— Ch. 1 · Ancient Steppe Civilizations —
Kazakhstan.
~6 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
The Botai culture thrived between 3700 and 3100 BC in the region now known as Kazakhstan. Archaeologists credit this group with the first domestication of horses, a pivotal moment for human history. Their population derived most ancestry from Ancient North Eurasians while showing some Ancient East Asian admixture. Pastoralism developed during the Neolithic period, transforming how people lived on these vast plains. The Kazakh territory became a key part of the Eurasian trading Steppe Route, which later evolved into the terrestrial Silk Roads. During the Bronze and Iron Age, the population was Caucasoid. Various nomadic Iranian peoples such as the Saka, Massagetae, and Scythians dominated the area. These tribes spoke Iranian languages and their chief occupation was nomadic pastoralism. In 329 BC, Alexander the Great fought the Battle of Jaxartes against the Scythians along the river now called Syr Darya. This battle occurred along the southern border of modern Kazakhstan.
Turkic Migration And Khanates
The main migration of Turkic peoples occurred between the 5th and 11th centuries when they spread across Central Asia. The First Turkic Khaganate was founded by Bumin in 552 on the Mongolian Plateau. It quickly spread west toward the Caspian Sea within thirty-five years. The Göktürks drove various peoples including Xionites, Uar, Oghurs, and others before them. These groups seem to have merged into the Avars and Bulgars. By the early 7th century, the Western Khaganate reached its peak. The Cumans entered the steppes of modern-day Kazakhstan around the early 11th century. They later joined with the Kipchak people to establish a vast confederation. True political consolidation began only with the Mongol rule of the early 13th century. Under the Mongol Empire, the first strictly structured administrative districts known as Ulus were established. After the division of the Mongol Empire in 1259, the land that would become modern-day Kazakhstan was ruled by the Golden Horde. During this period, a Turco-Mongol tradition emerged among the ruling elite where Turkicized descendants of Genghis Khan followed Islam. In the 15th century, the Kazakh Khanate emerged from the dissolution of the Golden Horde. Janibek Khan and Kerei Khan established it over an area roughly corresponding with modern Kazakhstan.