Senior Juz

Origins

The Kazakhs had long been grouped into three juz, or hordes, and after the death of Tauke Khan around 1718 the Kazakh Khanate lost its unity, with each juz under its own khans. The Senior Juz occupied the south-east, from the Syr Darya to the Ili valley in Zhetysu.

Rule and society

Its tribes, such as the Dulat, Uysun and Jalayir, were nomadic herders closely tied to the oasis cities of Tashkent and Turkistan. They were hit hardest by the Dzungar invasions of the 1720s and partly ruled by the Dzungars until the 1750s. The judge Tole Bi, one of three famous Kazakh biys, was a leading figure.

Decline and legacy

From the late 18th century much of the Senior Juz fell under the Tashkent Hakimate and then the Khanate of Kokand. From the 1820s its northern clans accepted Russian protection, and by 1848 Russia had abolished the khanship, incorporating it into the Russian Empire.