304 Conclusion Conclusion Conclusion

In this monograph, I have examined the international order of Central Eurasia between the first half of the eighteenth century and the middle of the nine- teenth century from the perspective of interrelations among the following three powers: the Kazakh Khanates, the Russian Empire, and the Qing Dynasty. Special emphasis was put on Kazakh-Qing relations. In particular, my research focused on two points: first, the role played by the Kazakh nomads in connect- ing the three regions of the eastern Kazakh steppe, Xinjiang, and Western Siberia; and, second, the influence Russo-Qing and Kazakh-Russian relations had on Kazakh-Qing relations. It will be helpful to summarize here the general contents of the book’s three main parts. Prior to Part 1, in the introduction I considered the position of the Kazakh Khanates within Eurasian-wide international relations up to the early eigh- teenth century. I described a concept of common regional unity that was shared among the three areas of the Irtysh fortified line in Western Siberia, the eastern Kazakh Steppe, and northern Xinjiang. Part 1 consists of the book’s first the two chapters. Chapter 1 examined histo- riography regarding the Kazakh Khanates. It turns out that historiography regarding the Kazakh Steppe within the Soviet Union and China was highly restricted by the circumstances of the period, such as the Soviet-Chinese bor- der conflicts of the 1960s. This resulted in Soviet research turning a blind eye to the relations between the Kazakh Khanates and the Qing Empire, a fact well illustrated by the inadequate mention within Soviet sources of Kazakh “sub- mission” to the Qing in 1757. It is my conclusion that the tripartite relationship between the Kazakhs, Russia, and the Qing must be reexamined in order to fully understand the history of the Kazakh Khanates during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It is quite clear that Kazakh-Qing relations were contin- ually influenced by the relationship between the Kazakhs and Russia. It is therefore significant to compare the relationships that existed on both sides. In addition to the archival documents of both the Russian and Qing Empires, much light is shed on these matters by another source called the Tavārīḫ-i Ḫamsa-yi Šarqī (1910, THS), which was written by Qurbān ‘Alī Ḫālidī, a Tatar mullah residing in Tarbagatai of northern Xinjiang. This work is particularly useful because of the original content it contains and also because the Muslim network of Islamic intellectuals and Muslim merchants Qurbān ‘Alī Ḫālidī focuses on actually unifies the three areas discussed in the introduction. It also

© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2016 | doi 10.1163/9789004314474_010 Conclusion 305 corresponds to the sphere of migration and economic activity displayed by the Kazakh nomads. In chapter 2, I outlined the Kazakh-Russian relationship as it existed from the eighteenth century to the first half of the nineteenth century, a period par- allel to the development of Kazakh-Qing relations – the other main diplomatic endeavor of the Kazakhs. Through an examination of the differing concep- tions of their relationship held by both the Kazakhs and the Russians, it becomes clear that Russia had always paid careful attention to the Qing- Kazakh connection when formulating its own policy regarding Kazakh affairs. This fact also confirms the utility of the tripartite scheme mentioned above. The main objective of the Part 2 of the book (which begins with chapter 3 and continues through chapter 5) is to investigate the nature of Kazakh-Qing relations. For this purpose, I analyzed not only the beginnings of the relation- ship between the Kazakhs and the Qing, but also the Qing’s particular interpre- tation of this relationship and, finally, the title-bestowal system which became the basis of relations between the two parties. Importantly, it became clear that the relationship of the Kazakh Khanates to the Qing Dynasty cannot be considered in isolation. Rather, it must be approached within the context of other Central-Eurasian international relations including those that existed between the Kazakhs and the Russian Empire. In the Part 3 of the book (chapters six to seven), I examined the change in relations occurring between the Kazakh Khanates and both empires during the first half of the nineteenth century, in other words, changes in the Central Eurasian international order. Consequently, it was confirmed that the three geographic regions this book focuses on – the eastern Kazakh Steppe, Western Siberia, and northern Xinjiang – were closely interwoven both economically and politically. Within these three regions, the Kazakhs played various roles. However, once the process of Russian encroachment into the Kazakh Steppe began, the role of the Kazakh nomads became very restricted. Specifically, this book clearly demonstrates the process of Russia’s eastern advance as well as how the two empires’ sharing of a border led to the dissolution of the Kazakh Khanates. Hereafter, I will chronologically summarize the findings of this book in more detail. The history of the Kazakh Khanates described in this book begins in 1730, when Abulkhair khan of the Small Juz sent his envoy to Russia. Abulkhair and the other Chinggisid sultans of the Kazakhs took oaths of loyalty and requested Russian “subject status.” However, the Kazakhs never considered these actions to be complete subordination to the Russian Empire. In this way there was a