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Wāli-ūllah Abū'l-Mansūr Khan (, romanized: Uäliūllah Äbılmansūr Han), better known as Abylai Khan or Ablai Khan (May 23, 1711 — May 23, 1781) was Khan of the Middle Jüz (central region) and was the last independent Kazakhs Khan of the Kazakh Khanate before the Khanate was absorbed into the Russian Empire.
Although Ablai swore loyalty to the Russian tsarina in 1740 at Orenburg, Ablai's later activity aimed to create a strong and independent Kazakh state. He headed the unified forces of the Kazakhs and furthered the centralization of state power in Kazakhstan. Until his election as the khan of the three Zhuz, Ablai had to compete with Abul-Mambet Khan and his descendants of Middle jüz for leadership. Initially, Russian Empire recognized Abul-Mambet Khan as the Khan of Middle jüz, while Ablai was supported by Qing Dynasty. Ablai's talent in playing China against Russia gradually made him the unrivaled Khan of the steppe. His support for the Chinese earned him an offer of Chinese citizenship in 1757, but seems not to have accepted it. In 1771, after the death of Abulmambet Khan, power was to be inherited by one of his younger brothers or son Abilpeiz, however, the sultans and heads of clans at the kurultai (congress) in Burabay, with the participation of the influential biys of the Zhuz Kazybek biy and Kanai biy, Abylai was elected as the Kazakh khan. He extended his power to significant areas of the Senior and Junior jüzes, considering himself the khan of all three jüzes.
The Russian Empress requested that the title of khan should be recognized and officially approved by Russia. To that end, she sent an official letter to Petropavl, where Abylai was expected to receive the title in 1779. He never showed up at the fort, so a Russian officer was sent to confer the title in his camp. In contrast to Ablai, other khans and sultans had been competing for the lavish gifts and stipends of the Emperors of Russia in return for their submission. Ablai Khan refused to bow down to the expanding Russian Empire and instead chose to strengthen the Kazakhs by promoting Islam and the concept of jihad throughout the state as an effort to resist foreign powers. Ablai may also have been deterred from swearing his oath out of fear of insulting the Chinese.
During the Qing dynasty campaigns against the Dzungars, Ablai Khan chose not to take sides. He sheltered the Dzungar Oirats taishis Amursana and Dawachi from attacks by the Dzungar Khong Tayiji Lama Dorji, as the Dzungar Khanate fractured following the death of Galdan Tseren in 1745. However, once Amursana and Dawachi were no longer allies, Ablai Khan took the opportunity to capture herds and territory from the Dzungars.
During Amursana's rebellion against the Qing in 1755-56, Ablai Khan offered him sanctuary at one point and refused to hand him over despite the threat of a raid on his territory. However, by 1757, Ablai Khan had acknowledged Chinese suzerainty. Ablai was then confirmed as Kazakh Khan by both the Chinese and the Russians. He led numerous campaigns against Khanate of Kokand and the Kyrgyz people. In the last campaign his troops captured many cities in today's Southern Kazakhstan and even Tashkent. Then he proceeded to present-day Kyrgyzstan and won a furious battle with troops of local warlords. Upon his death in 1781 he was interred in the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasavi in Hazrat-e Turkestan.
Following his death, Ablai's sons, namely Khanzada Wali Sultan, Khanzada Qasim Sultan, and Khanzada Adil Sultan, fought against each other to take the throne. In 1781, Wali Sultan became khan of the Kazakhs, succeeding his father after months of battle for succession, but he only succeeded in ruling over the northern clans of the Middle jüz.
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