`Alimqul (also spelt Alymkul, Alim quli, Alim kuli) (ca. 1833 – 1865) was a warlord in the
Kokand Khanate
The Khanate of Kokand ( fa, ; ''Khānneshin-e Khoqand'', chg, ''Khoqand Khānligi'') was a Central Asian polity in the Fergana Valley centred on the city of Kokand between 1709 and 1876. Its territory is today divided between Uzbekistan, Kyrg ...
, and its ''de facto'' ruler from 1863 to 1865.
Alimqul was born in Budjun
Batken
Batken (also called Batkent) is a town in southwestern Kyrgyzstan, on the southern fringe of the Fergana Valley. It is the administrative seat of Batken Region. Since 2000, it is a city of regional significance, i.e. not part of a district. Howev ...
, 1833, into a family of a
Kyrgyz-
Kipchak ''
bey
Bey ( ota, بك, beğ, script=Arab, tr, bey, az, bəy, tk, beg, uz, бек, kz, би/бек, tt-Cyrl, бәк, translit=bäk, cjs, пий/пек, sq, beu/bej, sh, beg, fa, بیگ, beyg/, tg, бек, ar, بك, bak, gr, μπέης) is ...
s''. He studied in
madrasahs in
Andijan
Andijan (sometimes spelled Andijon or Andizhan in English) ( uz, Andijon / Андижон / ئەندىجان; fa, اندیجان, ''Andijân/Andīǰān''; russian: Андижан, ''Andižan'') is a city in Uzbekistan. It is the administrative, ...
and
Kokand, earning the title of ''
mullah'', and for a while he himself served as the ''
biy'' of Qurghan Tepa, near Andijan.
In 1858, Alimqul helped
Malla Beg (Malla Bek) overthrow his brother
Khudayar Khan by bringing the Kyrgyz over to Malla Beg's side. Malla Beg, upon seizing the Kokandian khan's throne in November 1858, rewarded Alimqul with several successive promotions. In 1860, already governor of
Marghilan, Alimqul was in charge of a large Kokandian force that defeated invaders from the
Emirate of Bukhara.
Alimqul actively participated in the struggle for power that ensued after the death of Malla Beg in a February, 1862, coup. He soon succeeded in thwarting Bukhara's attempt to bring Khudayar Khan back to power. Not being of royal blood himself, Alimqul elevated Malla Beg's minor son,
Sultan Sayyid Khan as a titulary khan, and ruled the country himself as
Atalyk and commander in chief of the military (''Amir-i Lashkar'').
In late 1864, Alimqul was instrumental in sending
Buzurg Khan and
Yaqub Beg
Muhammad Yaqub Bek (محمد یعقوب بیگ; uz, Яъқуб-бек, ''Ya’qub-bek''; ; 182030 May 1877) was a Khoqandi ruler of Yettishar (Kashgaria) during his invasion of Xinjiang from 1865 to 1877. He held the title of Atalik Ghazi (" ...
to
Kashgar. Once established as Kashgar's ruler, Buzurg and Yaqub sent Alimqul an ambassador,
Mir Baba, with rich gifts. Although Mir Baba met with Alimqul, he did not have a chance to deliver the presents: Alimqul was wounded and died when defending
Tashkent
Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of 2 ...
against the Russians in May 1865.
Literature
*Timur Beisembiev. ''The Life of Alimqul: A Native Chronicle of Nineteenth Century Central Asia''. Published 2003, Routledge (UK). 280 pages.
*Beisembiev T. K. Kokandskaia istoriografiia : Issledovanie po istochnikovedeniiu Srednei Azii XVIII-XIX vekov. Almaty, TOO "PrintS", 2009, 1263 pp., .
*Beisembiev Timur K. "Annotated indices to the Kokand Chronicles". Tokyo: Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. Studia Culturae Islamica. № 91, 2008, 889 pp., .
*Beisembiev T.K. "Ta'rikh-i SHakhrukhi" kak istoricheskii istochnik. Alma Ata: Nauka, 1987. 200 pp. Summaries in English and French.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alimqul
Khanate of Kokand
Ethnic Kyrgyz people (individuals)
1830s births
1865 deaths
People from Batken Region