Political and ideological prerequisites for the enthronement of the Kazakh sultan Uraz-Muhammad in the Kasimov Khanate

Abstract

Research objectives: The Kazakh sultan Uraz-Muhammad, who happened to find himself in the territory of the Moscow Tsardom in 1588, was elevated to the throne of the declining Kasimov Khanate in 1600. His arrival in this Turkic enclave yurt, which had been ruled by the Greater Horde dynasty (Sheikh-Avliyar, Shah-Ali, Sain-Bulat, Mustafa-Ali) for a considerable period since 1516, was a political innovation by the Kazakh sultan that remains not fully explained. At that time, representatives of other branches of the Chingisids, such as the significant group of Kuchumoviches (Shibanids), who were likely no less prominent than the Kazakh khans tracing their lineage to the Ordaids or Tukay-Timurids (more recently, primarily to the former), existed in the Moscow Tsardom. The general assessment expressed in the literature that Uraz-Muhammad’s enthronement in Kasimov was an action related to “the further implementation of the eastern policy of the Moscow Tsardom,” according to A.V. Belyakov’s words, lacks sufficient specificity. Therefore, the authors of this article considered it necessary to conduct a more detailed analysis of this issue. Research materials: The authors examined the historiography of the issue of Uraz-Muhammad’s appearance in the Moscow Tsardom, as well as the political situation at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries in both the state and the Kazakh Khanate. Sources such as Kadyr Ali-bek’s “Jami al-tawarikh,” Siberian chronicles, as well as folk legends and traditions found in G.F. Miller’s work “History of Siberia” and Siberian Tatar local history writings were utilized. Results and novelty of the research: The conducted research allowed us to conclude that Moscow’s choice of a candidate like the Kazakh sultan Uraz-Muhammad for the Kasimov throne in 1600 was dictated by the politico-ideological considerations of the ruling elite of the Moscow Tsardom. These considerations were explained by the new challenges in the field of eastern policy that emerged on the eve of the 16th and 17th centuries, which were of great importance to the Moscow Tsardom.