Siege of Sozak

Siege of Sozak
	Part of the Kenesary's Rebellion
Date	September, 1841
Location	Sozak, Kazakhstan
Result	Kazakh victory
Belligerents
	Kazakh Khanate; • Syrdarya Kazakhs
Commanders and leaders
Kenesary Qasymuly; Zhankozha Nurmukhamedov	Rais
Strength
4,000	5,000

The Siege of Sozak was a siege the Kokand fortress by the combined forces of Kenesary and Zhankozhi in 1841.

Background

In 1846, Zhankozha joined forces with Kenesary and started fighting against the Kokandians.^{[citation needed]}

History

In early September 1841, Kenesary set out on a campaign to Tashkent with a four-thousand-strong detachment composed of Kazakhs from the Chumekei, Tortkarin, and Tabyn clans.^{[citation needed]} However, an outbreak of disease among his troops forced him to delay.^{[citation needed]} Meanwhile, another part of his army laid siege to the fortresses of Suzak, Yani-Kurgan, Zhulek, and Ak-Mechet.^{[citation needed]}

The battle for Suzak was particularly intense.^{[citation needed]} Eyewitnesses reported that the siege lasted for 18 days, with Kenesary's forces using wooden ladders to scale the fortress walls.^{[citation needed]} As a result, Kenesary managed to destroy Suzak's fortifications and those of other strongholds. He then incorporated local Kazakhs, who had been under Kokand rule, into his ranks and directed them toward Turgai.^{[citation needed]}

These victories significantly strengthened Kenesary's authority among the Kazakh population. After suffering defeat, the Kokand khan offered him an alliance, but Kenesary refused, demanding the return of territories that historically belonged to the Kazakhs.^[1]

Consequences

In 1846, Zhankozha joined forces with Kenesary to fight against the Kokand forces. Together, they captured Sozak, but disagreements soon arose between them, and the batyr chose to act independently. For Zhankozha, the primary enemy remained Khiva, while Kenesary was focused on seeking revenge against Kokand.^{[citation needed]}

References

↑ Bekmakhanov 1992, p. 254-255.

Bibliography

Bekmakhanov, E. (1992). Казахстан в 20-40 годы XIX века [Kazakhstan in the 20-40 years of the XIX century]. Казак Университет. pp. 254–255. ISBN 5-7090-0047-7.
История Казахстана с древнейших времён до наших дней (очерк) [The history of Kazakhstan from ancient times to the present day (essay)]. Almaty: Дауир. 1993. p. 217. ISBN 5-86228-054-5.
Aldazhumanov, K. S.; Asylbekov, M. X.; Kasymbaev, Zh. K.; Kozybaev, M. K. (2010). История Казахстана с древнейших времён до наших дней в пяти томах. Том 3 [The history of Kazakhstan from ancient times to the present day in five volumes. Volume 3]. Almaty: Атамура. p. 347. ISBN 978-601-282-025-6.

[FOOTNOTEBekmakhanov1992254-255-1] Bekmakhanov 1992, p. 254-255.

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