The Ganzhou Uyghur Kingdom (), also referred to as the Hexi
Uyghurs
The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghur ...
, was established in 894 around
Ganzhou
Ganzhou (), alternately romanized as Kanchow, is a prefecture-level city in the south of Jiangxi province, China, bordering Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, and Hunan to the west. Its administrative seat is at Zhanggong District.
Hist ...
in modern
Zhangye
Zhangye (), formerly romanized as Changyeh or known as Kanchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Gansu Province in the People's Republic of China. It borders Inner Mongolia on the north and Qinghai on the south. Its central district is Ga ...
. The kingdom lasted from 894 to 1036; during that time, many of Ganzhou's residents converted to
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
.
The
Hexi Corridor
The Hexi Corridor (, Xiao'erjing: حْسِ ظِوْلاْ, IPA: ), also known as the Gansu Corridor, is an important historical region located in the modern western Gansu province of China. It refers to a narrow stretch of traversable and rela ...
, located within modern
Gansu
Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province.
The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...
, was traditionally a Chinese inroad into
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
. From the 9th to 11th centuries this area was shared between the Ganzhou Uyghurs and the
Guiyi Circuit
The Guiyi Circuit, also known as the Guiyi Army (, 848–1036 AD), was a Chinese regional military command and later an autonomous regime nominally subordinate to the Tang dynasty, the Five Dynasties, and the Northern Song dynasty. The Guiyi Ci ...
. By the early 11th century both the Uyghurs and Guiyi Circuit were conquered by the
Tangut people
The Tangut people ( Tangut: , ''mjɨ nja̱'' or , ''mji dzjwo''; ; ; mn, Тангуд) were a Tibeto-Burman tribal union that founded and inhabited the Western Xia dynasty. The group initially lived under Tuyuhun authority, but later submitte ...
of the
Western Xia dynasty
The Western Xia or the Xi Xia (), officially the Great Xia (), also known as the Tangut Empire, and known as ''Mi-nyak''Stein (1972), pp. 70–71. to the Tanguts and Tibetans, was a Tangut-led Buddhist imperial dynasty of China tha ...
.
The Ganzhou Uyghur rulers were descended from the
House of Yaglakar.
History
There was a pre-existing community of Uyghurs at Ganzhou by 840 at the very latest.
In 874, remnant forces of the
Tibetan Empire
The Tibetan Empire (, ; ) was an empire centered on the Tibetan Plateau, formed as a result of imperial expansion under the Yarlung dynasty heralded by its 33rd king, Songtsen Gampo, in the 7th century. The empire further expanded under the 3 ...
known as the Wenmo,
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...
slave soldiers under the Tibetan Empire, in Ganzhou drove out the Uyghurs.
Around the years 881 and 882, Ganzhou slipped from the control of the Guiyi Circuit.
In 894 the Uyghurs led by Pangteqin (Huaijian Khagan) established the Ganzhou Uyghur Kingdom in Ganzhou.
In 902 the Ganzhou Uyghurs sent military aid to
Emperor Zhaozong of Tang
Emperor Zhaozong of Tang (March 31, 867 – September 22, 904), né Li Jie, name later changed to Li Min and again to Li Ye, was the penultimate emperor of the Tang dynasty of China. He reigned from 888 to 904 (although he was briefly deposed ...
.
In 910 the Ganzhou Uyghurs attacked the Kingdom of Jinshan (Guiyi).
In 911 the Ganzhou Uyghurs attacked the Kingdom of Jinshan and forced them into an alliance as a lesser partner.
In 916 a Ganzhou Uyghur princess was married to Cao Yijin, governor of the Guiyi Circuit.
In 920 Huaijian Khagan became sickly.
In 924 Huaijian Khagan died and his sons Diyin and Renmei fought over the throne with Diyin coming out on top. They received a royal appointment from the
Later Tang
Tang, known in historiography as the Later Tang, was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China and the second of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in Chinese history.
