Barefooted Flight

18th-century expulsion of Kazakhs from parts of southern Kazakhstan From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Barefooted Flight or also known as the Years of Great Disasters (Kazakh: «Ақтабан шұбырынды, Алқакөл сұлама») is a name given to the defeat, indiscriminate attacks on civilians and expulsion of the Kazakhs from Kazakhstan from 1723 to 1730. The expulsion and the indiscriminate attacks on civilians included the Senior Jüz, Middle Jüz and the Junior Jüz, as the Kyrgyz and Karakalpaks. As it was described as the "worst case of nomadic-sedentary relations: steppe pastoralists ravaged the cultivated land of sedentary neighbours".^[3]

Date1723–1730

Location

Jetisu,Southern Kazakhstan, Syr Darya, Fergana Valley, Irtysh, Chu River, Talas River, Kazakhstan

Result

Dzungar victory

Start of the Barefooted Flight

Quick facts Date, Location ...

Barefooted Flight

Part of the Kazakh–Dzungar War (1723–1730) of Kazakh-Dzungar Wars

Date

1723–1730

Location

Jetisu,Southern Kazakhstan, Syr Darya, Fergana Valley, Irtysh, Chu River, Talas River, Kazakhstan

Result

Dzungar victory

Start of the Barefooted Flight

Belligerents

Kazakh Khanate

Dzungar Khanate

Commanders and leaders

Bolat Khan †^[1]

Sameke Khan (AWOL)^[1]

Tsewang Rabtan

Lobsangsür

Strength

Unknown

70,000^[2]

Casualties and losses

Catastrophic civilian casualties
Heavy military casualties

Light

NativenameKazakh: «Ақтабан шұбырынды, Алқакөл сұлама»

LocationJetisu,Southern Kazakhstan, Syr Darya, Fergana Valley, Irtysh, Chu River, Talas River, Kazakhstan

Date1723

TargetKazakh civilians

Quick facts Years of Great Disasters, Native name ...

Years of Great Disasters
Part of the Kazakh–Dzungar War (1723–1730) of Kazakh–Dzungar Wars
Native name	Kazakh: «Ақтабан шұбырынды, Алқакөл сұлама»
Location	Jetisu,Southern Kazakhstan, Syr Darya, Fergana Valley, Irtysh, Chu River, Talas River, Kazakhstan
Date	1723
Target	Kazakh civilians
Attack type	Indiscriminate attack on civilian populations and Forced displacement.
Deaths	Unknown, catastrophic
Victims	Kazakh civilians
Perpetrators	Dzungar Khanate
Motive	Territorial Expansion

Background

The death of Tauke Khan in 1718 left the Kazakhs without a recognized leader and plunged them into a succession crisis.^[4] Following this, the Kazakhs faced internal rivalries and disputes,^[5] while the Dzungar ruler Tsewang Rabtan mobilized his forces for an invasion with the following death of the Kangxi Emperor in 1722, which he was in war against the Dzungar Khanate previous ly. The end of war against the Qing dynasty allowed Tsewang to focus on Kazakhstan, which he made a sudden invasion against them.^[6]

The Barefooted Flight

Tsewang Rabtan^[7] and his commanders, such as Lobsangsür^[8] invaded the upper reach of the Irtysh river, and attacked the nomadic camps of the Jüz, specifically, the Middle Jüz and the Senior Jüz on 1723. Another major Dzungar army attacked to the Chu, Nura, Shelek and Talas rivers, Balkash Steppe^[2]—as they swiftly occupied the regions. This allowed for the invasion of Jetisu and Southern Kazakhstan and sacking their territory.^[9] Afterwards, a Kazakh militia fought the Dzungars, in which the Kazakhs were expulsed, a Kazakh militia led by an unknown batyr battled the Dzungar army led by Lobsangsür at the city of Sayram and the Kazakhs were defeated again on Tashkent. This led to its capture and plunder by the Dzungars.^[10] The Kazakhs retreated to Khara Murut, where they, again, suffered defeat; the Dzungars sacked the city,^[11]^[8] following this, they went deep on the Syr Darya, defeating the Kazakhs at Turkistan,^[12] in which Bolat Khan was killed and Samake Khan fled.^[13] The Dzungars then swept through the Fergana Valley, which the Dzungars captured Khujand, Andijan and Samarkand.^[14]^[15] They later captured more cities throughout the rivers of Chirchiq, Arys and Borolday,^[16] consolidating their occupation.^[17]

