Moghulistan (from fa, , ''Moghulestân'', mn, Моголистан), also called the Moghul Khanate or the Eastern Chagatai Khanate (), was a
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...
breakaway
khanate
A khaganate or khanate was a polity ruled by a khan, khagan, khatun, or khanum. That political territory was typically found on the Eurasian Steppe and could be equivalent in status to tribal chiefdom, principality, kingdom or empire.
Mo ...
of the
Chagatai Khanate and a historical geographic area north of the
Tengri Tagh
The Tian Shan,, , otk, 𐰴𐰣 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃, , tr, Tanrı Dağı, mn, Тэнгэр уул, , ug, تەڭرىتاغ, , , kk, Тәңіртауы / Алатау, , , ky, Теңир-Тоо / Ала-Тоо, , , uz, Tyan-Shan / Tangritog‘ ...
mountain range,
on the border of
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the fo ...
and
East Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...
. That area today includes parts of
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
,
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...
, and northwest
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwes ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
. The khanate nominally ruled over the area from the mid-14th century until the late 17th century.
Beginning in the mid-14th century a new khanate, in the form of a nomadic tribal confederacy headed by a member of the family of Chagatai, arose in the region of the
Ili River
The Ili ( ug, ئىلى دەرياسى, Ili deryasi, Ili dəryasi, 6=Или Дәряси; kk, Ile, ; russian: Или; zh, c=伊犁河, p=Yīlí Hé, dng, Йили хә, Xiao'erjing: اِلِ حْ; mn, Ил, literally "Bareness") is a river si ...
. It is therefore considered to be a continuation of the Chagatai Khanate, but it is also referred to as the Moghul Khanate.
In actuality, local control rested with local Mongol
Dughlats The Dughlat clan ( kk, Дулат, Dulat, lit=ruthless or fierce warrior; Mongolian: '' Dolood/sevens, Doloo/seven; Middle Mongolian: Doluga, Dolugad''; Dulğat; ) was a Mongol (later Turko-Mongol) clan that served the Chagatai khans as heredita ...
or Sufi
Naqshbandi
The Naqshbandi ( fa, نقشبندی)), Neqshebendi ( ku, نهقشهبهندی), and Nakşibendi (in Turkish) is a major Sunni order of Sufism. Its name is derived from Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari. Naqshbandi masters trace their ...
in their respective
oases
In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.”
The location of oases has been of critical im ...
. Although the rulers enjoyed great wealth from the China trade, it was beset by constant
civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...
and invasions by the
Timurid Empire, which emerged from the western part of the erstwhile Chagatai Khanate. Independence-minded khans created their own domains in cities like
Kashgar
Kashgar ( ug, قەشقەر, Qeshqer) or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is an oasis city in the Tarim Basin region of Southern Xinjiang. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, near the border with Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan. ...
and
Turfan. Eventually it was overcome by the
Kyrgyz Kyrgyz, Kirghiz or Kyrgyzstani may refer to:
* Someone or something related to Kyrgyzstan
*Kyrgyz people
*Kyrgyz national games
*Kyrgyz language
*Kyrgyz culture
*Kyrgyz cuisine
*Yenisei Kirghiz
*The Fuyü Gïrgïs language in Northeastern China
...
,
Kazakhs
The Kazakhs (also spelled Qazaqs; Kazakh: , , , , , ; the English name is transliterated from Russian; russian: казахи) are a Turkic-speaking ethnic group native to northern parts of Central Asia, chiefly Kazakhstan, but also part ...
, and
Oirats
Oirats ( mn, Ойрад, ''Oirad'', or , Oird; xal-RU, Өөрд; zh, 瓦剌; in the past, also Eleuths) are the westernmost group of the Mongols whose ancestral home is in the Altai region of Siberia, Xinjiang and western Mongolia.
Histor ...
. In the east, the
Yarkent Khanate continued until it was conquered by the
Dzungar Khanate in the early 18th century.
Etymology
"Moghulistan" is a Persian name and simply means "Land of the Moghuls" or
Mongols
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...
