Theme 1. Introductory lecture

1. The subject, aims and objectives of the discipline “History of Kazakhstan”

2. The sources on the history of Kazakhstan

3. Historiography of the history of Kazakhstan

1)The history is science which is in constant development. Everyone knows the expression: there is no nation without history. The study of historical experience forms historical consciousness, culture, tradition, continuity of generations. The history gives an opportunity to comprehend the scale of what is happening today, it plants the seeds of the future. It is the basis of understanding of the civilization phenomenon, the dialectics of contemporary global problems by a human.

History of Kazakhstan deals with the processes of the mankind origin and development, social relations, the formation and development of states, the social and economic relations, the relationship with neighboring countries and people, the national liberation struggle, the Kazakh steppe tribes’ and peoplecontribution to the world civilization.

History of Kazakh people, and their ancestors, all nations and nationalities living in Kazakhstan today is a component of a world history, its studying is important for the formation of youth historical consciousness.

Today the historical science of Kazakhstan is facing huge and important objectives. One of the major objectives of history of Kazakhstan is promoting of Kazakhstan patriotism. This aim has become one of the main among nominated in the message to the people "Kazakhstan - 2050" by the President of Republic of Kazakhstan, Leader of the Nation N.Nazarbayev.

The patriotism is impossible without the formation of the historical consciousness, conjunctive present society with its past, therefore objective studying of history and its popularization are education’s important aims.

2) Historical sources are the complex of documents and material culture subjects, directly reflected the historical process, separate facts and taking place events, on the basis of which a notion about definite historical epochis created. Following types of historical sources are existed:

1. Corporeal (archeological) source. Historical knowledge about the mankind formation and development stages are formed on the basis of culture monuments researching, left by ancient people.

These include findings from constructions, settlements and burial places of ancient periods. For instance, instruments of labour, weapons, crockery, clothes, dwelling, decoration, sites, carvings, etc.

2. Written (writing) source. These includes antique books, chronicles, works of personal origin (memoirs, remembrance) , scientific works, legislative codes, writings, statistical materials, periodicals, diplomatic protocols, diaries and reports of travelleres, etc.

3. Oral (verbal) source. Oral literature (legends, tales, historical eposes, proverbs and etc) is an ancient form of historical information transmission which existing among all people. Through the oral transmission some details can be distorted and perished.

Written sources can be divided into several groups.

The first group includes written reports of antique authors. Among them there are works of ancient Greek Historian Herodotus (“The History”) and Geographer Strabo (“The Geography”), Roman Historian Pliny, where can be found some data about Saka and Turkic tribes, which inhabited the territory of Kazakhstan in ancient period.

A Chinese dynasty chronicles consist many important materials on the ancient history of Kazakhstan. For example, the reports of Chshan Tsyan, who personally visited Zhetysu in the II c. BC and “The historical reports” of Chinese historian Syma Thyan.

Ancient Persian written sources such as sacred book of zoroastians “Avesta”, Persian cuneiform texts, in particular “The Behistun Inscription of Dariy” (522-486 BC) also includes valuable data about ancient inhabitants of Modern Kazakhstan.

The important group of written sources on the early Medieval history of Kazakhstan were written in Chinese, ancient Turkic, Arabic, Persian and Mongol.

A complex of historical sources about Central Asian population, including Turkic tribes was written in different period in China.

Chinese travelers described Zhetysu, Eastern Turkestan, Issyk-Kul in their works. Among them there are interesting and important recordings of buddhistic monk Hiuen Tsang, who personally visited Western Turkic kaganate in 629. His work is called “Buddhistic records of the Western world”. He describes the Turkic kaganate Palace, the Turkics economy and customs of Zhetysu. He described in details the Western Turkic kaganate capital – the town of Sujab.

The collection of Chinese sources “Western Turkic kaganate. Chinese sources and notions” was published in Urumchi in 2006. There are sources refered to Turkic tribes, for example, “Wei name”, “Zhou name”, “Sui name”, and etc. in this collection.

