Kasym Khan

Kasym Khan was a prominent ruler of the Kazakh Khanate in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Under his leadership, the Kazakhs consolidated a nomadic empire that stretched across the steppes east of the Caspian Sea and north of the Aral Sea. His rule, from 1509 to 1518, is considered by many to mark the beginning of an independent Kazakh polity. During this period, the Kazakhs were a formidable force, reportedly able to field 200,000 horsemen and feared by their neighbors. Kasym Khan's power extended from present-day southeastern Kazakhstan to the Ural Mountains. However, after his reign, the khanate began to weaken and fragment into three separate hordes: the Great, Middle, and Little Hordes.12