Lesser Horde

(Russian, Mladshii Zhuz), one of three groups of Kazakh tribes and clans, which arose in western Kazakhstan in the 16th century.

In pre-revolutionary Russian writings the zhuzy (from Turkic zhuz, “side,” “part”) were called ordy (hordes). In addition to the Lesser Horde (Kishi Zhuz), the Greater Horde (Uly Zhuz) and the Middle Horde (Orta Zhuz) were also found in Kazakhstan. The Lesser Horde consisted of three basic tribal confederations: Zheti-Ru, Alim-Uly, and Bai-Uly. The tribes of the Lesser Horde were nomads dwelling along the lower reaches of the Syr Darya and Ural rivers, at the confluence of the Irgiz and Turgai rivers, along the upper reaches of the Tobol River, and in the Mugodzhary Mountains. The tribes maintained economic ties with the settled population of the Volga region and the southern Urals. Political power in the horde was held by several khans who headed the khanates that periodically rose and fell. In 1731 the Kazakhs of the Lesser Horde, under the leadership of Khan Abulkhair, were the first to join the Russian empire voluntarily.