Demetrius Boulger - The Life of Yakoob Beg; Athalik Ghazi, and Badaulet; Ameer of Kashgar

It is now time to return to Kashgar and narrate the events that were happening in that troubled district. The feud between the Aktaghluc and Karataghluc factions reached its height when Afak, who had been placed on the throne of Yarkand by the Calmucks, under Galdan, the chief representative of the Aktaghluc, succeeded in expelling all the prominent supporters of the rival clan. Afak ruled for some years, but with difficulty maintained himself in some parts of Kashgar, against the Calmucks, Kirghiz, and Kipchak. His sons had no better fortune, and the state was finally divided between a Kipchak and a Kirghiz leader. These quarrelled between themselves, but happily they each expired in the first encounter. Acbash, one of the sons of Afak, was executed at Yangy Hissar in the course of this contention; but he had previously called in to his assistance from Khodjent, in Khokand, a Khoja, Danyal, of the rival Karataghluc faction. This roused the enmity of the more bitter among the Aktaghluc, and, on this, Khoja Ahmad was brought in to represent their interests. Danyal was besieged in Yarkand, but, with the assistance of a contingent of Kirghiz, he was able to repulse his assailants. But, although successful in the field, Danyal was compelled shortly afterwards to flee, and leave his rival in possession of the state. He fled to the Calmucks, in Jungaria, and pleaded so well, that an army was lent him to regain Kashgar. Victory attended this expedition, but the Calmuck leader, who had captured Ahmad at the siege of Kashgar, instead of placing Danyal in power, took both him and his rival as prisoners to his capital of Ili. With so forcible a settlement of the question, little room was left for useless complaining to the ambitious Danyal, and from this time down to the Chinese conquest, the Calmuck rulers of Ili asserted their right to supremacy over Eastern Turkestan. Danyal, himself, was appointed, some years later on, governor of Kashgar, now called Alty Shahr, or six cities; but, under him, there was a local governor for each town, appointed by the Calmucks themselves. His power was more apparent than real. His eldest son was kept at Ili as a hostage for the good behaviour of his father, and Danyal, himself, had frequently to proceed to Ili to make his report on the state of affairs in Kashgar. Such was the condition of Kashgar, as a subject province of the Calmuck rulers of Ili, governed by Danyal, a member of the Karataghluc party, in the year 1740. On the death of Galdan, the son of Arabdan Khan of Jungaria, in 1745, two chiefs, Amursana and Davatsi, or Tawats, seized the governing power, and for a time they divided the authority fairly between them; but it was not long before they fell out, and resolved to advance their own interests at the expense of each other. Amursana was unable to cope with the armies of his rival, Davatsi, and, having been defeated in several encounters, fled from Jungaria to China. On his arrival at Lanchefoo he demanded permission to proceed to Pekin to lay his grievances at the feet of the Emperor, and to offer in his name, and in that of many of his compatriots, the districts of Ili and of Kashgar to his omnipotent majesty.

The request was granted, and Keen-Lung received him with favour, promised to consider what he had stated, and, in the meanwhile, gave him titles and revenues within the Chinese Empire. Amursana's address was so insinuating, and he played so skilfully on the king's ambition and love for military renown, that at last Keen-Lung consented to lend him the forces, which he had been so lavish of promises to secure. In 1753, the Chinese army, under Amursana, appeared in Jungaria, and, after several desperate encounters, Davatsi was driven out of that state, and, according to one account, was delivered up to the Chinese by Khojam Beg, the governor of Ush Turfan. According to another version, he was captured in the field; but both agree that he was taken to Pekin and there executed. Amursana, having regained his position in Jungaria, now turned his attention to the conquest of its dependency, Kashgar. He was now supreme in Jungaria, with his capital at Ili; but his army, which maintained him in his position, was a Khitay force, owing allegiance solely to the Emperor of Pekin, and only obeying the instructions issued by his general accompanying the Eleuth prince Amursana. At this epoch Yusuf, a son of Galdan, had seized the chief authority in Kashgar, and, raising a cry that the true religion of Islam was in danger from the advance of the Khitay, endeavoured to rally to his cause in the struggle that he saw was approaching the Mahomedan governments of Khokand and Bokhara. Amursana, on the northern frontiers of Kashgar, was eagerly watching for the opportunity to arise for an active interference in that state, and Yusuf was prudent in seeking beyond his frontiers for allies that were able to assist him against the machinations of his foes. Yusuf had made himself the leader and representative of the Karataghluc party in the state, and Amursana accordingly resolved to put forward the pretensions of the rival Aktaghluc faction. In this design the Chinese general acquiesced, and, with the assistance of the Calmuck governors of Ush Turfan, and Aksu, no delay interfered with its prompt realization. The descendants of the ancient Khojas were consequently sought out, and Barhanuddin, son of Ahmad, was selected for the purpose. He, at the head of a mixed following, promptly seized Ush Turfan, and was there received with acclamation, and several of the minor tribes joined him at once. Yusuf was, however, hurrying up with a large force from Yarkand, and Barhanuddin's chances seemed to be more than doubtful, when Yusuf died on the way. His son Abdulla, who took the name of Khoja Padshah, hastened on, however, and besieged Barhanuddin in Ush Turfan. Abdulla then endeavoured to come to terms with Barhanuddin, and made overtures for the reconciliation of the Karataghluc and Aktaghluc parties to be cemented in a crusade against the invading Khitay. Barhanuddin, a true Mussulman, was personally inclined to accept the arrangement offered, but, as he was surrounded by Chinese officials and their allies, he was constrained to give instead the advice that Abdulla should surrender to the Chinese and acknowledge their supremacy. Abdulla was not at all willing to forfeit his independence without some struggle, and the siege of Ush Turfan was pressed on. In the camp of the besieging forces there were some who favoured the pretensions of Barhanuddin, and these deserting from the Karataghluc cause, the remaining forces of Abdulla were compelled to retreat with precipitation. Barhanuddin immediately advanced on Kashgar, where he was received with open arms. Yarkand soon afterwards fell into his possession, and the conquest of Kashgar by the descendant of the Khojas and the triumph of the Aktaghluc party were complete.

So far the Chinese had been merely spectators of the progress of events in Kashgar. Amursana had induced them to approve of this enterprise of Barhanuddin, and they had given general support in the war with Yusuf and his son; and it was not until Barhanuddin, elated with his success, set their wishes at defiance, that they resolved to occupy the country. But before that, Amursana's career had been cut short. Although escorted by a large force of native Chinese troops, he had aspired, in 1757, to establish himself as an independent prince in Jungaria, and had broken loose from Chinese control. The forces he raised were, however, defeated with remarkable ease by the Chinese, and Amursana was compelled to flee once more from his home – this time with no certain refuge, as he had before in Pekin. The Russians were then in possession of Siberia, but their influence for good or for ill beyond their desert and almost impenetrable stations was practically nil ; but, such as it was, it seemed to Amursana the only place affording any prospect of security. He died at Tobolsk, in 1757, soon after he arrived there; but the implacable Chinese haughtily demanded from the Russians his body as a proof of his decease, and the Russian government sent it to Kiachta for surrender to them. Such was the career of the ill-fated, but ambitious, Amursana, who was the immediate cause of the introduction of Chinese power into Eastern Turkestan.