edyge sets conditions for Tokhtamys and forces him to confess. In the agreement, Tokhtamys was told: "Do not take taxes from empty lands on the other side of the Volga." Tokhtamys Khan saw no other way than to agree to this condition of Edige. After such a situation, people began to flock to Tokhtamys between the Volga and Zhem so as not to pay taxes. Thus, the number of Edige's subordinates will increase, and the economic power of the region under his control will increase. Edige led his son Vladimir and Zhem, to his eldest son, Nuraddin. At the same time, he sat in Sarai, the capital of the Golden Horde. Thus, around the beginning of the 15th century, the Volga-Zhem region in Western Kazakhstan, inhabited by Tamals, began to emerge as a separate historical region, a separate people, a separate state entity.

Until the beginning of the 16th century, the name of the new state entity was "Mangit Ulysy" and "Mangit people" after the leading dominant tribe of the Mangits. The general population was called "Mangits". The names "Nogaylar", "Nogaylinskaya country", and "Nogai Khordas" appear in the records of that time only at the beginning of the 16th century. In Russian-language data of the 16th and 17th centuries, the names of the clans of the Nogai Horde and their divisions are often found. Tama is mentioned there along with the tribes Alshin, Bayuly, Jalair, Kanly, Katagan, Keneges, Kereit, Kypchak, Kyat, Kunurat, Merkit, Naiman, Uisin, Teleu, Shymbay. The divisions of these tribes are ten among the Kipchaks, six among the Naimans, four among the Mangits, two among the Tamas, and for some tribes, only one is shown. The many clan divisions likely reflect their overall numbers and political influence.

The fact that the Tamal tribe's name is not mentioned but is given with divisions such as Kostomgali-Tama and Dzhaba-Tama proves that the Tamals had a high position in the Nogai Horde during this period.

In the 15th-16th centuries, the names of the tribes of the Nogai Horde are often found in eastern sources with only one name, "Mangyt". The reason is that the rulers and lords there come only from the Mangit tribe and are descendants of Ediga; therefore, in all events related to the Nogai Horde, they are called "Mangits". As for other tribes, although they are related to all events associated with the history of the Nogai Horde, they remain in the shadow of the Mangits. At the end of the 16th century, due to the weakening of the Nogai Horde, individual tribes that were part of it began to enter the arena of history with their names.

The end of the 16th and first half of the 17th centuries were full of challenging events for the tribes of Western Kazakhstan. First, the destruction of the Nogai Horde as a state and its division into smaller tribes, the weakening of the previously Nogai tribes due to continuous wars and absorption into neighbouring countries, and the arrival of the Kalmyks in the 20-30s. 17th century along the Volga and Zhaiyk, all this is in the eastern part of the Nogai Horde. This was a challenging situation for the tribes. According to Zhem and Elek, Tamal also experienced such a difficult situation during this period.

The Nogai Horde included both the Kazakh and Bashkir tribes. At first, the Nogai Horde occupied the middle and lower reaches of the Volga in the west and the Zhaiyk River in the east. Herd settlements were also in these named places. There is almost no information about the political, social, and economic situation of the Kazakh tribes within the Nogai Horde.

Nogai-Kazakh invasion

From the second quarter of the 16th century, a large territory of Eastern Deshti-Kipchak was under the rule of the Nogai Horde. During these periods, due to the political dominance of this state in this territory, the Kazakh Khanate considered the only rival, weakened after the reign of Kasym Khan and lost its former power. The Nogais, who were once part of the Kazakh Khanate, began to pursue a policy of distancing themselves from it. In the 1520s, Seyit-Akhmet, the leader of the Nogais, invaded the Kazakh country. In the 1530s, Sheikh Mamai and his warriors also took the western regions. From the second quarter of the 16th century, the rulers of the Nogai Horde, Bukhara and Khorezm began to ally against the Kazakhs. The rulers of Central Asia were very careful about their foreign policy and monitored the actions of both sides. During these periods, some Kalmyks united with the Kazakhs and began to threaten the Nogais. Russian sources contain information that in 1535, Sheikh-Mamai, Yusip and other gentlemen spent the winter on the banks of the Embi River, awaiting an attack by the Kazakhs.

Some data from "Tarikh-i Rashidi".