Two historical legends about the Turkics origin from the She-wolf are in “Zhou name”. This source has information about collision between Bumyn and Juan Juan’s khan Anagui, the formation of Turkic kaganate, the situation after Bumyn, the Turkics economy and customs and the situation during the reign of Mukan kagan.

The important source on history of Turkic tribes are the ancient written monuments found in the Orkhon and the Yenisei pools. Among them there are Kultegin, Bilge khan, Tonukok monuments. They are indigenous. These monuments were translated into German, English, French, Russian, Mongol, and etc. The monuments were located in the steppe spaces on the left Orkhon river banks, 45 km to the north from the ancient town Karakorum, 400 km to the south-west of Mongolia present capital Ulan-Bator. The author of these Ancient inscriptions (the written monuments) is Yollig tegin from Ashina dynasty.

The most important materials on the late Medieval history (the XIII-XVIII centuries) were written mainly in Arabic, Persian, Chagatay, old Uzbek, Russian, old Kazakh languages.

Among them is “Tarikh -i Rashidi” by M. H. Duglati in Persian. The author in the first chapter gives more detailed information about the history of Moghulistan state, its territory, the ethnic structure, the administrative-military structure, way of life, customs, military art, foreign policy and relations with neighbours. In the second chapter M.H. Duglati gives interesting and important information on the history of Eastern “Deshti Qipchaq”: the territory of Kazakh khanate and the features of Kazakh society. The author believes, that Kazakh khanate was formed in 1465/1466.

Within the bounds of the state programme “Cultural heritage” a huge work was done by the R. Suleimenov institute of oriental studies.

The institute published the collections of sources and materials in a few volumes in 2006-2010. For example, “Chinese sources on history of Kazakhstan” in 10 volumes, “Arabic sources on history of Kazakhstan” in 5 volumes, “Persian sources on history of Kazakhstan” in 5 volumes, “Early Turkic sources on history of Kazakhstan” in 5 volumes, “Mongol sources on history of Kazakhstan” in 5volumes, “Russian sources on history of Kazakhstan” in 10 volumes, “Western sources on history of Kazakhstan” in 10 volumes in Kazakh and Russian.

The most complete information on the Kazakh khanate formation and its development is given in the Persian author Ibn Ruzbikhan (ХVІІ c), Kadirgaly Zhalairi (the beginning of the ХVІІ c.) works, also some data are in the reports by Britan traveler Jenkinson, etc.

There are wide range of written sources, which contain the information, reflecting the historical events and facts of the XVIII, XIX и ХХ cc. taken place on the territory of Kazakhstan.

They include records (diary, journal) of eye-witneses who visited Kazakh steppe, tsarist government legislative codes, official person’s messages, correspondence, periodicals of the XIX-XX cc., legal texts and etc.

Thus a source is anything that has been left behind by the past. It might be a document, but it might alternatively be a building or a picture or a piece of ephemera – a train ticket perhaps or a plastic cup. They are called 'sources' because they provide us with information which can broaden our knowledge on the past. Sources only become historical evidence, however, when they are used by a historian to make a point.

3) Historiography is one of auxiliary historical science, which researches extent of studying some historical problems, historical events or phenomena. It is totality of the researches devoted to the specific theme, problem and epoch, on the other hand it is the development of methods, approaches, principles of historical researches.

Great contribution to the study of the history of Kazakhstan was made by Russian, Soviet and Kazakh scientists.

An important place among the Russian orientalists has been taken by V.V. Barthold. As the prominent Russian orientalist S.G.Klyashtornyi pointed out “his researches on the history of Turkic tribes differ by a wider chronology and a problem range”. V.V.Barthold translated the sources of Persian authors and his works are devoted to Arabic invasion, towns of Zhetysu, Karahanids state and etc. He is the author of the basic researches “History of Turkestan”, “Studies of Semirech’e history”.

The successor of V.V.Barthold’s researches on the ancient and medieval history of Turkics was A.Bernshtam. His works mainly covered socio structure of the Great Turkic kaganate, including the forms of government, the system of successor to the throne, the ruler’s titles and etc.