The first three of the Later Tang's four ...
dynasty. The
Khitans
The Khitan people (Khitan small script: ; ) were a historical nomadic people from Northeast Asia who, from the 4th century, inhabited an area corresponding to parts of modern Mongolia, Northeast China and the Russian Far East.
As a people desce ...
of the
Liao dynasty
The Liao dynasty (; Khitan: ''Mos Jælud''; ), also known as the Khitan Empire (Khitan: ''Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur''), officially the Great Liao (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 916 and 1125, ruled by the Yelü ...
offered to let the Ganzhou Uyghurs return to their former homeland on the
Orkhon but they refused the offer.
In 925 Cao Yijin led an attack on the Ganzhou Uyghurs and defeated them.
In 926 Diyin died and Aduoyu succeeded him as Shunhua Khagan. Shunhua Khagan married Cao Yijin's daughter.
In 930 Cao Yijin visited the Ganzhou Uyghur court in Ganzhou.
In 933 Shunhua Khagan died and Jingqiong succeeded him.
In 961 the Ganzhou Uyghurs accepted the
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
as suzerains.
In 975 Jingqiong died and Yeluohe Mili'e succeeded him.
In 983 Jingqiong died and Lusheng succeeded him.
In 1003 Lusheng died and Zhongshun Baode Khagan succeeded him. The
Tanguts
The Tangut people ( Tangut: , ''mjɨ nja̱'' or , ''mji dzjwo''; ; ; mn, Тангуд) were a Tibeto-Burman tribal union that founded and inhabited the Western Xia dynasty. The group initially lived under Tuyuhun authority, but later submitted ...
attacked the Ganzhou Uyghurs but were defeated.
In 1008 the Ganzhou Uyghurs and Tanguts engaged in combat and the Uyghurs emerged victorious. The Liao dynasty attacked the Ganzhou Uyghurs and defeated them.
In 1009 the Ganzhou Uyghurs captured
Liangzhou
Liangzhou District () is a district and the seat of the city of Wuwei, Gansu province of the People's Republic of China, bordering Inner Mongolia to the east.
Geography
Liangzhou District is located in east Hexi Corridor, north to the Qilian Mo ...
.
In 1010 the Liao dynasty attacked the Ganzhou Uyghurs and defeated them.
In 1016 Zhongshun Baode Khagan died and Huaining Shunhua Khagan succeeded him.
In 1023 Huaining Shunhua Khagan died and Guizhong Baoshun Khagan succeeded him.
In 1026 the Ganzhou Uyghurs were defeated in battle by the Liao dynasty.
In 1028 the Ganhzhou Uyghurs were defeated by the Tanguts. Guizhong Baoshun Khagan died and Baoguo Khagan succeeded him.
In 1036 the Ganzhou Uyghur Kingdom was annexed by the Tanguts. After the destruction of their realm, the Ganzhou Uyghurs migrated and settled in
Dunhuang (Shazhou) and
Guazhou
Guazhou County (), formerly (until 2006) Anxi County () or Ansichow, is a county in the northwest of Gansu province, the People's Republic of China. It is under the administration of Jiuquan City.
History
Emperor Wudi (140-87 BCE) had th ...
. The Guazhou Uyghurs surrendered to the Tanguts in 1030 and Shazhou surrendered in 1036. A record of a Huolasan Khan ruling in Shazhou in 1127 shows that the Uyghurs there retained some amount of autonomy in
Western Xia
The Western Xia or the Xi Xia (), officially the Great Xia (), also known as the Tangut Empire, and known as ''Mi-nyak''Stein (1972), pp. 70–71. to the Tanguts and Tibetans, was a Tangut-led Buddhist imperial dynasty of China tha ...
