Kyz-Zhibek

The love story of Tolegen, the brave warrior, and the beauty Zhibek ends tragically because of inter-family strife.

Tolegen is foully murdered by Bekezhan (the batyr, or nobleman, of the rival family), who earlier strived for the hand of Zhibek.

It was first published in Kazan in 1894 in a version prepared by a Kazakh ethnographer and poet Zhusipbek Shaykhislamuly.

The Kyz-Zhibek poem is included in the world cultural heritage list, 2008 was declared by UNESCO the year of the 500th anniversary of the epic.

[3] In 2003, a book was published in the Eposes of the Peoples of Eurasia series, which collected the best versions of the two epics Kozy Korpesh - Bayan Sulu and Kyz-Zhibek.