Lably
Skip to content

Uzbek Khanate

1428–1471 Shaybanid state preceding the Khanate of Bukhara

  • 7 min read
  • 4 chapters

Explore on Lably

ToursExplore Lably’s 3D tours

Etymology

The dynasty of Abu'l-Khayr Khan and his descendants is named after him, and the states ruled by them are known as Abulkhairids, such as in the Khanate of Bukhara. They may also be referred to as Shaybanids, although this is more of an umbrella term as a rival dynasty called the Arabshahids of Khwarezm were also Shaybanids, but not Abulkhairids.

Originally, the ethnonym "Uzbek" was not used as a self-designation for a distinct ethnic group in the eastern part of the Ulus of Jochi. In fact, there was no separate ethnic group with this name at that time. The territory of the Golden Horde was inhabited by nomadic tribes, which were usually referred to as "Tatars" in Arabic, Russian, and European sources, and as "Uzbeks" in Central Asian sources. In the early period, the term "Uzbeks" was used in Central Asia to refer to the entire nomadic population of the Ulus of Jochi. After the campaigns of Muhammad Shaybani in the region, the meaning of this name became more restricted and came to denote mainly the descendants of the specific group of nomads who resettled in Central Asia along with the Shaybanids. Thus, it can be said that there was no separate ethnic group of "nomadic Uzbeks" in the Ulus of Jochi; rather, there was a unified nomadic Golden Horde people, known in Europe as "Tatars" and in Central Asia as "Uzbeks".

A similar position is held by the Kazakh historian K. Z. Uskembay. According to him, in Timurid sources the nomadic population of Ak Orda is designated by the term "Uzbeks". The historian notes that this tradition became so entrenched in Central Asian historiography that later, during the reign of Barak Khan and the Shibanid Abulkhair Khan, their subjects and even the state continued to be called by this term. A similar conclusion is also reached by the Kazakh historian Zh. M. Sabitov, who considers the term "Uzbek" as a Central Asian exo-ethnonym (an external name) applied to the nomadic population of the entire Ulus of Jochi. According to the historian, the term "nomadic Uzbeks" was coined in 1965 by B. A. Akhmedov and is not mentioned in the sources.

Sign in to keep reading

3 more chapters are free with a Lably account.

More in Early modern

Qing dynastyManchu-led dynasty of China (1644–1912)East India CompanyBritish joint-stock company (1600–1874)Ming dynastyImperial dynasty of China (1368–1644)American Revolutionary War1775–1783 conflict in North AmericaPrussiaGerman state from 1525 to 1947Kingdom of Great BritainSovereign state in Western Europe (1707–1801)