(the term ''Mughal'' is
Persian for "Mongol" and
-istan means ''land'' in Persian) in reference to the eastern branch of the ethnic Mongol
Chagatai Khans who ruled it.
The term "Moghulistan" occurs mostly in
Soviet historiography
Soviet historiography is the methodology of history studies by historians in the Soviet Union (USSR). In the USSR, the study of history was marked by restrictions imposed by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). Soviet historiography i ...
, while
Chinese historiography
Chinese historiography is the study of the techniques and sources used by historians to develop the recorded history of China.
Overview of Chinese history
The recording of events in Chinese history dates back to the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 ...
mostly uses the term "East Chagatai Khanate" (), which contrasts Moghulistan to the
Timurid Empire. The Moghul Khans considered themselves heir to Mongol traditions and called themselves ''Mongghul Uls'', from which the Persian term "Moghulistan" comes.
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
Mandarins called the Moghuls "the Mongol tribes () in
Beshbalik
Beshbalik () is an ancient archaeological site, now located in Jimsar County, Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang, China. The ancient city was initially called Beiting () or Ting Prefecture (), and was the headquarters of the Beiting Protec ...
". The Timurid
exonym
An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group ...
for Moghulistan was ''Ulus-i Jatah''.
When the Mongols conquered most of
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
and
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
in the 13th century and constructed the
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...
, they lived as minorities in many of the regions they had subdued, such as
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
and
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
. As a result, the Mongols in these regions quickly adopted the local culture. For example, in the Persian
Ilkhanate
The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate ( fa, ایل خانان, ''Ilxānān''), known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (, ''Qulug-un Ulus''), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm ...
the Mongol khans adopted
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
and Persian culture after less than half a century, while the khans of the
Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fif ...
embraced Chinese court customs. In contrast, the Mongols and their subordinates who settled in what came to be known as Moghulistan were in origin steppe nomads from Mongolia. Because of this, they were much more resistant to changing their way of life; they retained their primarily nomadic lifestyle for several centuries and were among the last of the Mongols who converted to Islam to do so. During the 14th century the inhabitants of Moghulistan were known as "
Mogul" and the area they occupied was called "
Mirza/
Baig
Baig, also commonly spelled Bayg, Beigh, Beg, Bek, Bey, Baeg or Begh (Persian: بیگ, ''Beig'', Turkish: ''Bey''), was a Turkic title which is today used as a name to identify lineage. It means ''Chief'' or ''Commander'' and is an honorific tit ...
". This term is also used by numerous people in South Asia.
According to
Vasily Bartold, there are “some indications that the language of the Moghuls was
Mongolian until the 16th century".
For the sedentary Mongols in Transoxiana, the nomadic Mongols to their east represented a bastion of true Mongol culture, hence the name "Moghulistan".
Geography
Since the Moghuls were nomads of the steppe, the boundaries of their territories seldom stayed the same for long. Still, Moghulistan in the strictest sense was centered in the
Ili
Ili, ILI, Illi may refer to:
Abbreviations
* Irish Life International, part of Irish Life and Permanent
* Intuitive Logical Introvert, a personality type in socionics
* Influenza-like illness
* Iran Language Institute, a state-owned, non-profit ...
region. It was bounded on the west by the province of
Shash
Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...
and the Karatau Mountains, while the southern area of
Lake Balkhash marked the northern limit of Moghul influence. From there the border gradually sloped in a southeastern direction until it reached the eastern portion of the
Tian Shan
The Tian Shan,, , otk, 𐰴𐰣 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃, , tr, Tanrı Dağı, mn, Тэнгэр уул, , ug, تەڭرىتاغ, , , kk, Тәңіртауы / Алатау, , , ky, Теңир-Тоо / Ала-Тоо, , , uz, Tyan-Shan / Tangritog‘ ...
Mountains. The Tian Shan then served as the southern border of Moghulistan. Besides Moghulistan proper, the Moghuls also nominally controlled modern-day
Beijiang (northern
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwes ...
, including the
Turpan Depression) and
Nanjiang
Nanjiang County () is a county in the northeast of Sichuan Province, China, bordering Shaanxi province to the north. It is under the administration of Bazhong
Bazhong () is a prefecture-level city in north-eastern Sichuan province, China. Its pop ...
