Yarkent Khanate

Yarkent Khanate
1514–1705
Capital		Yarkent
Languages		Chagatai language
Religion		Islam (1514-1705)
Government		Monarchy
Khagan, Khan
•	1514–1533 (first)	Sultan Said Khan
•	1695-1705 (last)	Sultan Muhammad Mumin Khan ( Akbash Khan)
History
•	Established	1514
•	Disestablished	1705
Area		3,000,000 km² (1,158,306 sq mi)

Yarkent Khanate was a state ruled by the Genghisid Chagatais, the majority of whose subject population was Turkic in Central Asia.

Capital

Yarkent served as the capital for the Yarkent Khanate, also known as Yarkent State (Mamlakati Yarkand), from the establishment of Yarkent Khanate to its fall (1514–1705). The previous dughlat state of Mirza Abu Bakr Dughlat (1465-1514) of Kashgaria also used Yarkent as the capital of state.

History

Yarkent Khanate was a Uyghur Khanate; its important cities were: Hotan, Yarkent, Kashgar, Yangihissar, Aksu, Uchturpan, Kucha, Karashar, Turpan and Kumul. It enjoyed continued dominance in the region for about 200 years until conquered by Dzungar Khan Tsewang Rabtan in 1713.

In the first half of the 14th century the Chagatai Khanate collapsed; its eastern part became Moghulistan, which was created by Tughluk Timur Khan in 1347 with capital in Almalik in Ili River Valley. Ruling dynasty of Yarkent Khanate originated and came from this state, which existed for more than 100 years and split in 1462 into two parts: still nomad Moghulistan north of Tengri tagh and independent state with capital in Aksu south of Tengri tagh, under Dust Muhammad (son of Isan Bugha Khan II and descendant of Tughluk Timur Khan in 6 steps), which comprised all the settled lands of Eastern Kashgaria, also regions of Turpan and Kumul, and was known by the time as Uyghurstan (according Balkh and Indian sources of 16th and 17th centuries).

In 1514 Sultan Said Khan, descendant of Tughluk Timur Khan in 7 steps ( who in turn was descendant of Chengiz Khan in 7 steps), had overthrown Mirza Abu Bakr Dughlat state in Western Kashgaria with capital in Yarkand, put an end to Dughlat Emirs' dominance in the cities of Kashgaria for almost 300 years, since 1220 ( when most of Kashgaria was granted to Dughlat chieftain Bagh Taghan Tarkhan by Chagatai Khan, second son of Chengiz Khan), and gave rise to the new Dynasty, that claimed its origin to Genghis Khan himself. On the western part of the collapsed Chagatai Khanate Empire of Timur emerged in 1370 (whose rise to power started with appointment him a chieftain of Barlas tribe by Tughluk Timur Khan) with capital in Samarkand that continued dominance in the region till 1508 and was conquered by Shaibanids. Yarkent Khanate was conquered by the Buddhist Dzungar Khanate in the Dzungar conquest of Altishahr ^[1] from 1678 to 1713.

List of rulers

• List of khans of the Yarkent Khanate

Culture

The collection of Uyghur Twelve Muqam

Gallery

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Literature

Saray Mehmet, Doğu Türkistan Tarihi (Başlangıçtan 1878’e kadar), Bayrak Matbaacılık, İstanbul-1997

Kutlukov M, About foundation of Yarkent Khanate (1465-1759) , Pan publishing house, Almata,1990

References

1. Altishahr historically was a union of 6 cities: four cities in Western Kashgaria- Hotan, Yarkand, Kashgar, Yengihisar and two cities in Eastern Kashgaria: Uchturpan and Aksu. Cities that were located east of Aksu, such as Kucha, Karashar, Turpan and Kumul, were not included in Altishahr. This division first appeared in the 15th century during struggle between Mirza Abu Bakr Dughlat and Moghul Khans, when Abu Bakr managed to separate Altishahr into independent state: mamlakati Yarkand with capital in Yarkand in 1465. On other hand, Moghul Khans managed to establish control of the most of former Uyghuria (856-1389), mediaval state of Buddhist/ Nestorian/ Manichaenian Kingdom, that included Kucha, Karashar, Turpan, Kumul and Beshbaliq. That state submitted to Chengiz Khan in 1211 under Idikut Baurchuk Art Tekin and joined Mongol Empire as its 5th Ulus and this way retained independence till 1389, when was conquered by Khizr Khoja ( son of Tughluk Timur Khan), who spread Islam among population of Uyghuria. In 1462 Moghul Khan Dust Muhammad managed to wrest Aksu from Mirza Abu Bakr, later Yunus Khan (1462-1487) spread influence of Moghul Khans till Turpan and Kumul and this independent state became known as Uyghurstan. In 1514 Sultan Said Khan put an end to this division and united all territory south of Tengri tagh from Kashgar till Kumul in one centralized state, known in different sources as Kashgar and Uyghurstan ( Mahmud ibn Wali, Balkh, 1640), Saidiyya, Kashgar Khanate or more properly Yarkand Khanate, that existed under dominance of Yarkand Khans till 1706 and under dominance of Khojas till 1759 when it was conquered by Qing China.