Аннотация
Islam places a premium on literacy and the transmission of knowledge. Early Islamic education began in mosques, with circles where instructors taught Qurʼanic recitation, law and poetry. By the 10th century these circles evolved into independent madrasas – colleges offering both religious and secular instruction and training administrative officials. The madrasas spread along the Silk Roads and became universal centres of learning, combining theology with sciences such as astronomy, medicine and literature. In the Kazakh steppe the madrasa served as a bridge between Islamic civilisation and nomadic culture. This article reviews the evolution of madrasas in Kazakhstan, examines their curricula and social roles across different historical stages, and analyses how theological imperatives shaped their development. The study combines historical, comparative and content analysis of primary sources and secondary literature. Findings indicate that Kazakh madrasas mirrored broader Islamic trends while adapting to local conditions. They produced leading scholars and secular intellectuals, weathered Soviet suppression and experienced revival after independence. Theological aims, particularly the promotion of Sunni orthodoxy and the cultivation of piety, remained a constant thread. This article contributes a periodized synthesis of Kazakh madrasa development that explicitly links institutional change to theological aims and steppe socio-economic constraints. It also brings together comparative curricular evidence and an annotated inventory of key madrasas to support the historical argument.