Chagatai Khanate: a Mongol and Subsequently Turkicized Khanate

The Chagatai Khanate, also known as the Chagatai Ulus, was a Mongol and subsequently Turkicized khanate that included Chagatai Khan's second son, Genghis Khan's second son heirs and successors. The khanate stretched from the Amu Darya south of the Aral Sea to the Altai Mountains on the Mongolian-Chinese boundary in the late 13th century, roughly equivalent to the extinct Qara Khitai Empire. The rulers of the Chagatai Khanate initially acknowledged the Great Khan's sovereignty, but by the reign of Kublai Khan, Ghiyas-ud-din Baraq had stopped obeying the emperor's instructions. As a result, the Chagatais lost Transoxania to the Timurids in the mid-14th century. Moghulistan was the name given to the smaller dominion, which lasted until the late 15th century when it split into the Yarkent Khanate and Turpan Khanate. The Dzungar Khanate annexed the remaining Chagatai lands in 1680, and the last Chagatai Khan was deposed in 1705, thereby ending the Chagatai dynasty.

Vassal of the Great Khan (1226 – 1266)

In 1227, When Genghis Khan died, his son Chagatai Khan inherited Issyk-Kul, the Ili River, Chu River, Talas River, Transoxania, and the Tarim Basin approximately corresponded to the defunct Qara Khitai Empire. However, Chagatai's khanate was not completely self-governing, and he still received instructions from the Karakorum. When gedei Khan fired the governor of Transoxania, Mahmud Yalavach, he rehabilitated him, and his family continued to rule the province until Chagatai died. A Muslim revolt sprang out in Bukhara in 1238, but Mahmud's son Mas'ud suppressed it the next year before Mongol forces arrived, sparing the population from Mongol retribution. In 1242 when Chagatai Khan died, and his grandson Qara Hülegü, whose father Mutukan was killed in the Siege of Bamyan in 1221, succeeded him. Qara Hülegü was too young to reign on his own; therefore, the widowed Khatun Ebuskun took his position as regent. In 1246, Güyük Khan replaced him with Yesü Möngke, one of his uncles. Because he was a close friend of Güyük Khan, Yesü Möngke rose to power. However, he was an alcoholic who delegated state matters to his wife, minister Beha ad-Din Marghinani. Möngke Khan ousted him in 1252 and replaced him with Qara Hülegü. Qara Hülegü died on his way home, and his son Mubarak Shah took his place.

Mubarak Shah was too young to reign; therefore, his mother, Orghana, was in charge of state affairs. Ariq Böke succeeded Mubarak Shah with Alghu, Chagatai Khan's grandson, in 1260. After gaining power, Alghu revolted against Ariq Böke and fled to Kublai Khan's side in the Toluid Civil War. Ariq Böke invaded him, and while Alghu had some success repelling Ariq Böke's troops at first, he was forced to escape to Samarkand in 1263. Ariq Böke's absence wreaked havoc on the Ili area. With the help of Orghana and Mas'ud Yalavach, Alghu was able to form a new army. He then defeated a Kaidu assault and expelled Ariq Böke, who submitted to Kublai in 1264. In 1265, Alghu died, and Orghana reestablished the kingdom with her son Mubarak Shah. Mubarak Shah, the first Chagatai Khan to convert to Islam, was the first Chagatai Khan to do so. However, his reign was cut short when his cousin Ghiyas-ud-din Baraq, with the help of Kublai Khan, ousted him.

Reign of Kaidu (1266 – 1301)

Ghiyas-ud-din On the management of the Tarim Basin, Baraq and Kublai Khan clashed. When Kublai dispatched a force of 6,000 horse riders to administer the province, Baraq met them with 30,000 soldiers, forcing them to withdraw. Kaidu, who had engaged the Golden Horde ruler Mengu-Timur to fight Baraq, also came into war with Baraq. Kaidu compelled Baraq to flee to Transoxania with the help of a 50,000-strong Golden Horde army. Baraq signed a peace treaty with Kaidu in 1267, relinquishing the region east of Transoxania. After that, Kaidu forced Baraq to invade the Ilkhanate. Baraq was the first to strike, beating Prince Buchin, the ruler of Khorasan and Abaqa Khan's brother. On the 22nd of July 1270, Abaqa stormed from Azerbaijan and destroyed Baraq near Herat, forcing him to flee. He was disabled after falling off his horse on the way back, so he had spent the winter season in Bukhara, where he had died not long after. Before his death, he turned to Islam. Following Baraq's death, four of Baraq's sons and two of Alghu's sons revolted against Kaidu, but they were repeatedly crushed. Negübei was crowned as the Khan of Transoxania by Kaidu. In 1274, when Negübei revolted, he was murdered and replaced by Buqa Temür, another khan. It's unclear when Buqa Temür died, but Duwa, Baraq's son, was crowned Khan after that. Meanwhile, in 1272, Abaqa attacked Transoxania and destroyed Bukhara, capturing 50,000 people.

