The Dasht-i Qipchaq and the roots of the Shaybanid state
Lessons 1 · 1 lessons · U. Jo‘rayev, Q. Usmonov, G. Jo‘rayeva, N. Norqulov. O‘zbekiston tarixi (History of Uzbekistan, 16th to mid-19th century), Grade 8. O‘qituvchi, Tashkent, 2019 (revised and expanded 4th edition)
1
The political situation in the Dasht-i Qipchaq
Textbook: pp. 5–7
GoalExplain the roots of the Shaybanid state through the Dasht-i Qipchaq, the Golden Horde and Abulkhayr Khan’s state.
New words
Dasht-i Qipchaq (the Kipchak steppe) · Dashti QipchoqGolden Horde · Oltin O‘rdaulus (a realm or appanage of a Mongol prince) · ulusUzbek Ulus (Abulkhayr’s state) · O‘zbek ulusi
Explanation
The Dasht-i Qipchaq was the name for a huge steppe stretching from the Dnieper to the Syr Darya and the foothills of the Tien Shan; Arabic and Persian writers used the name from the 11th century, and the Ural (Yaik) river, flowing through its middle, split it into a western and an eastern part. In the 1240s Batu Khan, a grandson of Genghis Khan, founded the Golden Horde (the Ulus of Jochi), and the eastern steppe passed to the descendants of Shayban, a son of Jochi. The struggle for the throne in the Shayban ulus sharpened after Davlatshaykh died in 1425; his son Abulkhayr Khan, backed by tribal leaders and clergy, founded the state called the “Uzbek Ulus” in 1428, with its capital at Tura. In 1446 he seized Syr Darya towns such as Sighnaq, Uzgen and Suzaq and moved the capital to Sighnaq, and in 1451 he helped the Timurid prince Abu Said Mirza win the throne of Samarkand. After Abulkhayr died in 1468 the state fell apart; his grandson Muhammad Shaybani (born 1451) studied in the madrasas of Bukhara, built a hired army, and in the 1480s united the scattered tribes and restored his grandfather’s state.
Worked examples
Family line: Genghis Khan → Jochi → Shayban … Davlatshaykh → Abulkhayr Khan → Shahbudagh Sultan → Muhammad Shaybani and Mahmud Sultan.
Timeline: 1428 — Uzbek Ulus; 1431 — independence from the Golden Horde declared; 1446 — Sighnaq the capital; 1451 — Abu Said in Samarkand; 1468 — death of Abulkhayr.
Class activity
“Timeline strip”: write the dates 1428, 1446, 1451, 1468 on a strip, add one sentence of event under each, and read them in order.
Practice
1
When, where and what state did Abulkhayr Khan found?
In 1428, in the eastern Dasht-i Qipchaq, the “Uzbek Ulus”; its capital was Tura.
2
What was the population of the Dasht-i Qipchaq called in Russian, Byzantine and Eastern sources?
Russians called them Polovtsy, the Byzantines Cumans, and Eastern sources Kipchaks.
3
Why do you think Abulkhayr moved his capital to Sighnaq in 1446?
Sighnaq lies on the Syr Darya, close to Transoxiana; it shows he was preparing for a struggle with the Timurids.
4
Why did Muhammad Shaybani’s service to Timurid rulers later help him?
Serving them with his hired army, he learned the state of the Timurid realm, its strengths and weaknesses.