Eastern Moghulistan

Common questions

What was Eastern Moghulistan?

"Eastern Moghulistan" denotes the eastern division of the Moghul khanate after its late-15th-century fragmentation, conventionally identified with the Turpan Khanate (Chinese: 吐魯番汗國; also called the Kingdom of Uyghurstan in 16th–17th-century Balkh and Indian sources). Founded by Ahmad Alaq in 1487 with its capital at Turpan, it was a Sunni Muslim Turco-Mongol khanate ruled by the Eastern Chagatayid (Moghul) line descended from Chagatai Khan.

When did Eastern Moghulistan exist?

Eastern Moghulistan existed Turpan Khanate, 1487–c. 1660s. On this map it is drawn 1519–1686.

How large was Eastern Moghulistan?

At its greatest extent drawn on this map, Eastern Moghulistan covered about 951,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.

Where was Eastern Moghulistan?

The state rested on the irrigated oases of the Turpan Depression and the northern Tarim rim, astride the "Northern Route" of the Tian Shan caravan trade to Ming China, from which earlier Moghul khans had drawn great wealth. Sunni Islam was the state religion; from the 16th century Naqshbandi khojas increasingly displaced the old Dughlat amirs as the dominant faction.

Who ruled Eastern Moghulistan?

Ahmad Alaq (1487–1503/04) made peace with Ming China after the long conflict over the Ming dependency of Kara Del (Hami), exchanged envoys, fought successfully against the Oirats, and raided Chinese territory; he died shortly after the brothers' catastrophic defeat and capture by Muhammad Shaybani in 1503.

How did Eastern Moghulistan end?

Weakened after Mansur's death and overshadowed by Yarkent, the khanate was conquered in 1570 and finally extinguished with the Dzungar conquest of Altishahr (1678–1705). Chagatayid descendants survived as Qing vassals in the Kumul Khanate (1696–1930).