Duwa joined Kaidu in the fight against the Yuan dynasty in 1275, but they were defeated. Duwa invaded Punjab in 1295, wreaking havoc on the area. Several assaults of the Delhi Sultanate took place, but none of them succeeded. Duwa seized Temür Khan's son-in-law, Korguz, and executed him in September 1298, but was soon defeated by Yuan troops. In a raid on the Karakorum in 1301, they were beaten once more, and Kaidu perished in the retreat.

Foreign Wars (1301 – 1325)

Both Duwa and Kaidu's son Chapar acknowledged Yuan rule in 1303 after Kaidu's death in 1301. Duwa, on the other hand, renounced his allegiance to Chapar. Chapar was invaded by both the Yuan dynasty and Duwa, compelling him to relinquish his land to Duwa in 1306. In the meantime, in 1303, Prince Turghai attacked the Delhi Sultanate and plundered the city. They attacked again in 1304 but were defeated soundly. Soon after, Duwa died and was succeeded by his son Könchek, who reigned for just a year and a half before dying. Taliqu, one of Buqa Temür's brothers, ascended to the throne, but Duwa's relatives revolted and assassinated him at a feast. Kebek, Duwa's younger son, was made khan. In 1305, Kebek attacked the Delhi Sutunate once again, plundering the Multan region but losing the battle on the way back. Chapar used political unrest to invade Kebek, but he was defeated and escaped to the Yuan dynasty. Another kuriltai was conducted in the Chagatai Khanate when Esen Buqa I, another of Duwa's sons, was elected to succeed Kebek on the throne. Invasion of the Ilkhanate by Esen Buqa in 1315, with Duwa's grandson, Dawud Khoja, established himself in eastern Afghanistan.

He beat an Ilkhanate army on the Murgab and advanced as far as Herat but was forced to retire when he was attacked from the east by the Yuan dynasty. The Yuan army ravaged the Issyk-Kul area. Yasa'ur, a Chagatayid prince, defected to the Ilkhanate in 1315, only to revolt and take Khorasan. Yasa'ur was assaulted by Chagatai and Ilkhanate troops. As he escaped, he was slain. When Esen Buqa I died in 1318, Kebek ascended to the throne. He ruled until 1325, making peace with the Ilkhanate and the Yuan dynasty.

Religious Conflict (1325 – 1338)

Kebek was replaced in turn by his three brothers. Eljigidey and Duwa Temür were only in power for a few months apiece. Tarmashirin (1326–1334) converted to Islam and attacked the Delhi Sultanate up to Delhi. Tarmashirin was deposed by an anti-Muslim uprising led by eastern tribes. Changshi, Duwa's son, was crowned in 1335. He had one of his sons baptized. In 1339, Pope Benedict XII appointed Franciscan Richard of Burgundy to Almalik, but he was assassinated in the Ili area by Muslims. The next year, a papal legate named Giovanni de' Marignolli landed in the Ili valley on his route to the Yuan dynasty. During his tenure, he erected a church and baptized a few individuals, but Christianity's presence did not survive long after leaving.

Transition to Moghulistan (1338 – 1363)

