13 Facts About Ablai Khan

Wali-ullah Abu'l-Mansur Khan, better known as Abylai Khan or Ablai Khan was Khan of the Middle Juz and was the last independent Kazakh Khan of the Kazakh Khanate before the Khanate was absorbed into the Russian Empire.

Ablai Khan kept this pen name "Sabalak" in order not to be noticed by his father's rivals as he was one of the descendant of Janybek Khan.

Ablai Khan participated in the most significant battles against the Dzungars from the 1720s to the 1750s, for which he was declared a "batyr" by the people.

Ablai Khan was the last ruler of the Kazakh Khanate to hold this honorific title since the khanate collapsed shortly after his death.

Ablai Khan headed the unified forces of the Kazakhs and furthered the centralization of state power in Kazakhstan.

Until his election as the khan of the three juzes, Ablai had to compete with Abul-Mambet Khan and his descendants of Middle juz for leadership.

In 1771, after the death of Abulmambet Ablai Khan, power was to be inherited by one of his younger brothers or son Abilpeiz the sultans and heads of clans at the kurultai in Burabay, with the participation of the influential biys of the Middle juz Kazybek biy and Kanai biy, Abylai was elected as the Kazakh khan.

Ablai Khan extended his power to significant areas of the Senior and Junior juzes, considering himself the khan of all three juzes.

Ablai Khan never showed up at the fort, so a Russian officer was sent to confer the title in his camp.

Ablai Khan refused to bow down to the expanding Russian Empire and instead chose to strengthen the Kazakhs by promoting Islam and the concept of jihad throughout the state as an effort to resist foreign powers.

Ablai Khan sheltered the Dzungar Oirat taishis Amursana and Dawachi from attacks by the Dzungar Khong Tayiji Lama Dorji, as the Dzungar Khanate fractured following the death of Galdan Tseren in 1745.

However, once Amursana and Dawachi were no longer allies, Ablai Khan took the opportunity to capture herds and territory from the Dzungars.

Ablai Khan led numerous campaigns against Khanate of Kokand and the Kyrgyz.