From the 16th to the 17th centuries, the Kazakh Khanate ruled and expanded its territories to eastern Cumania (modern-day West Kazakhstan), most of Uzbekistan, Karakalpakstan and the Syr Darya river with military confrontation as far as Astrakhan and Khorasan, which are now in Russia and Iran, respectively.

These resulted in a decline and further disintegration into three jüz, which gradually lost their sovereignty and were incorporated to the expanding Russian Empire in the 19th century.

Under Abu’l-Khayr Khan's leadership, the Uzbek Khanate became a corrupt, unstable, and weak state that often dealt with internal problems.

To make matters worse, the khanate itself was raided by Oirats who pillaged nomadic settlements and major cities where they were looted, damaged, and had civilians massacred.

Eager to liberate his land from Abu’l Khayr Khan, Janibek invaded the Uzbek Khanate in 1468, sparking the Kazakh War of Independence.

The early years of the Kazakh Khanate were marked by struggles for control of the steppe against Abu'l-Khayr's grandson, Muhammad Shaybani.

In 1470, the Kazakhs defeated Shaybani at the city of Iasy (present-day Turkistan), forcing the Uzbeks to retreat south to Samarkand and Bukhara.

During his reign, the Kazakhs were able to muster an army of 50,000 ghazis and to repeatedly defeat the forces of Muhammad Shaybani along the Syr Darya river.

Regarding these events, 16th century Khaidar Duglati in his Tarikh-i Rashidi reports:[4] At that time, Abulkhair Khan exercised full power in Dasht-i-Kipchak.

Isán Bughá Khán received them with great honor, and delivered over to them Kuzi Báshi, which is near Chu, on the western limit of Moghulistán, where they dwelt in peace and content.

Under his rule, the Kazakh Khanate reached its greatest strength so much that the Nogai Horde, which occupied the territory of modern Western Kazakhstan, became its number one enemy.

Kasym Khan also became a major patron of the arts, literature, and religion, allowing Islam to hold great political and sociocultural importance among Kazakh society.

Upon doing so, Kasym Khan established his reputation as a successful leader, as his empire became known in Western Europe as an up-and-coming political entity.

The manuscript also describes how a Kazakh army of eight thousand soldiers helped Sheibani Khan of Bukhara annex the Iranian city of Khorasan.

Kasym Khan also ratified his alliance with the Timurid leader Babur, particularly after the fall of the Shaybanids, and was thus praised by the Mughals and the populace of Samarqand.

In 1568, the Kazakhs successfully defeated the Nogai Horde at the Emba River and reached Astrakhan, but were repelled by Russian forces.

Baba Sultan was defeated and fled to the Dullah Khan presented Risk to the province of Afrikent in the Samarkand region.

Tauke Khan soon sought alliances with the Kyrghyz in the southeast who were also facing a Zunghar invasion in their Issyk-Kul Lake region and even the Uyghurs of the Tarim Basin.

Tauke Khan is also known for refining the Kazakh code of laws, and reissuing it under the title "Жеті Жарғы" (transliterated, "Jetı Jarğy" – "Seven Charters").

During his actual reign, Ablai Khan did his best to keep Kazakhstan as independent as possible from the encroaching Russian Empire and the Chinese Qing dynasty.

Following his rule, he became the leader of the national liberation movement that resisted the capture of Kazakh lands and segregation policies by the Russian Empire.

As a freedom fighter and popular as a leading voice against the increasingly aggressive and forceful policies of the Russian Empire, Kenesary was ruthless in his actions and unpredictable as a military strategist.

Gradual decline, disintegration and accession of Kazakh territories into the Russian Empire began in the mid-18th and ended in the second part of the 19th century.

On October 10, 1731, the khan of the Junior Jüz, Abu'l Khayr, swore fealty to Anna of Russia to obtain Russian help against his rival Sultan Qayip and to secure economic stability.

[16] In the following years, Qayip Ali helped Isatay Taymanuly build a resistance movement designed to free his people from both the khan of the Bukey Horde and the Russians.

Meanwhile, the Senior Jüz sided with the Emirate of Bukhara and the Khanate of Kokand from the south, and started opposing the expansion of the Russian Empire.

[24] Thousands of Bashkirs would be massacred or taken captive by Kazakhs over the course of the uprising, whether in an effort to demonstrate loyalty to the Tsarist state, or as a purely opportunistic maneuver.

[29][self-published source] On May 23, 1808, Governor Peter Kaptzevich signed an order that freed all slave or serf Kazakhs of both genders who reached the age of 25.

[31] At major markets in Bukhara, Samarkand, Karakul, Karshi and Charju, slaves consisted mainly of Iranians and Russians, and some Kalmuks; they were brought there by Turkmen, Kazakh and Kyrgyz.

[33] During the first half of the 19th century alone, some one million Persians, as well as an unknown number of Russians, were enslaved and transported to Central Asian khanates.