The khanate grew increasingly unstable in the ensuing years, eventually splitting in two in the 1340s. Qazan Khan ibn Yasaur was the ruler of Transoxania. In 1346, Amir Qazaghan, a tribal chief, assassinated Qazan and installed Danishmendji as puppet khan. Danishmendji was assassinated a year later, and Bayan Qul took his place. In 1351, Qazaghan made Herat a tributary. In 1357, he was murdered, and his son Abdullah replaced him, killing Bayan Qul in 1358. Local rulers, such as Hajji Beg, Tamerlane's uncle, were enraged by this. Abdullah was driven to the Hindu Kush by Hajji, where he perished. Until the Timurid Empire conquered Transoxania, the Chagatayid khans of Transoxania were nothing more than figureheads. In 1347, the strong Dughlats enthroned Tughlugh Timur, Esen Buqa I, as Khan of Moghulistan. Tughlugh turned to Islam around 1350. Tughlugh attacked and captured Transoxania in 1360. In the face of overwhelming force, Hajji Beg retreated. Timur, the future conqueror, joined Tughlugh's army and was made king of Shahr-i Sebz. Hajji Beg returned in force when Tughlugh departed Transoxania, only to be forced away by Tughlugh again. Near Sebzewar, Hajji Beg was murdered. As a result, Timur ascended to the throne. By conquering Amir Husayn, Tughlugh expanded his territory into Afghanistan. As a result, Tughlugh was able to reestablish the Chagatai Khanate. Timur and Amir Husayn took ruled Transoxiana when he died in 1363. Timur and Amir Husayn drove Tughlugh's successor, Ilyas Khoja, out of Transoxania, and Timur subsequently killed Amir Husayn, taking control of the region (1369–1405). Timur, like his forefathers, kept a puppet khan on the throne to legitimize his reign, but his khans were members of the family of gedei, not Chagatai ancestors.

Moghulistan (1363 – 1487)

In 1364, Ilyas Khoja invaded Timur and beat him on the Syr Darya's north bank. He subsequently attacked Samarkand, but due to heavy attrition caused by a plague, he was forced to retire from Transoxania the next year. In 1368, the Dughlat Qamar-ud-din Khan Dughlat revolted and slew Ilyas Khoja, seizing the throne. Khizr Khoja, Ilyas Khoja's brother, escaped to Turpan, where he established his autonomous dominion and converted the remaining Uyghurs to Islam. Timur attacked Moghulistan in 1375, plundering the Ili area. Qamar responded by invading Fergana until Timur defeated him and forced him to flee. Timur was ambushed and very narrowly survived, escaping to Samarkand. Timur tried again in 1376 and 1383 but failed to conquer the Moghul Khan both times.

On the other hand, Timur assaulted Khizr Khoja in 1389, forcing him to escape into the Gobi Desert. Timur attacked Moghulistan in 1390 and failed to find Qamar once more, but Qamar had gone and has never been seen or listened to from again. Khizr Khoja returned to Moghulistan and reclaimed his former position of authority. In 1397, he married his daughter to Timur and made peace with him. Khizr Khoja died in 1399, and his three sons, Shams-i-Jahan (1399–1408), Muhammad Khan (1408–1415), and Naqsh-i-Jahan (1415–1418), succeeded him. Timur used Khizr Khoja's death as an excuse to deploy another army to ravage Moghul territory.

In 1418, Uwais Khan ascended to the throne. During his reign, he was waged war on the Oirats, and their commander, Esen Taishi, kidnapped him. Esen Taishi regarded Uwais with respect and released him because of his royal ancestry. Uwais was defeated twice more by the Oirats and was taken for the second time. After giving his sister as a hostage to Esen Taishi's household, he was released. Uwais passed away in 1429. The throne was contested by two factions backing his two sons, Yunus Khan and Esen Buqa II, with Esen Buqa II becoming victorious. Yunus took refuge in Samarkand. The strong Dughlat Sayyid Ali, who had assisted Esen Buqa II to the throne, became immensely important under him and held Kucha and Kashgar. Esen Buqa II invaded the Timurid Empire's northern frontier in 1451. To split the Moghuls in two, the Timurid king Abu Sa'id Mirza summoned Yunus in 1456 and backed his power in the Ili area. Sayyid Ali and Esen Buqa II defeated Yunus' attempt to capture Kashgar. In 1462, Esen Buqa II died. Dost Muhammad, his 17-year-old son, was a novice driver. He robbed the Dughlats of their land. His realm was in broad insurrection by the time he died in 1469. Yunus took advantage of the circumstances and conquered Aksu, the Moghul capital. Kebek Sultan, Dost Muhammad's little son, was transported to Turpan and declared Khan. He was executed by his disciples four years later and brought to Yunus. In 1472, Yunus became the only king of Moghulistan. Yunus' reign started with an Oirat attack led by Esen Taishi's son Amasanj, who forced Yunus to escape to the Syr Darya. Yunus reappeared after the Oirats had fled with their loot. In 1465, Yunus was confronted with a revolt led by Mirza Abu Bakr Dughlat, who took control of Yarkand and Khotan. Yunus tried to flee to Abu Bakr twice but was beaten in 1479 and 1480, following which Abu Bakr took Kashgar. Yunus took Hami from Kara Del, which was a vassal of the Ming dynasty at the time. The Moghuls were ejected from the city by a Ming force, but they were not caught, and they soon returned to Hami. Yunus also used political infighting in the west to make Umar Shaikh Mirza II's kingdom in Fergana a subordinate state. Yunus settled down in Tashkent in 1484, abandoning his wandering lifestyle. His nomadic companions were horrified by this and fled to the steppes, taking Yunus' second son Ahmad Alaq. When Yunus died in 1486, his kingdom was divided between the Yarkent Khanate in the west, controlled by Mahmud Khan, and the Turpan Khanate in the northeast, ruled by Ahmad Alaq.

