Kammala jumla mai zuwa: An kafa Shymkent a ƙarni na goma sha biyu a matsayin caravanserai don kare garin kasuwanci na Silk Road, Sayram, mai nisan kilomita 10 zuwa gabas. Shymkent ya girma a matsayin cibiyar kasuwa don kasuwanci tsakanin 'yan Turkiyya masu ƙaura da kuma Sogdians da suka zauna. An lalata shi sau da yawa: ta hanyar Genghis Khan, sojoji daga kudancin Khanates, da kuma hare-haren nomad. A farkon karni na 19, ya zama wani ɓangare na khanate na Kokand kafin ya
Rashawa sun kama shi a 1864. An sake masa suna Chernyaev a cikin 1914 kuma aka sake masa suna "Shymkent" a cikin 1924. Bayan mamayar Rasha, Shymkent birni ne na kasuwanci tsakanin Turawan nomadic da Turkawa masu zama, kuma ya shahara da kumis.