Jiuquan Commandery (酒泉郡) was an administrative unit in the western Hexi Corridor, occupying the oases around modern Jiuquan, Gansu. Created in 111 BCE as one of the four Hexi commanderies, it guarded the central stretch of the

Silk Road The Silk Road was a network of Asian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over , it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between the ...

and remained pivotal until the commandery system was abolished by the

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty ( ) was a short-lived Dynasties of China, Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618. The re-unification of China proper under the Sui brought the Northern and Southern dynasties era to a close, ending a prolonged peri ...

in 583 CE.

Han period

Emperor Wu established Jiuquan together with Wuwei,

Zhangye Zhangye ( zh, s=张掖, t=張掖, p=Zhāngyè), Postal Map Romanization, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as Changyeh and also formerly known as Kanchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Gansu provinces of China, Province in the ...

and

Dunhuang Dunhuang () is a county-level city in northwestern Gansu Province, Western China. According to the 2010 Chinese census, the city has a population of 186,027, though 2019 estimates put the city's population at about 191,800. Sachu (Dunhuang) was ...

to secure trade with Central Asia. According to the ''Book of Han'', Jiuquan began with eight counties: Jiuquan, Dunhuang, Fulu, Zhangyi, Zhi, Lufu, Tiao and Anxiang; the 2 CE census records 15 700 households (73 347 persons).Ban Gu, ''Book of Han'', Geography Treatise. The commandery’s name, “Wine Springs,” referred to a spring whose water was said to smell of wine—symbolising the emperor’s reward for General Huo Qubing’s victories over the Xiongnu. A relay of fortified oasis towns, every thirty ''li'', protected caravans and Han emigrant farmers. Copper and iron workshops at Fulu produced weapons and agricultural tools for Hexi garrisons.

Eastern Han developments

By 140 CE population had risen to 25 130 households after waves of military colonists.Fan Ye, ''Book of Later Han'', Geography Treatise. Administrator Xun Yi (reign of Emperor Zhang) repaired the “Jiuquan Canal,” extending irrigation to new fields. Despite these efforts, Qiang and Wuhuan raiders remained a threat; stone beacon towers on the Mazong Mountains date from this period.

Three Kingdoms era

Control of Jiuquan was decisive for access to the Western Regions. After Cao Cao’s victory at Tong Pass (211) and the pacification of Liang Province (216–218), Jiuquan accepted the authority of the state of Wei. Cao Pi in 224 appointed Governor Zhang Ji, who organised local Xiongnu and Di horsemen into auxiliary regiments to patrol the northern desert line. In 228, during

Zhuge Liang Zhuge Liang () (181September or October 234), also commonly known by his courtesy name Kongming, was a Chinese statesman, strategist, and inventor who lived through the End of the Han dynasty, end of the Eastern Han dynasty ( 184–220) and t ...

’s first northern expedition, Ma Su proposed a diversion toward Hexi to draw Wei troops, but Zhuge Liang judged Jiuquan too well-defended. Nevertheless, pro-Shu sympathisers among the local Di staged brief raids against Wei posts west of Jiuquan; Wei general Fei Yao suppressed them by 229.Chen Shou, ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', vols. 27 and 28. Late in the Three Kingdoms period the commandery served as Wei’s rear base for troop columns crossing the Yang Barrier into the Tarim Basin. When the Wei general Deng Ai marched against Shu in 263, records note that grain and remounts from Jiuquan reached him via Wuwei and Tianshui in ninety days.

Jin and Northern dynasties

The

Western Jin Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that ...

reunification (280) left Jiuquan with six counties and 12 000 households.Fang Xuanling et al., ''Book of Jin'', Geography Treatise. In 296, the Xiongnu rebel leader Hao Dan seized Fulu and cut the Silk Road east of Suzhou, but Administrator Zhao Chong recaptured the oasis the next year. During the

Sixteen Kingdoms The Sixteen Kingdoms (), less commonly the Sixteen States, was a chaotic period in Chinese history from AD 304 to 439 when northern China fragmented into a series of short-lived dynastic states. The majority of these states were founded b ...

the region passed to Former Liang, Later Liang and Northern Liang states; Chinese sources still cite Jiuquan Commandery under these regimes, though with much reduced territory. The

Northern Zhou Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties of China's ...

incorporated Hexi in 557 and in 583 converted the commandery to **Suzhou Prefecture** (肅州).

Economy and trade

Jiuquan’s oasis agriculture—wheat, grapes, hemp—thrived on channel irrigation. Camel caravans carried silk, lacquerware and coins west, returning with jade, frankincense and precious metals. Administrative tablets excavated at Suzhou record tolls levied on Sogdian and Yuezhi merchants.

Archaeology

* Han-period stamped bricks reading 酒泉都尉 have been found in the Suzhou city mound. * A 1st-century bronze mirror from Tiao County bears an inscription praising safe travel “from Longxi to the Western Regions,” indicating Silk Road traffic. * Rock-cut fortifications on the Heishan ridge show layered repairs dating to Wei and Western Jin epochs.

References

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