Turpan Khanate (1487 – 1690)

The Oirats, Kyrgyz, and Kazakhs frequently clashed with Ahmad Alaq's smaller nomadic kingdom. The Oirats dubbed him Alasha, "the Killer," according to the Tarikh-i Rashidi. Hami was returned to Kara Del in 1482 by Qanin, but Ahmad murdered Qanin and retook the city in 1488. The next year, Ahmad was expelled from Hami. In 1493, Ahmad kidnapped Kara Del's king, amba, and imprisoned him. Amba was aided by the Ming dynasty, which closed its borders to Turpan and evicted its traders from their marketplaces, forcing Ahmad to abandon his aspirations in Hami owing to discontent in his domain. Ahmad recaptured Kashgar and Yengisar from Mirza Abu Bakr Dughlat in 1499. Muhammad Shaybani assassinated Ahmad's brother Mahmud Khan, who had sought Ahmad's assistance. Muhammad conquered Tashkent and Sairam after defeating Ahmad and Mahmud. Ahmad was apprehended but quickly freed. A year later, he died of paralysis in Aksu. Mansur Khan, his brother, became his successor. The strong Dughlat of Kashgar, Mirza Abu Bakr Dughlat, was ravaging the towns of Kucha and Aksu when his reign started. Sultan Said Khan, Mansur's brother, conquered Kashgar, Yarkand, and Khotan from Abu Bakr in 1514 and forced him to escape to Ladakh. This was the last time Moghulistan was divided into two realms, with Said in Kashgar and Mansur in Turpan, also known as Uyghuristan. Kara Del surrendered to Mansur in 1513, and Mansur went permanently to Hami in 1517, where he started expeditions against the Ming dynasty. In 1545, Mansur's son Shah Khan replaced him. Shah battled his brother Muhammad, who had taken over a portion of Hami and formed an alliance with the Oirats.

In 1560, Shah died and was replaced by Muhammad. Muhammad had to contend with a third brother, Sufi Sultan, who attempted to enlist the Ming in his claim to the throne. The Turpan Khanate vanished from historical records after Muhammad's death in 1570. Embassies dispatched from Turpan to Beijing in 1647 and 1657 were the last thing heard of them. They were considered authentic Chagatayid ambassadors by the Qing dynasty.

Yarkent Khanate (1465 – 1705)

Mahmud Khan governed the Yarkent Khanate west of Tashkent. The Timurids of Samarkand attempted to retake Tashkent in 1488 but were defeated by Mahmud. Mahmud offered sanctuary to Muhammad Shaybani in 1487, and in 1500, he conquered Bukhara and Samarkand from the Timurids, establishing himself as ruler of Transoxania. Muhammad quickly turned against Mahmud, who had enlisted his brother Ahmad Alaq's assistance and defeated both Moghul khans and imprisoned them. Soon after, he freed them but retained Tashkent and Sairam. Soon later, Ahmad passed away. In 1508, Mahmud was recaptured and executed, marking the final time the Chagatayids were expelled from Transoxania. Sultan Said Khan, Mansur Khan's brother, took Kashgar, Yarkand, and Khotan from Mirza Abu Bakr Dughlat, who had governed Mahmud's absence, and forced him to escape to Ladakh in 1514. This was the last time Moghulistan was divided into two realms, with Said in Kashgar and Mansur in Turpan, also known as Uyghuristan. Said attacked Badakhshan in 1529 and invaded Ladakh in 1531. Unfortunately, said became ill with altitude sickness during the campaign and died on the return voyage in July 1533.