Several historical data points also mention that the attempts of the Nogaites to conquer the country of Kasym-khan after his death intensified over time. Muhammad Haidar Dulati, in his work "Tarikh-i Rashidi", cites the following words from the conversation of Princess Sultan Nigar with Tair Khan: You cannot even raise an army against them. If earlier you had ten lakhs (that is, a million), now you only have four, and you cannot even resist." From these thoughts, we can understand the negative aspects of Tahir Khan's politics in the country.

The data shows that about 600 thousand people surrendered to the Nogays. There may also be entries among them. According to Russian data, in 1803, the regions inhabited by Kerders were part of the Nogaits. Although the exact number and genealogy of the mentioned families are not mentioned in these data, it is possible to understand the evidence of their presence in the composition of the Mangyt people. Also, from the first quarter of the 15th century, the word "Nogai" began to acquire an ethnonymic meaning from a poly ethnonym. We see it in folk literature. For example, Böltirik Almenuly (1771-1853), in his decisive opinion, when went to settle the Altyn Emel dispute between the landlords and the mercenaries. There is a saying, "This is where my father and twelve Nogaits were buried. "Finally, the Kazakhs settled down."

Influence of the Nogays on the power of Khaqnazar Khan

From this information, we can see that the entire rule of Deshti-Kipchak by the Nogay people in the second quarter of the 16th century left a deep mark in the people's memory. The alliance formed between the Nogai Horde, Bukhara Khanate and Khorezm against the Kazakhs in 1536 indicates that their influence in these regions increased. As a result of the organized campaign against the Kazakhs in 1537, they were defeated and won. There are reports that thirty-seven Kazakh sultans were killed in this war. After the "moderate weakening" of the Kazakh Khanate after the death of Kasym Khan, its renaissance is directly connected with the name of Khaqnazar Khan. The opinion of some researchers working on this issue that Khaknazar sat on the Kazakh throne with the help of the Nogais is not groundless. There are opinions that he was dependent on Sheikh-Mamai. In any case, the western region of Kazakhstan was gradually re-centred in the second half. In some sources, there is information that Khaknazar lived and was brought up among the Nogai in his youth. From the moment he assumed power, he set himself the goal of gradually restoring the ethnic territory of the Kazakhs in this region under Kasym Khan. Based on information from the folk literature of the Bashkir people, it can be seen that even the Bashkirs recognized the authority of Khaqnazar. In 1557, Nogai lord Ismayil said to Russian officials that several of his nobles had joined the Kazakh king.

Some researchers explain that there is little information about the tribes and clans of the Small Hundred in Russian data because they were part of the Kazakh Khanate at that time. Attention is drawn to the fact that this trend was prevalent in the first half of the 15th-17th centuries. The fact that the tribes that were part of the Alshin Union began to join the Kazakh Khanate during the reign of Khaqnazar Khan is also evident from the information in the Kazakh folk literature. Their arrival in large numbers influenced, to a certain extent, the location of the tribes that inhabited this territory and introduced significant changes in these regions' political, social, and economic life. As a result of such territorial changes, the Kazakh khanate was divided into three hundreds, and the Alchyndar association became part of the Small Hundred. Kerders were among such tribes. The policy of Khaqnazar Khan, which was in the direction of strengthening the state, caused the Kazakhs to become stronger. In the seventies of the 16th century, the Nogay began to raise issues related to their lands in the Zhayik region and their pastures around the Volga region.

Upon becoming Khan, Khaqnazar's power expanded significantly. He acquired the Nogais and Bashkortostan and conquered the kingdoms of Kazan, Siberia, Astrakhan, Bukhara, Khiva, Tashkent, and many other cities, collecting tribute from them. His conquests extended to the Siberian Kochim Khan across the Urals, the people living along the Belaya and Zhayik rivers, and the boilermakers. He brought the highlanders, Nogai khans, under his control, solidifying his authority.

In the 1570s, the territory of the Khaqnazar state stretched to the Syrdarya in the south, to Southern Bashkortostan in the north, and the Irtys and Embi rivers in the west and east. All the tribes here recognized his authority.

A. Jenkinson writes in some detail about the Nogai people suffering from the influence of poison when they passed through Astrakhan in 1558. He saw the incident with his own eyes, asked people, and wrote that more than a hundred thousand people died from hunger, disease, and as a result of conflicts. It is possible that many tribes that made up the Kishi Hundred tribes joined Khaqnazar Khan by their own will. After all, if some of the Nogai people move to the Russian possessions, the next ones may turn their necks to the Kazakhs. It is also possible that the tribes that went to ask for help from the Russian nobles were tribes that could not go to the Kazakhs, were entirely at odds with them, and whose leaders and lords had been at war for a long time. Moreover, it is possible to consider those who joined the Kazakhs as the Kishi Hundred tribes that remained in their land, that is, in their homeland. Of course, no one can deny that it was a union of all the tribes inhabiting the western region of Kazakhstan.

