Ablai Khan
| Abu'l-Mansur (Abylai) Khan ابو المنصور (ابولی) خان Әбілмансұр (Абылай) хан | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Khan of the Three Kazakh Jüzes Khanzada Sultan Shah-i-Turan | |||||
Fantasy image on a postage stamp of Kazakhstan, 2000 | |||||
| Khan of the Kazakh Khanate | |||||
| Reign | 1771–1781 | ||||
| Coronation | 1771 | ||||
| Khan of the Middle Zhuz | |||||
| Reign | 1768–1781 | ||||
| Predecessor | Abilmambet Khan | ||||
| Successor | Wali Khan | ||||
| Born | May 23, 1711 Turkistan, Kazakh Khanate | ||||
| Died | May 23, 1781 (aged 70) Tashkent, Kazakh Khanate | ||||
| Spouse | Ruhani Daulet Begum | ||||
| Issue | Wali Khan Kasym Sultan Suyuk Sultan Adil Sultan (there were 30 sons in total) | ||||
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| House | House of Borjigin | ||||
| Dynasty | Tore House of Urus Khan | ||||
| Father | Korkem Wali Sultan | ||||
| Mother | Jazira Begum | ||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||
Wāli-ūllah Abū'l-Mansūr Khan (Kazakh: ولی الله ابو المنصور خان, Уәлиұллаh Әбілмансұр хан, romanized: Uäliūllah Äbılmansūr Han), better known as Abylai Khan or Ablai Khan (May 23, 1711 — May 23, 1781) was Khan of the Middle Jüz (central region) and was the last independent Kazakh Khan of the Kazakh Khanate before the Khanate was absorbed into the Russian Empire.
Ablai Khan played an important role in the historiography of the Kazakhstan and the history of the Kazakh people. He led the Kazakh–Dzungar Wars, heading the Kazakh struggle against the Dzungars and later against the forces of the Qing dynasty. Seeking to unite the fragmented Kazakh tribes into a single political entity, he was among the first to voluntarily recognize the suzerainty of the Russian Empire and compelled many Central Asian powers to reckon with him.
The most powerful of the eighteenth-century khans was Ablai, the khan of the Middle Horde
Assessments of Ablai Khan’s personality vary widely. Some portray him as a cunning barbarian whose “trickery and resourcefulness” were unmatched, while others idealize and admire his political and military activities. In Soviet and Chinese publications, the subject of Ablai Khan has often been heavily politicized.