Abdul Rashid Khan, his son, succeeded him. Abdurashid allied with the Dughlats and punished Sayyid Muhammad-mirza, one of their commanders. Abdurashid spent most of his reign fighting the Kyrgyz and Kazakhs, who invaded the Ili area and Issyk Kul. In the end, he was unable to prevent the Kyrgyz-Kazakhs from capturing the Ili area. In 1565, Abdurashid's son Abdul Karim Khan replaced him, and the capital was moved to Yarkand. In 1590, Abdul's brother Muhammad Sultan replaced him, repelling an attack by the Khanate of Bukhara under Abdullah Khan II. Muhammad's son Shudja ad-Din Ahmad Khan succeeded him till he was murdered in 1619 and replaced by Abd al-Latif (Afak) Khan. In 1631, his nephew Sultan Ahmad Khan (Pulat Khan) succeeded Abd al-Latif (Afak) Khan. In 1636, Abdallah (Moghul Khan) overthrew Pulat. Abdallah brought order to the court and banished some elderly nobility to India. In 1655, he established a tributary connection with the Qing dynasty after repelling Oirat incursions in the Khotan and Aksu areas. Bukhara and the Mughal Empire had social connections as well. Yulbars Khan, Abdallah's son, deposed his father in 1667.

The Yarkent Khanate was influenced by the Khojas from the late 16th century onward. Muslims who claimed ancestry from the prophet Muhammad or the first four Arab caliphs were known as the Khojas. The Khojas had a great influence in court and over the Khan by the reign of Said in the early 16th century. In 1533, Makhdum-i Azam, a powerful Khoja, came to Kashgar, where he resided and fathered two sons. These two sons despised each other, and their mutual hatred was handed down to their offspring. As a result, the Aq Taghliq (White Mountain) in Kashgar and the Qara Taghliq (Black Mountain) in Yarkand came to rule significant portions of the khanate, dividing it into two factions: the Aq Taghliq (White Mountain) in Kashgar and the Qara Taghliq (Black Mountain) in Yarkand. Yulbars favoured the Aq Taghliqs while suppressing the Qara Taghliqs, causing widespread animosity and ultimately leading to his death in 1670. His son succeeded him, although only for a short time until Ismail Khan was enthroned. Ismail ended the power struggle between the two Muslim groups by deposing Afaq Khoja, the Aq Taghliq. Afaq escaped to Tibet, where the 5th Dalai Lama helped him recruit Galdan Boshugtu Khan, ruler of the Dzungar Khanate, to his cause.

Galdan led a force of 120,000 Dzungars into the Yarkent Khanate in 1680. The Aq Taghliqs and Hami and Turpan, who had previously submitted to the Dzungars, helped them. Babak Sultan, Ismail's son, died fighting against them in the war for Kashgar. In defence of Yarkand, the commander Iwaz Beg died. The Dzungars easily beat the Moghul army, capturing Ismail and his family as a result. Galdan appointed Babak's son, Abd ar-Rashid Ruler II, as puppet khan. Afaq Khoja was forced to leave once more by the new Khan, but Abd ar-rule Rashid's was likewise cut short two years later when riots erupted in Yarkand. Muhammad Imin Khan, his brother, took his position. In fighting the Dzungars, Muhammad enlisted the aid of the Qing dynasty, the Khanate of Bukhara, and the Mughal Empire. Muhammad led a victorious invasion on the Dzungar Khanate in 1693, capturing 30,000 people. Unfortunately, Afaq Khoja reappeared and launched a revolution led by Muhammad's followers to overthrow him. Yahiya Khoja, Afaq's son, was enthroned, but his reign was cut short in 1695 when he and his father were slain while repressing local uprisings. In 1696, Akbash Khan was installed on the throne, but the Kashgar begs refused to acknowledge him and instead joined forces with the Kyrgyz to assault Yarkand, capturing Akbash. In 1705, the beggars of Yarkand turned to the Dzungars, who dispatched armies to expel the Kyrgyz. The Dzungars replaced Chagatai khans with non-Chagatayid monarch Mirza Alim Shah Beg, ending the Chagatai khans' authority.

The Chagatai Mongols' form of administration was largely nomadic, and they did not settle down in cities until the late 15th century. The Mongols of the Chagatai Khanate regarded Transoxania and the Tarim Basin as though they were servants.