The Shule Kingdom () was an ancient

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment Taklamakan Desert The Taklamakan Desert ( ) is a desert in northwest China's Xinjiang region. Located inside the Tarim Basin in Southern Xinjiang, it is bounded by the Kunlun Mountains to the south, the Pamir Mountains to the west, the Tian Shan range to the ...

on the Northern Silk Road, in the historical Western Regions of what is now

Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...

in Northwest China. Its capital was Kashgar, the source of Kashgar's water being a river of the same name. Much like the neighboring people of the

Kingdom of Khotan The Kingdom of Khotan was an ancient Buddhism, Buddhist Saka kingdom located on the branch of the Silk Road that ran along the southern edge of the Taklamakan Desert in the Tarim Basin (modern-day Xinjiang, China). The ancient capital was origina ...

, the people of Kashgar spoke Saka, one of the

Eastern Iranian languages The Eastern Iranian languages are a subgroup of the Iranian languages, having emerged during the Iranian languages#Middle Iranian, Middle Iranian era (4th century BC to 9th century AD). The Avestan, Avestan language is often classified as early E ...

. Although a vassal of the Chinese

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

from the 7th century, Shule was conquered by the

Tibetan Empire The Tibetan Empire (,) was an empire centered on the Tibetan Plateau, formed as a result of expansion under the Yarlung dynasty heralded by its 33rd king, Songtsen Gampo, in the 7th century. It expanded further under the 38th king, Trisong De ...

in the late 8th century and was eventually incorporated into the Kara-Khanid Khanate during the Islamicisation and Turkicisation of Xinjiang.

History

The earliest mention of the Shule is around 120 BC, by the Western Han Chinese, when exploring their borders. In 127 AD, Shule began to pay tribute to the

Eastern Han The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

. In 168, following Hede's murder of the current ruler (name unknown), the Han declared war on the Shule, ending in the unsuccessful Siege of Zhenzhong in 170 AD. By the end of the Eastern Han period (220 AD), Shule had conquered the city-states of Zhenzhong, Yarkent, Jieshi, Qusha, Xiye, and Yinai. In the 5th century, the Shule kingdom became a tributary of the Gokturks. They gained independence from the Gokturks in 630, when the Gokturks fell in battle to the Chinese

. In 632 AD, it was

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

ized by the Tang, as part of the Tang campaign against the oasis states. Some sources say they were only made into a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

, and the Tang had very loose

suzerainty A suzerain (, from Old French "above" + "supreme, chief") is a person, state (polity)">state or polity who has supremacy and dominant influence over the foreign policy">polity.html" ;"title="state (polity)">state or polity">state (polity)">st ...

. After being conquered by the Tang, it was part of the Protectorate General to Pacify the West between and . It was one of the Four Garrisons of Anxi stations between 649 and 670. After 670, one of the garrisons was changed, but Kashgar was still a seat of the four garrisons. In 670 AD, Shule was conquered by the

. In 673, the Shule kingdom declared itself a vassal of the Tang, but was not reconquered by the Tang Chinese until 692 AD. It is alleged and probably untrue that Qutayba ibn Muslim in 715 attacked Kashgar. Kara Khanid Muslim Turks absorbed Kashgar during the Islamicisation and Turkicisation of Xinjiang. According to Mahmud al-Kashgari, within Kashgar's vicinity, some non-Turkic languages like the Kanchaki and Sogdian were still used in some areas. It is believed that the Saka language group was what Kanchaki belonged to. The Tarim Basin was believed to be linguistically Turkified before the end of the 11th century.

Economy

As it was on the Northern Silk Road, Shule mostly traded through the Yumen Pass and the

Pamir Mountains The Pamir Mountains are a Mountain range, range of mountains between Central Asia and South Asia. They are located at a junction with other notable mountains, namely the Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun Mountains, Kunlun, Hindu Kush and the Himalaya ...

The Northern Silk Road that passed through Kashgar split off into the northern

Tarim Basin The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Xinjiang, Northwestern 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, Ch ...

route, which ran from Kashgar over Aksu, Kucha, Korla, through the Iron Gate Pass, over

Karasahr Karasahr or Karashar (), which was originally known in the Tocharian languages as ''Ārśi'' (or Arshi), Qarašähär, or Agni or the Chinese derivative Yanqi ( zh, s=焉耆, p=Yānqí, w=Yen-ch'i), is an ancient town on the Silk Road and the capi ...

, Jiaohe,

Turpan Turpan () or Turfan ( zh, s=吐鲁番) is a prefecture-level city located in the east of the Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of Xinjiang, China. It has an area of and a population of 693,988 (2020). The historical center of the ...

, Gaochang and Kumul to Anxi. The southern Tarim Basin route ran from Kashgar over Yarkant, Karghalik, Pishan, Khotan, Keriya, Niya, Qarqan, Qarkilik, Miran 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 Anxi.

Genetics

Paternal haplogroups

Saka Shule had predominantly haplogroup Q1a, with R1a and N1a also present.

Maternal haplogroups

Among the maternal haplogroups were H14a, H13a, U2e, U5a, M3a, D4j, C4a.

Autosomal DNA

Genetically, the Saka Shule appear to be descended from steppe pastoralists associated with the Andronovo/Sintasha and Afanasevo cultures, but with significant contributions from other populations such as the bmac, Baikal HG and local Tarim mummies. During the Iron Age, the region received genetic flow from the Central Asian Saka. There is also a minor contribution from the Yellow farmer and AASI. Saka-Shule DNA

Rulers

*Cheng (成) 70 *Dou Ti (兜題) 72 *Zhong (忠) 74 *Cheng Da (成大) 84 *An Guo (安國) 116 *Yi Fu (遺腹) 125 *Chen Pan (臣磐) 127 *He De (和得) 168 *A Mijue (阿彌厥) 605 *Pei Chuo (裴綽) 618 *Pei Amozhi (裴阿摩支) 627 *Pei Yijian (裴夷健) 698 *Pei Anding (裴安定) 728 *Pei Guoliang (裴國良) 753 *Pei Lengleng (裴冷冷) 784–789? / Tang general – Lu Yang (魯陽) 789

References

Bibliography

* {{citation, last=Xue, first=Zongzheng, year=1992, title=Turkic peoples, publisher=中国社会科学出版社 States and territories established in the 2nd century BC States and territories disestablished in the 8th century Former countries in Chinese history Former country articles requiring a flag Former kingdoms Historical Chinese exonyms