Kazakhs

The Kazakhs (also spelled Qazaqs; Kazakh: , , , , , ) are a Turkic people native to Central Asia and Eastern Europe, mainly Kazakhstan, but also parts of northern Uzbekistan and the border regions of Russia, as well as northwestern China (specifically Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture) and western Mongolia (Bayan-Ölgii Province).The Kazakhs arose from the merging of the medieval Turkic and Mongol tribes in the 15th century. Kazakh identity is of medieval origin and was strongly shaped by the foundation of the Kazakh Khanate between 1456 and 1465, when following disintegration of the Golden Horde, several tribes under the rule of the sultans Janibek and Kerei departed from the Khanate of Abu'l-Khayr Khan in hopes of forming a powerful khanate of their own. The term Kazakh is used to refer to ethnic Kazakhs, while the term Kazakhstani refers to all citizens of Kazakhstan, regardless of ethnicity. Etymology The Kazakhs likely began using the name Kazakh during the 15th century. There are many theories on the origin of the word Kazakh or Qazaq. Some speculate that it comes from the Turkic verb ("wanderer, brigand, vagabond, warrior, free, independent") or that it derives from the Proto-Turkic word (a wheeled cart used by the Kazakhs to transport their yurts and belongings).