Approximate territories of nomadic juzes in the beginning of the 20th century. From left to the right: Junior Juz, Middle Juz and Senior Juz (below)
Senior juz (Kazakh: Ұлы жүз, Great juz) is one of three traditional divisions of the nomads of Desht-i Kypchak. In contemporary Kazakhstan, Ulu Juz is regarded as one of the divisions of the Kazakh nation. According to some sources, the origins of the three juzes go back to the Chingizid military/state traditions. Following Chingizid military tradition, Ulu Juz designated the left flank of the steppe armies. According to others, Ulu Juz was the inheritance of the eldest son of the legendary forefather of Kazakhs. Juzes are also regarded as nomadic military confederations. Still, researchers, such as Zuev, argued that Desht-i Kypchak comprised three ecological, topographic zones that divided nomadic clans from each other. Ulu Juz, south, southeastern steppe, was set apart from the two other zones by lake Balkash, constituting a distinctive ecological zone for nomadic habitation. Ulu Juz is located in the Jeti-su area and is also known as the Uysun (or Uysyn) Orda.
The Great Juz was formed sometime between 16th-17th centuries. The first time the name Ulu Juz was recorded by a western researcher was in 1748, by a Tatar servant of the Tsar who had been sent to the steppe to negotiate the submission of Abulkhair Khan in 1732. According to Nikolai Aristov, the estimated population of the Great Juz was about 550 thousand people in the second half of the 19th century.
