Initially, these territories were inhabited by the tribal unions of the Saks and Issydons. From the 2nd to 3rd centuries, they were occupied by the Xiongnu nomadic people of Asia and later became part of the Turkic kaganate (the first Turkic state constituting a power in the areas of present-day Mongolia, southern Siberia, and Central Asia). From the 8th to the 10th century, Kazakhstan was ruled by the Karachanid dynasty. In the first half of the 13th century, conquered by the Mongols, it belonged to the Golden Horde (the historic Mongol state), and after its disintegration was divided into the Uzbek Khanate (in the east) and the Nogai Horde (in the west). In the mid-15th century, the Kazakhs (i.e., free people) were separated in the Uzbek Khanate. In the rest of the territory, 3 ords (Zouzas) were formed - the Middle, Small and Great.
