Yettishar

By the 1860s, Xinjiang had been under Qing rule for a century. The area had been conquered in 1759 from the Dzungar Khanate[5] whose core population, the Oirats, subsequently became the targets of genocide. However, as Xinjiang consisted mostly of semi-arid or desert lands, these were not attractive to potential Han settlers except some traders, so other people such as Uyghurs settled in the area.

The ethnic group known today as Uyghur people was not known by the term "Uyghur" up to the 20th century. The Uzbeks that dwelled close to present-day Xinjiang were collectively called "Andijanis" or "Kokandis", while the Uyghurs in the Tarim Basin were known as "Turki", probably due to their language. There were also Uyghur immigrants residing in Ili area that were called "Taranchi". The modern term "Uyghur" was assigned to this ethnic group by the newly created Soviet Union in 1921 at a conference in Tashkent. As a result, sources from the period of the Dungan revolt make no mentions of Uyghurs. The conflict was mainly an ethnic and religious war fought by members of the Muslim Hui and other Muslim ethnic groups in China's Shaanxi, Ningxia and Gansu provinces, as well as in Xinjiang, between 1862 and 1877.

The conflict led to a recorded 20.77 million deaths due to migration and war-related death. Many war immigrants also died from starvation on their journey to safety.[6] Thousands of Muslim refugees from Shaanxi fled to Gansu. Some of them formed significant battalions in eastern Gansu, intending to reconquer their lands in Shaanxi. While the Hui rebels were preparing to attack Gansu and Shaanxi, Yaqub Beg, ethnic Uzbek or Tajik commander at the Kokand Khanate, fled from the Khanate in 1865 after losing Tashkent to the Russians, settled in Kashgar and soon managed to take complete control of Xinjiang.

Yakub beg, ruler of Yettishar

Yakub Beg was born in the town of Piskent, in the Khanate of Kokand (now in Uzbekistan).[7] He had a meteoric rise through the ranks in the service of the Khanate, and by the year 1847, was a commander of the fort at Ak-Mechet until its fall to the Russians in 1853. In 1864, he helped to defend Kokand city of Tashkent during the initial Russian attack.

During the Dungan Revolt, Turkic Sadic Beg entered Kashgar and tried to capture the town from the weakened Chinese. Meanwhile, Burzug Khan left Tashkent and was joined by Yakub Beg. The company crossed the border in the winter of 1865, gained a number of supporters along their journey to Kashgar and as a result Burzug Khan was eventually installed on the throne of his ancestors. Sadic Beg rose against Burzug Khan, but was ultimately defeated by Yakub Beg and thrown out of the Kingdom.

Yakub beg next besieged the Chinese at Yangi Hissar where Sadic Beg reappeared. He was defeated again, but soon agreed to become Yakub's ally. Invaders from Badakshan, the Dungans also joined Yakub Beg. In September 1865, 3000 Chinese defenders of Kashgar surrendered to and joined Yakub's army and converted to Islam. Rebels from the Khanate of Kokand arrived and similarly joined Yakub. Soon Burzug Khan had to declare Yakub a traitor, but failed to win the support from the religious leaders. He was subsequently captured in his own palace.

Yakub Beg on the other hand, had become the master of the Tarim Basin in a little more than a year.

Andijani troops of Yakub beg

To prevent the capture of Taranchi Sultanate by Yakub beg and to prevent the growth of British influence in Central Asia, Russian troops occupied the Ili Territory in 1871 and liquidated the local Uyghur state. The troops of Yakub beg made two campaigns against the Dungan Urumqi Sultanate, and in 1870–1872, annexed its territory to Yettishar. Muhammad Ayub, one of the leaders of the Dungan uprising in Shaanxi, who had been forced out by the Chinese troops to the northwest and settled in Urumqi, as well as other Dungan commanders and refugees from the Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, sided with Yakub beg.

Yakub beg carried out a series of progressive reforms. He modernized his 45,000-strong army, simplified the bureaucratic system, sharply reduced taxes, streamlined finances. The ruler of Yettishar encouraged trade, built caravansareis, built new channels and other irrigation systems. Nevertheless, the regime he created was considered severe, and sometimes cruel. When the Qing forces began military operations in Xinjiang in 1873, many of the positive initiatives in Yettishar disappeared due to a sharp increase in military spending.

To strengthen his state, Yakub beg sought to use the contradictions between Russia and Britain, offering his services to both. Britain tried to use the Kashgar Khan against Russia, helping him with weapons and military advisers from India until 1877; the same assistance was given to him by the Ottoman Empire.

Soon after the capture of Tarim basin by Yakub beg, the Qing administration sharply raised the question of the nature of further policies in relation to areas fallen from China. The solution to this problem sparked a lively debate. There were two opposing points of view.

Some top dignitaries and military leaders proposed resolving the issue of returning the lost territories in a peaceful, diplomatic way, through recognition of the independence of East Turkestan. Proponents of this position alluded to political and economic difficulties experienced by Qing China.

Another section of officials in the Qing government advocated the most decisive hostilities and crackdowns. In 1874, it was proposed to arrange a discussion on this topic at the court. It was assumed that all the well-known political figures in China would somehow take part in the discussion.

Khotan uyghurs, Yettishar troops

In mid-April 1877, the Chinese suddenly threw 180 battalions of well-armed forces under the command of Liu Zuntang against Yettishar. Despite the help of the Muhammad Ayub detachments and other Dungan commanders, the troops of Yakub beg were defeated. In May 1877, he was poisoned, and Yettishar fell into three warring estates. The troops of Liu Zuntang captured Kashgar, Yarkand and Khotan. In December 1877, all of Kashgar was conquered. Thousands of Muslim were executed, tens of thousands thrown into prison. Muhammad Ayub with the Dungan detachments took refuge in the possessions of Russia. The power of the Qing dynasty was restored over all of Xinjiang, except for the Ili region, which was returned by Russia to China under the Treaty of St.Petersburg.

• Musa Sayrami, historian