The Great Thinkers of the Kazakh Steppe

By Yerkebulan Dzhelbuldin Dana Jeteyeva

This book is a collection of biographies of the great people that made Kazakhstan's history. Some of them were real heroes of their time, some were not understood and were even thought they were traitors, however, their input into the future was very significant and their achievements cannot be diminished. You will find out about our national composers-akyns, poets and Khans. You will learn about the three judges that established the first legal system in Kazakhstan. Some of the characters might seem mythical, but the stories about them still live among us.

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Yerkebulan Dzhelbuldin was born in 1934 in Kazakhstan. He worked as a teacher in the Soviet Union for all his life and was gathering the materials about our country and its history for his book after Kazakhstan acquired its independence. Many facts were concealed from our people and even Kazakhs did not know about their Khans and philosophers.

This book was never published before, but you can find some information about these people in the internet nowadays.

I translated these materials and put them into a book with the sketches of all the characters. I am Dana Jeteyeva, translator of this and other books, specializing in translations of Kazakh fairy tales and other interesting facts about Kazakhstan. I want people all over the world learn about our country, as, even if it is a big country in the middle of Eurasia, not many people know anything about it. I hope my previous experience - teaching English, Kazakh for foreigners, marketing specialist and translating as well as my natural curiosity will help passing this information to as many people as possible.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Mar 31, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524630720

Yerkebulan Dzhelbuldin Dana Jeteyeva

Yerkebulan Dzhelbuldin was born in 1934 in Kazakhstan. He worked as a teacher in the Soviet Union for all his life and was gathering the materials about our country and its history for his book after Kazakhstan acquired its independence. Many facts were concealed from our people and even Kazakhs did not know about their Khans and philosophers. This book was never published before, but you can find some information about these people in the internet nowadays. I translated these materials and put them into a book with the sketches of all the characters. I am Dana Jeteyeva, translator of this and other books, specializing in translations of Kazakh fairy tales and other interesting facts about Kazakhstan. I want people all over the world learn about our country, as, even if it is a big country in the middle of Eurasia, not many people know anything about it. I hope my previous experience - teaching English, Kazakh for foreigners, marketing specialist and translating as well as my natural curiosity will help passing this information to as many people as possible.

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© 2016 Dana Zheteyeva. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse   03/23/2016

ISBN: 978-1-5246-3071-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-3072-0 (e)

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Contents

FOREWORD

THE GREAT THINKERS OF THE KAZAKH STEPPE

AL FARABI

TOLE BI

AITEKE BIY BAIBEKULY

KAZYBEK BI

KHAN ABULKHAIR

MUKHAMMED - KHAIDAR DULATI

KHODJA AHMED YASSAWI

SUYUNBAY ARONULY

KORKYT

ABYLAY

KURMANGAZY

ABAY

Dedicated to my mother, the great encourager.

FOREWORD

T his book is being published for the first time. Its author – Yerkebulan Dzhelbuldin was gathering the data and historical facts during a long period after the fall of the USSR and was compiling it into a book. However, he did not manage to publish it. Readers could see these stories as the articles in the local newspaper in Kazakhstan. My idea was to make people all around the world learn about our ancestors and the great people of Kazakhstan and Middle Asia.

Being a teacher and a good story-teller Mr. Dzhelbuldin tried to make these stories interesting, not just retelling some dry historical facts. I sincerely hope that I managed to pass the taste of the book.

There are a lot of referrals to the works of old Soviet historians and academicians that might be difficult to follow, but I left them as they were.

This is the second book of this author. The first one was The traditions and customs of Kazakhs that you can find it online.

Enjoy the read!

THE GREAT THINKERS OF THE KAZAKH STEPPE

It is true when they say that it is necessary to look in the past in order to understand the present and to see the outlines of the future. Our generation has the honorable right and obligation to learn and safely keep for the future generations everything that was safely brought to us by the time through the old ages. I think that today, on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan, it is just the time to present the portrait gallery of great thinkers of the Kazakh steppe, as they contemplated the grandeur of their people, the zest for independence that has roots in the centuries old depth of history, by their philosophic proceedings, by the depth and strength of their thinking, by their great deeds, painful and intense findings.

We should note that they were the golden fund of the nation, outstanding scientists, philosophers, state and public figures, who lived on the territory of Middle Asia and Kazakhstan in VIII – XIX centuries, with their priceless input into national and world science, culture and politics.

AL FARABI

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O ne of the greatest thinkers of the early middle age was Abu Nasr al-Farabi. He was born in 870 in Turkic family of Kypchak tribe in the city of Farab (to be more exact, in the fortress Vasidi near Otrar city), where Arys river flew into Syrdaria river. Later Farab was called Otrar, the ruins of which are situated (according to modern administrative division) on the territory of Shaulderskiy district of Shymkent region.

According to a tradition, people called the great Otrar citizen Farabi with the Arabic article Al. There is still not much known about his life. There is only separate data in the books of old Muslim authors. Al Farabi did not write his biography as some of the Islamic persons did. Neither his followers – pupils did that.

In accordance with the stories of his contemporaries, he was of lower than average height, he wore Turkic clothes and was not one of those, who might be attracted by the delights of life or by a high rank; he lived his life full of hardships, involved in the cares of intellectual independence and passion for truth.

In his mature years he spent more secluded life. During his stay in Damask, most of the time he spent on the bank of some spring or in a shadowy garden, where he created his work and where his pupils visited him.

In spite of the honor and respect done to him, he never accepted any gifts or help from other people. The development of Al Farabi’s personality was encouraged due to the environment. In VI-VII centuries there was an active economic and cultural mutual influence of the cities of South Kazakhstan and Middle Asia, which was enabled by the brisk trade: thanks to the Great Silk Road connecting West and East, to the caravan roads and ways, connecting Merv, Samarkand, Bukhara and Chach with Taraz, Kulan and Otrar.

It is not accidental that ancient Otrar, situated on the edge of nomadic steppe and settled agricultural nation, a city on the crossroad of the most important trade roads of that time and that was considered the second city in wealth with its book fund, after famous and ancient Alexandria, marked out from its cultural environment such a vivid personality as Al Farabi.

His zest for knowledge enabled the scientist to travel. When he was young he left his home town, left his first love and his parents’ graves. At that time in Baghdad, which was considered not only the center of Arabic, but also world’s culture, famous scientists, philosophers, poets and musicians from all the parts of the civilized world arrived there. Among Baghdad scientists the honorable place was taken by the people from Middle Asia and Kazakhstan by origin. Together with them young Farabi with his universal attitude of mind,