Battle of Horde

Mutual battles in the Nogai Horde exhausted the people. The country was devastated by a famine that lasted several years. Even my superiors and subordinate Nogays will have a hard time in the Yutskie years. At that time, the Nogais migrated to the south en masse, and some of them probably moved towards the Kazakhs. Of course, there are reports that the Muscovites provided some help to the Horde. Russian archival documents confirm this. However, they always reminded me of their help. Therefore, they forced Nogay to join their political games, always mentioning the insignificant help provided to them. However, due to the beginning of the Livonian War in 1558, the Muscovites could not continue to treat their interests in Deshti-Kipchak.

Since then, Haknazar Khan's political activity in Eastern Deshti Kypchak has become more active. Although he fought with the Mughal Khan Abdi al-Kerim and was defeated several times, he did not yield to him, settled in the north, and again prepared for war.

According to Amantaya Isina, a Nogai scholar and the author of the scientific work "History of the Nogai Horde", 1557 Kazakh troops passed through Zhayik and attacked the Nogai Army. The Nogai gentlemen did not expect such a blow. Kapelim, unable to show proper resistance, asks for help from the governors of Astrakhan. Armed with firearms, they repel the Kazakh attack. This time, several Nogai rulers supported Khaknazar. Probably, he is a descendant of Sheikha Mamaya. This is indicated by a comparison with the words of Ishmael, cited above. Suppose it is true that Nogai rulers raised Khaknazar in his youth. In that case, he grew up in the family of Sheikh Mamaya. It is evident to everyone that he primarily helps the members of this family. Like their fathers, the descendants of Sheikha-Mamaya were mainly responsible for protecting the country's borders along the Zhem River. They were closer and closer to Kazakhstan than others. This, in turn, accelerated their cultural and spiritual connection with the Kazakhs, bringing them closer in economic matters. Therefore, reliance on Kazakhs during internal conflicts was a natural phenomenon; according to P. Butkova, the country on Earth separated from the Bolshoi Nogai Horde due to mutual conflicts. Kazakhs began to include not only Zhemsky tribes but also other tribes. Because there were no objections to the transfer of Haknazar from Zayika. The lack of resistance from any side is explained by the fact that many tribes of western Kazakhstan supported Khaknazar Khan. Moreover, it is not surprising that the Kereevs, who previously acquired the lands of the Syr region, are one of the main clans that support it.

After the 1580s, Khaknazar is not mentioned in any records. Despite this, his era seems to have left an indelible mark on the history of Kishi Hun. In our opinion, the ethnic tendencies that began under Kasym Khan probably continued under Khaknazar Khan. According to a number of researchers, Khaknazar Khan created favourable conditions for the management of the country by dividing it again into parts, that is, into hundreds.

Why is it called the "Nogai period"?

A whole era of socio-political and international relations has been defined, which can conventionally be called the "Nogai period" of the peoples of Eurasia. This name is a scientific term in Bashkir and Karakalpak historiography, in the folklore monuments of the Kazakh and Kyrgyz peoples as the "heroic era" in the form of Nogaili's rule. This terminological phenomenon echoed the historical events of the 15th-17th centuries when the Nogai Horde ruled the territory of Eastern Europe and Western Kazakhstan and became a mighty empire. The Nogai Horde and the peoples that were part of it assimilated with the Kazakhs, Oktoberfests, Crimean Tatars, Siberians, Astrakhan, Bashkirs and Karakalpaks, Turkmens and Kalmyks. They even joined the ranks of the Don and Zhayitsky Cossacks and entered into a very complex all-round assimilation. The influence of the Nogais on their neighbours can be viewed in political, ethnic and cultural terms.

The ethnic influence of the Nogais is distinguished by their direct and indirect contribution to the formation of other ethnic groups. Along with oral genealogy, Karakalpak epics also testify to the kinship of the Nogais.

Due to climate change in the 16th century, the Nogai component in the Kazakh composition increased. This was especially evident in preserving the generic names of the Nogais and Mangtais among the Konyrat tribe until the 20th century. Moreover, the fact that the Kishi-zhuz region has the Nogai Horde shows that the two peoples have become mutually integrated.

Ayan Aden