The problems of the origin, the ethnic history, the ethnical genesis of ancient Turkic tribes, the Turkic states formation, widely covered in the works (monographic studies) of L.Gumilev, M.Artomonov, S.Malov, S.G.Klyashtornyi, B.Kumekov, S.Kinayatuly, A.Dauletkhan, S.Syzdikov and others.

The monographic studies on the late period belong to the Russian historians. The Russian historians took up careful studying of separate problems of Mongolian states, Juji ulus, Golden Horde.

Huge work was done by V.V.Barthold (1869-1930). He published “Studies of Semirech’e history” in 1898, which covers the history of the region in the period of Mongol ulus and Chagatay in the structure of Moghulistan. V.V.Barthold is also the author of basic research as “Turkestan in the Mongol invasion period”.

Next important monography on the history of the Golden Horde belongs to B.O. Grekov and A.I.Yakubowski “The Golden Horde”, published in 1937. This research is in fact the first resumptive work on history of the Golden Horde. The monography consists of three parts. The first part “The formation and development of the Golden Horde in the XIII-XIVcc” includes 8 chapters, the second part “The Golden Horde and Russia” – 7 chapters and third part “Disintegration of the Golden Horde”- 5 chapters. The monography covers all history of the Golden

Horde, from the Mongol invasion, the formation of the Golden Horde and to disintegration of the Golden Horde.

Multitude works on the history of the Golden Horde were published, among them the researches M.G.Safargaliev, N.L. Yegorov, G.F. Feodorov- Davidov and other researchers. They studied the problems of economy, social structure, political history, historical geography of the Golden Horde.

The problems of development of the proper Kazakh state system, the history of Kazakh khanate in the XV-XVIIcc., ethnical genesis of Kazakh, way of life, economy, customs, religion, ethncal and tribal structure of Kazakh zhuzes were the subject of many researchers. Among them there were Russian researchers P.I.Richkov, I.G.Georgi, I.N. Berezin.

The first basic research on the geography, the history and ethnography of Kazakh nation is the work by A.I. Levshin (1797-1879). It is called “Description of the Kirgiz-kazachih or Kirgiz-kaisazkih hordes and stepps”, published in 1832. This work consists of three parts. The research widely covers natural conditions of life of Kazakh nation. Especially important are the materials about living customs, religion, economic and social and culture life of Kazakh people. A new edition of his research was republished in Almaty in 1996.

Next important monography on the late medieval history of Kazakhstan is the research in 4 volumes of the prominent orientalist N.V.Veljaminov-Zernov (1830-1904). The work is called “The researches about Kasimov tsars and princes”. The author in series stated the history of the Kazakh khanate, gave his opinion about the formation of the Kazakh khanate, covered foreign policy-relationships of Kazakh khans. He is the first, who used original materials from oriental sources. Among them there were such sources as the works of M.H.Duglati, K.Zhalairi, Zahir - ad din Batur and Hafiz Tanish.

The problems of ethnical genesis of Kazakh nation, the Kazakh zhuzes formation, ethnical and tribal structure and setting of the Kazakhs were studied by the first Kazakh historian Ch.Ch.Valikhanov “The recordings about Kirgiz”, “Kirgiz’s family tree” and etc.

Historians S.D Asfendiarov, S.P.Tolstov, A.Margulan, V.F.Shahmatov, E. Bekmakhanov, and others discussed different problems history of Kazakhstan.

In the second half of the XX – at the beginning of the XXI centuries dozen works were published by leading historians of the country. Among them there are R.Suleimenov, K.Akishev, M. Kozybaeb, K. Nurpeisov, T.Sultanov, B.Kumekov, O.Ismagulov, Zh. Kasimbaev, K.Baipakov, M.Koigeldyev, T.Omarbekov, P.Belan, S.Kinayatuly, Kh.Abzhanov, Kh. Aldazhumanov, Zh.Abylkhozhin and others.

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