The Karakalpaks, 16th to first half of the 19th century

The Karakalpak people began to form from the 8th century on the lower Amu Darya from Turkic tribes including the Bijanaks; according to the textbook this process ended in the 10th–11th centuries; their name means “black hats”, and some historians link it with the “black hats” of Russian chronicles. After the Mongol conquest many moved toward the Volga and Syr Darya, living in the Nogai (Manghit) Khanate after the Golden Horde weakened; in 1556 they came to the lower Syr Darya and grew close to the Lesser Zhuz of the Kazakhs. In 1598 the word “Karakalpaks” appears in a charter of Abdullah Khan II. The Dzungar invasion of 1723 forced them to move again; in 1735 together with the Aral Uzbeks they recognised Khiva’s authority, and in 1811 they were fully subdued. In 1827 a revolt against Khiva’s oppression rose under the biy Aydost Bi; it was put down and Aydost Bi was executed. In 1859, under popular pressure, Said Muhammad Khan granted self-government, and the post of Biylar oghasi became close to that of a khan. In the economy farming (along the Yangidarya and Quvondarya), livestock raising, fishing and hunting were important.