Koktuma

Koktuma is associated with the lake and steppe country around Alakol. Southeast of the lake, the passage known as the Dzungarian Gate connects the Alakol basin with the country around Ebinur, providing a route through the mountains between Zhetysu and Dzungaria.

In the eighteenth century, the wider region was affected by conflict among Kazakh groups, the Dzungar state and the Qing. The destruction of the Dzungar state in the 1750s changed the balance of power, and Qing and Kazakh leaders entered into new diplomatic relations. Pastoral movement and access to grazing remained important across these frontier lands.