(southern Xinjiang, including the
Tarim Basin
The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Northwest China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, China." Hyd ...
). Besides Moghulistan, Nanjiang, and Beijiang, several other regions were also temporarily subjected to Moghul rule at one time or another, such as
Tashkent
Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of 2 ...
,
Ferghana
Fergana ( uz, Fargʻona/Фарғона, ), or Ferghana, is a district-level city and the capital of Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan. Fergana is about 420 km east of Tashkent, about 75 km west of Andijan, and less than 20 km fr ...
and parts of
Badakhshan
Badakhshan is a historical region comprising parts of modern-day north-eastern Afghanistan, eastern Tajikistan, and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in China. Badakhshan Province is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Much of historic ...
. Moghulistan proper was primarily steppe country and was where the Moghuls usually resided. Because of the Moghuls' nomadic nature, the towns of Moghulistan fell into decline during their rule, if they managed to remain occupied at all.
Aside from the towns, which were at the foot of the mountains, nearly all of Nanjiang was desert. As a result, the Moghuls generally stayed out of the region and it was a poor source of manpower. The
Dughlat amirs or leaders from the
Naqshbandi
The Naqshbandi ( fa, نقشبندی)), Neqshebendi ( ku, نهقشهبهندی), and Nakşibendi (in Turkish) is a major Sunni order of Sufism. Its name is derived from Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari. Naqshbandi masters trace their ...
Islamic order administered these towns in the name of the Moghul khans until 1514.
The Moghuls more directly governed Nanjiang after they lost Moghulistan itself. The capital city of Nanjiang was usually Yarkand or Kashgar. A contemporary Chinese term for part of the Nanjiang area was "Southern Tian Shan route" (), as opposed to the "Northern" route, i.e.
Dzungaria.
A later
Turki
Chagatai (چغتای, ''Čaġatāy''), also known as ''Turki'', Eastern Turkic, or Chagatai Turkic (''Čaġatāy türkīsi''), is an extinct Turkic literary language that was once widely spoken across Central Asia and remained the shared literar ...
word "
Altishahr
Altishahr (, , ; romanized: ''Altä-şähär'' or ''Alti-şähär''), also known as Kashgaria, is a historical name for the Tarim Basin region used in the 18th and 19th centuries. The term means 'Six Cities' in Turkic languages, referring to oasis ...
", meaning "Six Cities", came into vogue during the rule of the 19th century Tajik warlord
Yaqub Beg, which is an imprecise term for certain western, then Muslim oasis cities.
Shoqan Walikhanov names them as
Yarkand
Yarkant County,, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency also Shache County,, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency also transliterated from Uyghur as Yakan County, is a county in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous ...
,
Kashgar
Kashgar ( ug, قەشقەر, Qeshqer) or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is an oasis city in the Tarim Basin region of Southern Xinjiang. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, near the border with Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan. ...
,
Hotan
Hotan (also known as Gosthana, Gaustana, Godana, Godaniya, Khotan, Hetian, Hotien) is a major oasis town in southwestern Xinjiang, an autonomous region in Western China. The city proper of Hotan broke off from the larger Hotan County to become ...
,
Aksu,
Uch-Tufpan, and
Yangi Hisar; two definitions by
Albert von Le Coq
Albert von Le Coq (; 8 September 1860 Berlin, Prussia – 21 April 1930 Berlin, Germany) was a Prussian/German brewery owner and wine merchant, who at the age of 40 began to study archaeology.''Schatzjagd an der Seidenstraße.'' A film by Susann ...
substitute
Bachu (Maralbishi) for Uch-Turfan or
Yecheng (Karghalik) for Aksu. During Yaqub's rule,
Turfan substituted for Uch-Turfan, and other informants identify seven, rather than six cities in "Alti-shahr".
The borders of Alti-Shahr were better defined than those of Moghulistan, with the Tian Shan marking the northern boundary, the
Pamirs the western, and the
Kunlun Shan the southern. The eastern border usually was slightly to the east of
Kucha.
