History of Karakalpakstan

Karakalpakstan boasts a rich and diverse history stretching back to the Neolithic Age. Archaeological findings and historical sources indicate that people inhabited this region as early as the 5th century BC. Gravestones and tombs from the era of Darius I reveal that the area around the Aral Sea and Syrdarya River, now known as Karakalpakstan, was home to the “Saka tigraxauda” or the Scythians with pointy hats.

Between the 2nd and 6th centuries BC, Turkic tribes began migrating from the Altay and East Turkestan regions. This movement led to the assimilation of the indigenous Saka population with the nomadic Turkic groups, resulting in the emergence of two new ethnic communities: the Pechenegs and the Oghuz. Among these, the Pechenegs played a significant role in forming the ethnic identity of the Karakalpak people.

The term «karakalpak» translates to «black hats,» a reference to the Pecheneg tribes living in the region who wore distinctive black hats made from sheep’s wool. In historical records, they were known as “black hoods” in Russian and “kara malahayli” in Mongolian.

By the 10th century, the Pecheneg tribes faced pressure from invading Turkic groups and moved southward, eventually becoming part of the Nogay Khanate. After the Khanate’s fall due to Kalmykian invasions, the Pechenegs returned to their homeland. From this point, they were known as the Karakalpak.

In 1714, under the leadership of Eshmuhammed-khan (Eshimhan), the Karakalpaks established their own state, the Karakalpak Khanate, around the Aral Sea and Syrdarya River. However, this state was short-lived, collapsing in 1723 under Kalmyk attacks. This led to a division among the Karakalpaks: some migrated to Tashkent, becoming known as the upper Karakalpaks, while others remained along the lower Syrdarya River, known as the lower Karakalpaks.

In 1731, the lower Karakalpaks, alongside Kazakh tribes, sought Russian protection, becoming subjects of the Russian Empire by 1735. Despite this new allegiance, the region faced repeated incursions by the Khiva Khanate, particularly in 1809 and 1811. The Karakalpaks remained under Khiva’s control until the early 20th century.

With the dissolution of the Khiva Khanate, the Soviet authorities redefined the region, creating the Karakalpak Autonomous Republic within the Uzbek SSR in 1936. Following Uzbekistan’s independence, Karakalpakstan was established as the Republic of Karakalpakstan, an autonomous region within Uzbekistan.

Today, the Republic of Karakalpakstan remains an autonomous region within Uzbekistan, with a population exceeding 600,000 people. However, the environmental catastrophe of the shrinking Aral Sea has led many Karakalpaks to migrate to other parts of Uzbekistan.