Kazakhstan, also spelled Kazakstan, (Kazakh: Қазақстан, Qazaqstan, IPA ; Russian: Казахстан, Kazakhstán, IPA ), officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a country that stretches over a vast expanse of northern and central Eurasia. A portion of its territory west of the Ural River is located in eastern-most Europe. It has borders with Russia, the People's Republic of China, and the Central Asian countries Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, and has a coastline on the Caspian Sea. Kazakhstan was a republic of the former Soviet Union and is now a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Kazakhstan is the ninth-largest country in the world by area, but its semi-deserts (steppe) make it only the 57th country in population, with approximately 6 persons per sq km (15/mi²). Population in 2005 was estimated at 15,100,500 down from 16,464,464 in 1989 [http://www.stat.kz/ru/dynamic/svedenia_rk/population/nas.htm.

History

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Main article: History of Kazakhstan

Humans have inhabited what is now known as Kazakhstan since the earliest Stone Age, generally pursuing the nomadic movement pastoralism for which the region's climate and terrain are best suited. In fact, historians believe vast steppes of modern day Kazakhstan were where humans first domesticated the horse. From the 4th century through the beginning of the 7th century, southern parts of the territory of what is now Kazakhstan were a part of and ruled by the Persian Empire, and after the invasion of Persia by Arabs, ruled by a few nomadic kingdoms^*. Following the Mongolian invasion in the early 13th century, administrative districts were established under the Mongol Empire, which eventually became the territories of the Kazakh Khanate (Ak Horde). The major medieval cities of Aulie-Ata and Turkestan were founded along the northern route of the Great Silk Road during this period.

Traditional nomadic life on the vast steppe and semi-desert lands was characterized by a constant search for new pasture to support the livestock-based economy. The Kazakhs emerged from a mixture of tribes living in the region in about the 15th century and by the middle of the 16th century had developed a common language, culture, and economy. In the early 1600s, the Kazakh Khanate separated into the Great, Middle and Little (or Small) Hordes (jüz)—confederations based on extended family networks. Political disunion, competition among the hordes, and a lack of an internal market weakened the Kazakh Khanate. The beginning of the 18th century marked the zenith of the Kazakh Khanate. The area was a bone of contention between the Kazak emirs and the Persian Kings for many centuries.

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