The Buddhist kingdom in Beijiang centered around
Turfan was the only area where the people were identified as "Uyghurs" after the Islamic invasions.
The broader Turfan area was bordered by Nanjiang to the west, the Tian Shan to the north, the Kunlun Shan to the south, and the principality of
Hami. In 1513 Hami became a dependency of Turfan and remained so until the end of Moghul rule. As a result, the Moghuls became direct neighbors of
Ming China
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...
. Although the term "Uyghurstan" was used for the Turfan city-state, the term is confused in Muslim sources with
Cathay
Cathay (; ) is a historical name for China that was used in Europe. During the early modern period, the term ''Cathay'' initially evolved as a term referring to what is now Northern China, completely separate and distinct from China, which ...
. The Uyghur khans had voluntarily become Mongol vassals during the reign of
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; ; xng, Temüjin, script=Latn; ., name=Temujin – August 25, 1227) was the founder and first Great Khan (Emperor) of the Mongol Empire, which became the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in history a ...
and as a result were allowed to retain their territories. As the
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...
was split up in the middle of the 13th century, the
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwes ...
region was assigned to the
Chagatayids. The power of the Uyghur khans slowly declined under Mongol rule until the last recorded khan was forcibly converted to Islam in the 1380s or 90s. After the 15th century it seems to have been subjected to direct Moghul rule, and a separate Moghul Khanate was established there in mid-15th century. After the Islamization of Turfan, the non-Islamic term "Uyghur" would disappear until the
Chinese Nationalist
Chinese nationalism () is a form of nationalism in the People's Republic of China (Mainland China) and the Republic of China on Taiwan which asserts that the Chinese people are a nation and promotes the cultural and national unity of all Chi ...
leader
Sheng Shicai, following the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
, introduced it for a different, Muslim population in 1934.
History
Arguments about succession resulted in the breakup of the
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...
in Asia into the
Chagatai Khanate in Central Asia,
Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fif ...
(1279–1368) in China,
Ilkhanate
The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate ( fa, ایل خانان, ''Ilxānān''), known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (, ''Qulug-un Ulus''), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm ...
in Persia, and
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fragmen ...
in Russia, which waged destructive wars with one another.
Moghulistan, which had formed the eastern portion of the Chagatai Khanate, became independent in 1347 under the Chagatayid named
Tughlugh Timur. There is no accepted date for the dissolution of the Chagatai Khanate, although some historians mark it with the ascendance of Tughlugh. There were few contemporary histories of Moghulistan, in contrast to the well-documented
Timurid Empire; most of modern knowledge about the region comes from the
Tarikh-i-Rashidi
Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat Beg (Persian: میرزا محمد حیدر دولت بیگ c. 1499/1500 – 1551) was a Chagatai Turco-Mongol military general, governor of Kashmir, and a historical writer, He was a Turkic speaking Dughlat prince ...
.
Division of the Chagatai Khanate
The eastern regions of the Chagatai Khanate in the early 14th century had been inhabited by a number of Mongol nomadic tribes. These tribes resented the conversion of Tarmashirin to Islam and the move of the khan to the sedentary areas of Transoxiana. They were behind the revolt that ended in Tarmashirin's death. One of the khans that followed Tarmashirin,
Changshi, favored the east and was non-Muslim.
In the 1340s as a series of ephemeral khans struggled to hold power in Transoxiana, little attention was paid by the Chagatayids to the eastern regions. As a result, the eastern tribes there were virtually independent. The most powerful of the tribes, the
Dughlats The Dughlat clan ( kk, Дулат, Dulat, lit=ruthless or fierce warrior; Mongolian: '' Dolood/sevens, Doloo/seven; Middle Mongolian: Doluga, Dolugad''; Dulğat; ) was a Mongol (later Turko-Mongol) clan that served the Chagatai khans as heredita ...
, controlled extensive territories in Moghulistan and the western
Tarim Basin
The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Northwest China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, China." Hyd ...
. In 1347 the Dughlats decided to appoint a khan of their own, and raised the Chagatayid
Tughlugh Timur to the throne.
