The Ming–Turpan conflict () were a series of conflicts between the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

and Khanate of

Moghulistan Moghulistan, also called the Moghul Khanate or the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, was a Muslims, Muslim, Mongol, and later Turkic peoples, Turkic breakaway khanate of the Chagatai Khanate and a historical geographic area north of the Tian Shan, Teng ...

(later its division the Turpan Khanate) that erupted due to disputes over borders, trade and internal succession to the throne of Moghulistan (or Turpan). The Ming dynasty annexed Kara Del (Qumul, Hami) in 1404 and turned it into Hami Prefecture. In 1406 it defeated the ruler of Moghulistan. In 1443, 1445 and 1448 the

Oirats Oirats (; ) or Oirds ( ; ), formerly known as Eluts and Eleuths ( or ; zh, 厄魯特, ''Èlǔtè'') are the westernmost group of Mongols, whose ancestral home is in the Altai Mountains, Altai region of Siberia, Xinjiang and western Mongolia. ...

under

Esen Taishi Esen (; Mongol script: ; ) (1407–1454), was a powerful Oirat taishi and the ''de facto'' ruler of the Northern Yuan dynasty between 12 September 1453 and 1454. He is best known for capturing the Emperor Yingzong of Ming in 1449 in the Batt ...

occupied Kara Del in Hami. Moghulistan, under Ali (known as

Yunus Khan Yunus Khan (b. 1416 – d. 1487) ( Chagatai and Persian: یونس خان), was Khan of Moghulistan from 1462 until his death in 1487. He is identified by many historians with Ḥājjī `Ali (, Pinyin: ''Hazhi Ali''; Chagatai and Persian ...

), then seized Hami from Esen in 1473. Ali was driven by the Ming dynasty into Turfan, but he reoccupied it after Ming left. Esen taishi's Mongols recaptured Hami twice in 1482 and 1483. In 1491 the Ming dynasty installed a descendant of the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...

imperial house to the position of Prince of Qumul. They then appointed overseers of each ethnic group residing in Qumul, the position being called tu-tu (In Wade Giles). The son of Ali, Ahmed ( Ahmad Alaq), reconquered it in 1493 and captured the Hami leader Prince Champa and the resident of the Ming in Hami (the Chagatayid Hami was a vassal state to Ming). In response, the Ming dynasty imposed an economic blockade on Turpan and kicked out all the Uyghurs from Gansu. Conditions became so harsh for Turpan that Ahmed left. The Ming army then marched on Qumul. Ahmad Alaq (Hahema) retreated, released Prince Champa, acknowledged his inferior position to the Ming emperor and agreed that Champa would take the throne of Qumul. One of the Ming overseers, Sayyid Husain, was the Muslim overseer in July 1494 and fled to Ming territory when Turpan invaded Qumul, but he plotted with Turpan to be appointed as prince under the rule of Turpan. He was arrested in 1516 and sent to Beijing, but bribed his way into the

Zhengde Emperor The Zhengde Emperor (26 October 149120 April 1521), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Wuzong of Ming, personal name Zhu Houzhao, was the 11th List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1505 to 1 ...

's inner circle, eventually becoming his homosexual lover, although no evidence supporting this claim exists in Chinese sources. In the 16th century, the Ming dynasty defeated a series of raids by the Khanate of Turpan under Ahmed's son

Mansur Mansour (, Manṣūr); also spelled Mounsor, Monsur (Bengali), Mansoor, Manser, Mansur, Mansyur (Indonesian) or Mensur (Turkish), is a male Arabic name that means "He who is victorious", from the Arabic root ''nasr (disambiguation), naṣr'' (ن� ...

and the Oirat Mongols, over disputes on tribute. Fighting broke out in 1517, 1524 and 1528 when the Ming dynasty rejected tribute missions from Turpan. Mansur took over Qumul in 1517. Mansur invaded the Ming dynasty in 1524 with 20,000 men through Suzhou District, but was repulsed by Ming forces, including Mongol troops. The Ming refused to lift the economic blockade and restrictions that had led to the fighting and continued restricting Turpan's tribute and trade with the Ming dynasty. Turfan also annexed Qumul (Hami).

References

*ROSSABI, M.. 1972. “MING CHINA AND TURFAN, 1406-1517”. Central Asiatic Journal 16 (3). Harrassowitz Verlag: 206–25. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41926952. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ming-Turpan conflict 15th-century conflicts 16th-century conflicts Wars involving the Ming dynasty 15th century in China 16th century in China

See also

References