. Another group that settled between Dunhuang and the
Qaidam Basin came to be known as the Yellow Head Uyghurs. They practiced Buddhism and lived as pastoral nomads. In the 13th century they were called the Sali Uyghurs. Their descendants are today known as the
Yugurs
The Yugurs, Yughurs, Yugu (; Western Yugur: ''Sarïg Yogïr''; Eastern Yugur: ''Šera Yogor''), traditionally known as Yellow Uyghurs, are a Turko- Mongolic ethnic group and one of China's 56 officially recognized ethnic groups, consisting ...
.
Religion
The Uyghurs of Ganzhou originally practiced
Manichaeanism
Manichaeism (;
in New Persian ; ) is a former major religionR. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 founded in the 3rd century AD by the Parthian prophet Mani (AD ...
as their state religion but abandoned it for
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
at the end of the 10th century due to pressure from the
Tanguts
The Tangut people ( Tangut: , ''mjɨ nja̱'' or , ''mji dzjwo''; ; ; mn, Тангуд) were a Tibeto-Burman tribal union that founded and inhabited the Western Xia dynasty. The group initially lived under Tuyuhun authority, but later submitted ...
. Like the Tanguts, they sent Buddhist pilgrimages to
Mount Wutai, but the real reason for the expeditions may have been to spy on the
Liao dynasty
The Liao dynasty (; Khitan: ''Mos Jælud''; ), also known as the Khitan Empire (Khitan: ''Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur''), officially the Great Liao (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 916 and 1125, ruled by the Yelü ...
. According to Hong Hao, a
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
diplomat on his way to the
Jurchen Jin dynasty Jurchen may refer to:
* Jurchen people, Tungusic people who inhabited the region of Manchuria until the 17th century
** Haixi Jurchens, a grouping of the Jurchens as identified by the Chinese of the Ming Dynasty
** Jianzhou Jurchens, a grouping of ...
, the
Uyghurs
The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghur ...
of the
Hexi Corridor
The Hexi Corridor (, Xiao'erjing: حْسِ ظِوْلاْ, IPA: ), also known as the Gansu Corridor, is an important historical region located in the modern western Gansu province of China. It refers to a narrow stretch of traversable and rela ...
still practiced
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
:
Modern era
The modern day descendants of the Ganzhou Uyghurs are known as the
Yugur
The Yugurs, Yughurs, Yugu (; Western Yugur: ''Sarïg Yogïr''; Eastern Yugur: ''Šera Yogor''), traditionally known as Yellow Uyghurs, are a Turko- Mongolic ethnic group and one of China's 56 officially recognized ethnic groups, consisting ...
.
See also
*
Yugur
The Yugurs, Yughurs, Yugu (; Western Yugur: ''Sarïg Yogïr''; Eastern Yugur: ''Šera Yogor''), traditionally known as Yellow Uyghurs, are a Turko- Mongolic ethnic group and one of China's 56 officially recognized ethnic groups, consisting ...
*
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are a collection of diverse ethnic groups of West, Central, East, and North Asia as well as parts of Europe, who speak Turkic languages.. "Turkic peoples, any of various peoples whose members speak languages belonging t ...
*
Timeline of the Turkic peoples (500–1300)
*
List of Turkic dynasties and countries
*
Uyghur Khaganate
The Uyghur Khaganate (also Uyghur Empire or Uighur Khaganate, self defined as Toquz-Oghuz country; otk, 𐱃𐰆𐰴𐰕:𐰆𐰍𐰕:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, Toquz Oγuz budun, Tang-era names, with modern Hanyu Pinyin: or ) was a Turkic empire that e ...
*
Qocho
Qocho (), also known as Idiqut, ("holy wealth"; "glory"; "lord of fortune") was a Uyghur kingdom created in 843, with strong Chinese Buddhist and Tocharian influences. It was founded by Uyghur refugees fleeing the destruction of the Uyghur K ...
References
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{{coord missing, Gansu
Uyghur Khaganate
Former countries in Chinese history
Turkic rump states