Tughlugh Timur (1347–1363) was thereby made the head of a tribal confederacy that governed the Tarim Basin and the steppe area of Moghulistan (named after the Moghuls). His reign was contemporaneous with the series of puppet khans that ruled in Transoxiana, meaning that there were now effectively two khanates headed by Chagatayids: one in the west, centered in Transoxiana, and one in the east, centered in Moghulistan. Unlike the khans in the west, however, Tughlugh Timur was a strong ruler who converted to Islam (1354) and sought to reduce the power of the Dughlats. Tughlugh Timur converted to Islam, whose concepts of
ummah
' (; ar, أمة ) is an Arabic word meaning "community". It is distinguished from ' ( ), which means a nation with common ancestry or geography. Thus, it can be said to be a supra-national community with a common history.
It is a synonym for ' ...
,
ghazat (
holy war), and
jihad
Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with G ...
inspired his territorial
expansionism
Expansionism refers to states obtaining greater territory through military empire-building or colonialism.
In the classical age of conquest moral justification for territorial expansion at the direct expense of another established polity (who of ...
into
Transoxiana
Transoxiana or Transoxania (Land beyond the Oxus) is the Latin name for a region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to modern-day eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of Tu ...
. The conversion was also politically convenient in that he branded the dissident princes which he killed as "heathens and idolaters".
Conversion amongst the general population was slow to follow. In 1360 he took advantage of a breakdown of order in Transoxiana and his legitimacy as descendant of Chagatai Khan to invade the region and take control of it, thereby temporarily reuniting the two khanates. Despite invading a second time in 1361 and appointing his son
Ilyas Khoja as ruler of Transoxiana, however, Tughlugh Timur was unable to keep a lasting hold on the region, and the Moghuls were ultimately expelled by Amir Husayn and Timur, who then fought amongst themselves for control of Transoxiana.
Moghulistan
Chagatayid rule in Moghulistan was temporarily interrupted by the coup of the Dughlat amir
Qamar ud-Din, who likely killed Ilyas Khoja in 1368 and several other Chagatayids. This takeover provoked a period of near-constant
civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...
s, because the
tribal chief
A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom.
Tribe
The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia.
Tribal societies are sometimes categori ...
s could not accept that Qamar ud-din, a "commoner", could accede to the throne. Opposition to Qamar within his own Dughlat tribe compromised the unity of Moghulistan, as
Mirza Abu Bakr Dughlat took control of
Kashgar
Kashgar ( ug, قەشقەر, Qeshqer) or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is an oasis city in the Tarim Basin region of Southern Xinjiang. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, near the border with Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan. ...
.
The Moghuls that remained obedient to him were constantly at war with Timur, who invaded Moghulistan several times but was unable to force its inhabitants into submission. Timur sent at least five victorious expeditions to Moghulistan, seriously weakening Qamar ud-din's regime. The Moghuls had sent an unsuccessful supplication to the
Hongwu Emperor
The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (), courtesy name Guorui (), was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398.
As famine, plagues and peasant revolts i ...
of China pleading for help, as Tamerlane had also wanted to conquer China.
Although a military alliance did not result, the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
opened up caravan trade to Moghulistan, greatly enriching the Moghul rulers who collected
zakat
Zakat ( ar, زكاة; , "that which purifies", also Zakat al-mal , "zakat on wealth", or Zakah) is a form of almsgiving, often collected by the Muslim Ummah. It is considered in Islam as a religious obligation, and by Quranic ranking, is ...
(tax) on the lucrative
Silk Road
The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and rel ...
trade.
This trade ushered in an era of economic and cultural exchange with China, in exchange for the state accepting (what the Ming saw as)
tributary status to the Ming.
After the
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive v ...
united and expelled the Mongols from China, establishing the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
(1368–1644), Yuan Mongol refugees, principally of the
Borjigin
A Borjigin, ; ; russian: Борджигин, Bordžigin; English plural: Borjigins or Borjigid (from Middle Mongolian);''Histoire des campagnes de Gengis Khan'', p. 119. Manchu plural: is a member of the Mongol sub-clan, which started with ...
clan, migrated to the eastern Chagatai Khanate.
