The Kazakhs (also spelled Kazaks, Qazaqs; , Қазақтар ; the English name is transliterated from Russian) are a Turkic people who mainly inhabit the northern parts of Central Asia (largely Kazakhstan, but also found in parts of Uzbekistan, China, Russia and Mongolia). Kazakh identity is of medieval origin and was strongly shaped by the foundation of the Kazakh Khanate between 1456 and 1465, when several tribes under the rule of the sultans Zhanibek and Kerey departed from the Khanate of Abu'l-Khayr Khan. Most modern Kazakhs are either irreligious or nondenominational Muslims.