The Qazaq Khanate: on the ethnopolitonym “qazaq,” symbols of khanal authority, and tribal tamgas (based on ethno-archaeological and archival data)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69567/Keywords:
Qazaq Khanate, ethnopolitonym “Qazaq”, khanal authority, insignia of power, Qazaq tribes, tamga system, ethno-archaeological evidence, archival sourcesAbstract
The Qazaq Khanate can be considered to have consolidated between 1455–1465 (1456–1466). The terms “Uzbek” and “Qazaq” were used concurrently during the 1450s–1460s. The ethnonym “Uzbek” derives from the Uluγ Ulus (Great Ulus, i.e., the Jochid Ulus) and is associated with Toγrylča-oghlu “Sultan Ghiyas al-Din Muhammad,” known as Özbek Khan (1283–1341). The tribes that joined Kerei and Janibek belonged to the “Uzbek Ulus” under the rule of Abulkhair Khan (1414–1468). Hence, the official designation “Uzbekistan (mamlakati Uzbek)” did not exist as a state name at that time but was rather a Persian label employed by contemporary chroniclers. Similarly, the name [*Moŋγol] > Moγol Ulus (“Mongol Ulus”) was recorded in eastern sources as Mogolistan (mamlakati Mogolistan). The term “Qazaqstan” (“Kazakhstan”) also appears in sources as early as 1537. Chinese historical records refer to steppe nomads as *tele, *tili, *dili (from Old Turkic *terek/terke — “wagon people”), as well as *gaoche, *gaogui, *gaozjui — “high carts with many wheel-rims.” In medieval Mongolian texts, particularly in The Secret History of the Mongols, the expression “qasaq/qasγaq tergen” (“iron-banded large cart,” “Qazaq wagon”) occurs. Travelers’ accounts attest to the widespread use among medieval nomads of various types of two- and four-wheeled carts drawn by oxen, horses, or camels. Initially, the term “Qazaq” denoted “a cart carrying a yurt with iron-bound wheels,” and soon came to refer to the nomadic groups using them. With the establishment of the Qazaq Khanate, the name acquired a political meaning and became established as an ethnopolitonym. The tripartite (three zhuz) politico-military structure of the Khanate and its tribal components represented the continuity of ancient nomadic traditions and the legacy of their political institutions. The Qazaq Khanate possessed symbols of sovereign authority. The system of tribal tamgas and dynastic insignia of the töre lineage remained in use until the early twentieth century. These symbols and tamgas are widely attested in ethno-archaeological monuments, museum collections, and archival documents.
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