Those Mongols allied with the nomadic
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
,
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...
and
Shamanist
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiri ...
rebels of the
Issyk Kul and Isi areas against the Chagatai Khan
Tarmashirin in the 1330s upon his conversion to
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
.
A Chagatayid restoration occurred in the 1380s, when the Dughlats enthroned the surviving Chagatayid heir
Khizr Khoja, but the Dughlats retained an important position within the khanate; for the next forty years they installed several khans of their own choosing. After being restored to the throne by the Dughlats, Khizr Khoja married his sister to Timur, then personally led a holy war against "Khitay" (the Uyghurs in Turfan and Qocho), forcibly converting them to Islam and putting an end to the Uyghur polity.
During the 15th century the Moghuls had to deal with several enemy incursions by the
Oirats
Oirats ( mn, Ойрад, ''Oirad'', or , Oird; xal-RU, Өөрд; zh, 瓦剌; in the past, also Eleuths) are the westernmost group of the Mongols whose ancestral home is in the Altai region of Siberia, Xinjiang and western Mongolia.
Histor ...
,
Timurids and
Uzbeks
The Uzbeks ( uz, , , , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the wider Central Asian region, being among the largest Turkic ethnic group in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakh and Karakalpak mino ...
.
Moghul rule in the region was restored by
Uwais Khan (1418–1428), a devout Muslim who was frequently at war with the Oirats (Western Mongols) who roamed in the area east of
Lake Balkash
Lake Balkhash ( kk, Балқаш көлі, ''Balqaş kóli'', ; russian: озеро Балхаш, ozero Balkhash) is a lake in southeastern Kazakhstan, one of the largest lakes in Asia and the 15th largest in the world. It is located in the ea ...
. He was usually defeated and even captured twice by the Oirat
Esen Tayishi, but was able to secure his release both times. Uvais Khan was followed by
Esen Buqa (1428–1462), who frequently raided the Timurid Empire to the west.
Split of Moghulistan
Late in his reign Esen Buqa was contested by his brother
Yunus Khan (1462–1487), who had been raised to the khanship by the Timurids in an attempt to counter Esen Buqa. When Esen Buqa died in 1462, the Dughlat amirs were divided over whether they should follow his son Dost Muhammad, who was then seventeen or his brother
Yunus Khan. After the death of
Dost Muhammad in 1469, Yunus Khan reunited the khanate, defeated the
Uzbeks
The Uzbeks ( uz, , , , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the wider Central Asian region, being among the largest Turkic ethnic group in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakh and Karakalpak mino ...
and maintained good relations with the
Kazakhs
The Kazakhs (also spelled Qazaqs; Kazakh: , , , , , ; the English name is transliterated from Russian; russian: казахи) are a Turkic-speaking ethnic group native to northern parts of Central Asia, chiefly Kazakhstan, but also part ...
and Timurids, but the western Tarim Basin was lost to a revolt by the Dughlats. In 1484 he captured
Tashkent
Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of 2 ...
from the Timurids.
Yunus Khan (1462–1487) profited from the weakness of his neighbors and took Tashkent in 1482. Towards the end of Yunus' reign, his son
Ahmad Alaq founded a breakaway eastern Khanate in greater Turfan.
During the fifteenth century the Moghul khans became increasingly Turkified. Yunus Khan is even mentioned to have the looks of a
Tajik instead of those of a Mongol. This Turkification may not have been as extensive amongst the general Moghul population, who were also slower to convert to Islam than the khan and top amirs (although by the mid-fifteenth century the Moghuls were considered to be largely Muslim). The khans also adopted the Islamic
sharia
Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...
in favor of the Mongol
Yassa.
After Yunus Khan's death his territories were divided by his sons.