In national history

The Kazakh political activist and historian Mukhamedzhan Tynyshpaev wrote several works which described the Flight. His narrative of the events would later form the basis of Soviet-era and Post-Soviet histories of the event.^[18]

References

[1]
Jambyl, Artykbaev (2019). АБЫЛАЙ ХАН [Abylai Khan] (in Russian). Nur-Sultan: ИЗДАТЕЛЬСТВО ФОЛИАНТ, Jambyl Artykbaev. p. 23. ISBN 978-601-338-293-7.
[2]
Fuat, Dr. Vecihi Sefa. 18. VE 19. YÜZYILLARDA KAZAK TÜRKLERİ RUS İŞGALİ VE ULUSAL BAĞIMSIZLIK MÜCADELESİ [“18th and 19th Centuries Kazakh Turks” “Russian Occupation and the National Independence Struggle”] (in Turkish). Dr. Vecihi Sefa Fuat HEKİMOĞLU. p. 19. ISBN 978-605-2149-53-9.
[3]
Holzwarth, Wolfgang. "Relations between Uzbek Central Asia, the Great Steppe and Iran, 1700-1750," in Shifts and Drifts in Nomad-Sedentary Relations Edited by Stefan Leder and Bernhard Streck. Wiesbaden, 2005.
[4]
Erofeeva, I. V. (2014). Epistoliarnoe nasledie kazakhskoi praviashchei elity, 1675–1821 godov. Almaty: Abdi co. 79, Erofeeva, I. V. p. 79.
[5]
Viatkin, M. P. (1947). Batyr Srym. Moscow: Akademiia Nauk SSSR. Viatkin, M. P. p. 154.
[6]
Adle, Chahryar (2003). History of Civilizations of Central Asia (5th ed.). UNESCO, Adle Chahrayar. p. 98. ISBN 978-8120820463.
[7]
Unknown, Unknown (1988). История средней и центральной Азии в X-XIX веках, Ташкент, 1988 [History of Central and Middle Asia in the 10th-19th centuries, Tashkent, 1988] (in Russian). Tashkent: Unknown. p. 265.
[8]
Моисеев, В.А. Джунгарское ханство и казахи (XVII-XVIII вв.) [Dzungar Khanate and the Kazakhs (17th to the 18th centuries)] (in Russian). Моисеев В.А. p. 72.
[9]
Adle, Chahryar (2003). History of Civilizations of Central Asia (5th ed.). UNESCO, Adle Chahrayar. pp. 98–99. ISBN 978-8120820463.
[10]
Adle, Chahrayar (2003). History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Volume V: Development in Contrast: from the Sixteenth to the Mid-Nineteenth Century. Paris: UNESCO Publishing. p. 99. ISBN 9789231038761.
[11]
History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Volume V: Development in Contrast: from the Sixteenth to the Mid-Nineteenth Century. Paris: UNESCO Publishing. 2003. p. 89. ISBN 9789231038761.
[12]
Unknown, Unknown (1988). История средней и центральной Азии в X-XIX веках, Ташкент, 1988 [History of Central and Middle Asia in the 10th-19th centuries, Tashkent, 1988] (in Russian). Tashkent: Unknown. p. 265.
[13]
Jambyl, Artykbaev (2019). АБЫЛАЙ ХАН [Abylai Khan] (in Russian). Nur-Sultan: ИЗДАТЕЛЬСТВО ФОЛИАНТ, Jambyl Artykbaev. p. 18. ISBN 978-601-338-293-7.
[14]
Suleimenov RB, Moiseev VA From the history of Kazakhstan in the 18th century (about the foreign and domestic policies of Ablai) : [Russian] . — Alma-Ata: Science: Institute of History, Archeology and Ethnography named after. CH Valikhanov Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR, 1988. - 144 p. 21.
[15]
Unknown, Unknown (1988). История средней и центральной Азии в X-XIX веках, Ташкент, 1988 [History of Central and Middle Asia in the 10th-19th centuries, Tashkent, 1988] (in Russian). Tashkent: Unknown. p. 265.
[16]
Erofeeva, I,V (2007). Хан Абулхаир: полководец, правитель, политик [Abulkhair khan, commander, ruler, politics] (in Russian). Almaty: Daik press, Erofeeva I,V. p. 162. ISBN 978-9965-798-64-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
[17]
Adle, Chahryar (2003). History of Civilizations of Central Asia (5th ed.). UNESCO, Adle Chahrayar. p. 99. ISBN 978-8120820463.
[18]
Parmer, M. Hancock (2015). "The Soviet study of the Barefooted Flight of the Kazakhs". Central Asian Survey. 34 (3).

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