Бердіқожа батыр
1708–1786
**Berdikozha Batyr** Berdikozha Batyr was an outstanding military commander and statesman from the Shanyshkyly clan. He devoted his life to defending his homeland from enemies. He participated in the Battles of Bulanty and Anyrakai against the Dzungars. In 1756, as part of Abylai Khan’s army, he fought against Chinese troops that had invaded the territory of Kazakhstan. In 1771, he took part in resisting the Volga Kalmyks as they crossed the Saryarka steppe. The batyr was killed in January 1786 during a military campaign against the Kyrgyz. He was buried with great honour beside a caravan route. In 2011, an expedition from the A. Kh. Margulan Institute of Archaeology accurately identified the location of the batyr’s burial site.