Ahmad Alaq (1487–1503), who ruled eastern Moghulistan from Turfan, fought a series of successful wars against the Oirats, raided Chinese territory and attempted to seize the western Tarim Basin from the Dughlats, although he was ultimately unsuccessful. In 1503 he traveled west to assist his brother
Mahmud Khan (1487–1508), the ruler of western Moghulistan in Tashkent, against the Uzbeks under
Muhammad Shaybani. The brothers were defeated and captured; they were released but Tashkent was seized by the Uzbeks. Ahmad Alaq died soon after and was succeeded by his son
Mansur Khan (1503–1545), who captured
Hami from
Kara Del
Kara Del or Qara Del was a Mongol-led kingdom that existed in Hami in present-day Xinjiang. It was founded by the Yuan prince Gunashiri, a descendant of Chagatai Khan, in the late 14th century (c.1389), and ruled by the Chagatayids thereafter ...
, a Mongol dependency of Ming China, in 1513. Mahmud Khan spent several years trying to regain his authority in Moghulistan; he eventually gave up and submitted to Muhammad Shaybani, who executed him. The rest of western Moghulistan were gradually lost to Kyrgyz migrants, becoming modern Kyrgyzstan.
In 1469-70 Kyrgyz belonging to the Oirat confederacy migrated into the Tian Shan mountains in Moghulistan. The Kyrgyz tribes allied with the Kazakh leader
Taiyr Khan and rebelled against the Moghuls; by 1510–11, they had effectively driven out the Moghuls. However, as late as 1526–27, the Moghul Khan Sultan Said still attempted but failed to return the Kyrgyz to subjugation.
Mansur Khan's brother
Sultan Said Khan (1514–1533) conquered the western Tarim Basin from the Dughlats in 1514 and set himself up in
Kashgar
Kashgar ( ug, قەشقەر, Qeshqer) or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is an oasis city in the Tarim Basin region of Southern Xinjiang. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, near the border with Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan. ...
forming the
Yarkent Khanate. Thereafter the Moghulistan khanate was permanently divided, although Sultan Said Khan was nominally a vassal of Mansur Khan in
Turpan
Turpan (also known as Turfan or Tulufan, , ug, تۇرپان) is a prefecture-level city located in the east of the autonomous region of Xinjiang, China. It has an area of and a population of 632,000 (2015).
Geonyms
The original name of the cit ...
. After Sultan Said Khan's death from high altitude
edema
Edema, also spelled oedema, and also known as fluid retention, dropsy, hydropsy and swelling, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may include skin which feels tight, the area ma ...
in a failed 1533 attack on Tibet
[ he was succeeded by Abdurashid Khan (1533–1565), who began his reign by executing a member of the Dughlat family. A nephew of the dead amir, Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat fled to ]Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
in India and eventually conquered Kashmir
Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
, where he wrote a history of the Moghuls. Abdurrashid Khan also fought for control of (western) Moghulistan against the Kirghiz and the Kazakhs, but (western) Moghulistan was ultimately lost; thereafter the Moghuls were largely restricted to possession of the Tarim Basin.
Rule of the Khojas
In the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, the Yarkent Khanate (1514–1705) underwent a period of decentralization, with numerous subkhanates springing up with centers at Kashgar, Yarkand
Yarkant County,, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency also Shache County,, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency also transliterated from Uyghur as Yakan County, is a county in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous ...
, Aksu and Khotan.
In the late 16th and 17th centuries power in the Moghul states gradually shifted from the Khans to the khojas
The Khojas ( sd}; gu, ખોજા, hi, ख़ोजा) are a mainly Nizari Isma'ili Shia community of people originating in Gujarat, India.
Derived from the Persian Khwaja, a term of honor, the word Khoja is used to refer to Lohana Rajput ...
, who were influential religious leaders in the 16th century of the Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...
Naqshbandi
The Naqshbandi ( fa, نقشبندی)), Neqshebendi ( ku, نهقشهبهندی), and Nakşibendi (in Turkish) is a major Sunni order of Sufism. Its name is derived from Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari. Naqshbandi masters trace their ...
order. The Khans increasingly gave up secular power to the khojas
The Khojas ( sd}; gu, ખોજા, hi, ख़ोजा) are a mainly Nizari Isma'ili Shia community of people originating in Gujarat, India.
