In the 15th-16th centuries, the Mongol Empire founded by Genghis Khan, split into the Golden Horde, the Timurid Empire and many large and small tribes. Sensing an easy target, the Kalmyks began to harass their weakened neighbors. The Legend of Alpamysh had finally taken shape at these times exactly, the origins of the Legend should be rooted in the folk tales arrived at the Kazakh steppes from the foothills of Altai at the turn of the 9th-10th centuries.