Siege of Sawran – Wikipedia

Siege of Sawran — In 1487, the Kazakh army under the leadership of the Kazakh rulers besieged the city. During the siege, the residents conspired with Chipmunk Khan and surrendered Mahmud Sultan to the Kazakhs.

The prolonged and persistent struggle in Turkestan had a negative impact on economic activity, the condition of the cities, and especially the surrounding villages. The inhabitants of the cities sought ways to prevent destruction, which largely explains the previously mentioned events of Sygnak’s surrender to Burunduk Khan and Arkuk’s surrender to Muhammad Shaybani.

Two months after Mahmud Sultan became the ruler of Sawran, the city was besieged by the combined forces of Burunduk Khan, Janibek Khan’s sons – Kasym and Adik, as well as Muhammad-Mazid Tarkhan. The besiegers established secret contacts with the local nobility, which led to an uprising of the city’s inhabitants against the Uzbek garrison.

It is evident that part of the Sawran elite had closer ties with the Kazakh khan, which had been established long before the city had been under Kazakh control for an extended period. The inhabitants of Sauran handed over Muhammad Shaybani’s brother along with his entire entourage to the Kazakhs. Kasym Sultan sent the prisoners to Suzak, but along the way, Mahmud Sultan managed to escape.

After strengthening their position in Sawran, Burunduk Khan and Janibek Khan’s sons marched toward Otrar with a large army. Muhammad Shaybani was in the city, and together with Muhammad-Mazid Tarkhan, they laid siege to the fortress.

Pishchulina, K. A. (2016). Очерки истории казахского ханства (in Russian). Almaty: Институт истории и этиологии им Ч. Ч. Валиханова. ISBN 978-601-7342-14-2.

• Абусеитова, М. Х. (1985). Казахское ханство во второй половине XVI века (in Russian). Almaty: Наука.
• Ахмедов, Б. А. (1965). Государство кочевых узбеков (in Russian). Moscow: Наука.