Derived from the Persian Khwaja, a term of honor, the word Khoja is used to refer to Lohana Rajput ...
, until they were the effectively the governing power in Kashgaria. At the same time the Kyrgyz began to penetrate into Alti-Shahr as well.
The khojas themselves were divided into two sects: the Aq Tagh
Khoja or Khwaja ( kk, Қожа; ug, خوجا; fa, خواجه; tg, хӯҷа; uz, xo'ja; ), a Persian word literally meaning 'master' or ‘lord’, was used in Central Asia as a title of the descendants of the noted Central Asian Naqshbandi Su ...
lik and the Kara Taghlik. This situation persisted until the 1670s, when the Moghul khans apparently tried to reassert their authority by expelling the leader of the Aq Taghlik.
In 1677, Khoja Afaq of the Aq Taghlik fled to Tibet where he asked the 5th Dalai Lama for help to restore his power. The Dalai Lama arranged for the Buddhist Dzungar Khanate who inhabited the lands north of the Yarkent khanate to invade in 1680, and set up puppet rulers in Yarkent.
The Yashkent Khanate were finally overthrown in the 1705, bringing an end to Chagatayid rule in Central Asia. Kashghar begs and Kyrgyz staged a revolt and seized Akbash Khan Akbash Khan ( literally ''White Head Khan'' in Uyghur) of the Yarkent Khanate was a Central Asian Khan in the beginning of 18th century. He was the last Khan of Yarkent Khanate. He is known as one of the "later Chagatai princes"(察合台後王) in ...
during an assault on Yarkand. The Yarkand begs then asked the Dzungars to intervene, which resulted in the Dzungars defeating the Kyrgyz and putting a total termination to Chagatai rule by installing the Aq Taghlik in Kashgar. They also helped the Aq Taghlik overcome the Kara Taghlik in Yarkand. A short time later, the Moghul kingdom of Turpan and Hami was also conquered by the Zunghar Khanate, but the Zunghars were expelled by Qing China
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...
. Descendants of the Chagatayid house submitted to the Qing and ruled the Kumul Khanate
The Kumul Khanate was a semi-autonomous feudal Turkic khanate (equivalent to a banner in Mongolia) within the Qing dynasty and then the Republic of China until it was abolished by Xinjiang governor Jin Shuren in 1930. The Khanate was located in ...
(1696–1930) as vassals of China until 1930. Maqsud Shah was the last of them, who died in 1930. The Tarim Basin fell under the overall rule of the Dzungars until it was taken by the Manchu
The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) an ...
Emperors of China in the mid-18th century.[Elias, pp. 125–26]
See also
* List of Chagatai khans
*List of Mongol states
This is a list of Mongol states. The Mongols founded many states such as the vast Mongol Empire and other states. The list of states is chronological but follows the development of different dynasties.
Pre-modern states
Modern states
Aut ...
* List of medieval Mongol tribes and clans
* Kingdom of Mangalai
*Turpan
Turpan (also known as Turfan or Tulufan, , ug, تۇرپان) is a prefecture-level city located in the east of the autonomous region of Xinjiang, China. It has an area of and a population of 632,000 (2015).
Geonyms
The original name of the cit ...
*Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
References
Bibliography
*Millward, James A. ''Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang.'' New York: Columbia University Press, 2007; London: C. Hurst, 2007.
* Mirza Muhammad Haidar. ''The Tarikh-i-Rashidi: A History of the Moghuls of Central Asia''. Trans. Edward Denison Ross
Sir Edward Denison Ross (6 June 1871 – 20 September 1940) was an orientalist and linguist, specializing in languages of the Middle East, Central and East Asia. He was the first director of the University of London's School of Oriental Studies ...
.
*
* Elias, N. Commentary. ''The Tarikh-i-Rashidi (A History of the Moghuls of Central Asia)''. By Mirza Muhammad Haidar. Translated by Edward Denison Ross, edited by N. Elias. London, 1895.
{{Xinjiang topics
History of Mongolia
Mongol peoples
Chagatai Khanate
Former countries in Central Asia
Former countries in Chinese history
Khanates
Mongol rump states
Former monarchies