The Karakalpak fortress of Orınbay qala on the Jana Darya
Illustration courtesy of the Khorezm Archaeological and Ethnographical Expedition
In 1743 a Karakalpak deputation left for an audience with the Empress
in Saint Petersburg, where their request for allegiance was positively
accepted and formalised in a deed of loyalty, which conveyed Russian
citizenship in return for favourable trade relations and the release
of Russian captives. Henceforth, the Karakalpaks would pay tribute to
Russia rather than the Kazakhs.
On hearing this news, Abul Khayr became furious and attacked the “lower”
Karakalpaks for their disloyalty, plundering and destroying their camps
and driving off their cattle. Having failed to gain Russian support
for his ambition to rule over all the Kazakh Hordes, Abul Khayr turned
against the Russians and began attacking their frontier settlements.
This violence encouraged the Karakalpaks to migrate further to the
south-west, into the region between the Kuvan Darya and Jana Darya and
into the eastern part of the Amu Darya delta. Ironically, their Russian
citizenship seems to have offered them scant protection and as they moved
to the south so the new found relationship with Russia disintegrated.
In 1748 the Sultan of the Middle Horde hatched a plot with dissidents within
the Lesser Horde and Abul Khayr was killed. The Lesser Horde became divided
into a minority group led by Abul Khayr's son, Nur Ali, supported by Russia,
and a majority anti-Russian group led by the dissidents. The latter
frequently attacked the Karakalpaks, no longer just to regain domination
over them but to take their land, making up for shortages of grazing land
in the north. However we also know that the Karakalpaks also remained
split at this time, since a group of "upper" Karakalpak tribes were still
living within Orenburg province. The "lower" Karakalpaks were now wintering
close to the reed beds along the Aral Sea and had built earthen fortresses
to defend themselves against the Kazakh raids. In the summers they were
venturing far and wide to trade their livestock, even reaching as far as
Khiva.
In 1762, some 20,000 Kazakhs embarked on a massive raid on the northern
Karakalpak territories, forcing the Karakalpaks yet further south. Life
in the northern Syr Darya delta had become intolerable and the 1760’s saw
a major migration of Karakalpaks into the lower Jana Darya, which became
the densest region of Karakalpak settlement. But more and more Karakalpaks
were moving into the northern Amu Darya delta, especially along the banks
of the Ko'k O'zek. Here in Khorezm they found natural allies amongst the
dissident Uzbeks who, having resisted rule by Khiva, had no desire to
see an invasion by Kazakhs. Together the Karakalpaks and the Aral Uzbeks
were able to repulse further incursions by the Kazakhs. Finally in 1759
the Chinese defeated the Dzhungar Khanate and annexed it to form Sinkiang,
thereby removing some of the pressure on the Syr Darya Kazakhs from the east.
It seems that the Karakalpaks were not yet politically unified at this stage,
since the Khiva chronicles make no mention of a ruling Khan. Each clan was
lead by its own separate bay, normally a wealthy land and cattle owner.
Historical legends suggest the On To'rt Urıw arıs was led by a bay called
Orınbay from the Man'g'ıt tribe and that a bay called Esengeldbay was
influential amongst the Qon'ırat arıs. Wealthy land-owning Muslim priests
and shamans called ishans, xojas or shaykhs also exercised considerable
influence within the tribes. The constant threat of invasion influenced
the type of Karakalpak settlement. Karakalpaks now settled in groups, with
the whole tribal union sometimes living together – especially during the
winter when the possibility that their enemies could cross the frozen rivers
meant that the risk of attack was greater. Each group or awıl built a fortress
or qorg'an consisting of an outer earth rampart within which all the yurts and
cattle could shelter. The clay farmhouse of the head of the awıl was usually
placed inside, at the centre of the fort.
The Karakalpaks developed a complex
irrigation network in the Jana Darya oasis and maintained their mixed
pastoral-agricultural lifestyle. The full extent of this vast irrigation
system was only discovered in 1946 when Tolstov organised the first aerial
survey of the Syrdar delta. Tolstov described it as a "majestic monument"
to the work of the ancestors of the Karakalpaks. The archaeologist Andrianov
was even more impressed with the sophistication and construction of the
irrigation system when he recorded it on the ground in 1957. Tolstov finally
conducted a detailed survey to record the remains of the Karakalpak irrigation system in
the Syr Darya delta during the 1960's.
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