# Kazakh-Nogai War (1515—1521)

Kazakh-Nogai War — the armed conflict of the Kazakh Khanate and the Nogai Horde from 1515 to 1521. Which ended with the victory of the Kazakhs.

## Background

By the 1510s, a balance of power had been restored in the region with opposing forces. The Kazakh Khanate now controlled all steppe lands north of the Syr Darya, including some cities like Sayram. However, the Kazakhs were unable to advance further into Central Asia. Additionally, by this time, the Kazakhs had also occupied the steppe territories of Moghulistan, notably the Semirechye region, where there were few Mongols left. On the other hand, the Uzbeks under the rule of the Shaybanids dominated Central Asia but could not control the situation in the steppes.

## War

Internal strife among the Nogai Horde's descendants was exacerbated by a power struggle among the sons of Mu-sa-mirza. By 1516, the Nogai conflicts had reached their peak. As a result, influential Nogai mirzas, losing a significant portion of their subjects, found themselves in Crimea. For example, according to Russian archival materials, the population of the once mighty ruler Alshagyr-mirza in those years amounted to only 30,000 people. The weakening of the Nogai Horde, in turn, contributed to the strengthening of the Kazakh rulers' positions in these lands.
Subsequently, Kasym-khan concluded a truce with the Shaybanids and continued the struggle to restore the Chagatai authority over the Nogai uluses. The uluses of Nogai mirzas Alshagyr and Sheikh-Muhammad (Shygyr-mirza) faced heavy pressure from the Kazakh Khanate. The battles were fierce, and according to "Jami at-tavarikh" by Kadyrgali-bek Kosumuly, in one such battle against Shygyr-mirza, Jadhik-khan, Kasym-khan's younger brother, was killed.
Russian archival materials indicate that in 1519-1520, Kazakh forces led by Kasym-khan defeated the Nogai mirzas and pushed them to the right bank of the Edil (Volga). On July 9, 1519, a letter was received in Moscow from the Muscovite ambassador in Turkey, B. Golokhvastov, who was then in Azov. In his letter, he reported about the envoy from Shigim-mirza to the Crimean Shaqburbayev's son, expressing concerns about the increasing pressure from the Kazakh Horde. The dire situation forced the Nogai mirzas to accept all offers from the Astrakhan Khanate ruler.
At that time, the killer of Jadik, Nogai mirza Sheikh-Muhammad (Shygyr-mirza), defended the crossings under the walls of Astrakhan from the Kazakhs through which his subjects fled westward. However, soon news arrived that Kazakhs captured Shigim-mirza. Having lost his uluses, Sheikh-Muhammad was captured and executed by the Astrakhanis in the winter of 1520-1521. As a result of the military campaigns of 1519-1520, Kasym-khan managed to subjugate part of the Nogai uluses. The weakening influence of the descendants of Edige prompted some Nogai tribes to voluntarily join the Kazakh Khanate ruler. This process of uniting closely related tribes in one state was prepared throughout the ethno-political history of the region. Significant territories of the Nogai Horde became part of the Kazakh Khanate. The capital of the Nogai Horde, the city of Sarayshyk, came under the rule of Kasym-khan and briefly served as his main headquarters. Thus, the Kazakh khan united most of the population of the Eastern Dasht-i Kipchak within the framework of the Kazakh Khanate.

## Chronology of military operations

* in 1515, the Kazakhs put pressure on the Nogais.
* In 1519, Kasym carried out a military campaign against the Nogais.
* in 1519-1520, the Kazakhs took Saraishyk.
* In 1521, the Noagian Horde ceased to exist.