Like most young sultans of the Khanate, Tahir studied at a royal school under a mullah in Tashkent, where his parents lived for a long time.
According to the personal accounts of Mirza Hayder, a Kazakh noble who knew Tahir well, the infighting among the nobles in his empire had turned the young prince into an evil, cruel person and extremely suspicious individual who sought absolute power at the top of his country.
This involved almost all subordinate Kazakh nobles (commonly known in their society as "sultans") sharing the powers of the khan and dividing up pastures between themselves and ordinary residents of the khanate.
Tahir was accompanied by luck, and in a sharp rivalry with the sultans from other families he gained the upper hand and became a Khan.
In his final years, Tahir, who had failed at the same time as in anticipation, provoking general hatred by his government, hid himself from other people and died with the Kyrgyzs in misery.