Jahangir Khoja

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This article is about a Kashgarian khoja. For the Moghul emperor, see Jahangir.
Red flag of Appaki khojas
Red flag of Appaki khojas

Jahanghir Khoja[1], Jāhangīr Khwāja[2], or Jihangir Khoja (Chinese: 张格尔, Zhangge'er) was a member of the influential East Turkestan Āfāqī khoja clan, who managed to wrest Kashgaria from the Qing Empire's power for a few years in the 1820s.

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[edit] Career

Before a rebellion had broken out in May, 1826, Jahangir Khoja managed to flee to Kashgar from Kokand (where he had been held in prison in accordance with a secret agreement, concluded between the Khanate of Kokand and Qing dynasty China, concerning descendants of Appak khoja)[3], taking the opportunity offered by an earthquake that destroyed most towns in the Ferghana Valley. After appearing in Kashgar with only several hundreds of his followers he then quickly increased his force by volunteers, and within several months he collected under his banner about 200,000 troops[4] , with which he had overthrown Qing power in Kashgar, Yarkand, Khotan, and Yangihissar, having Qing garrisons annihilated in these cities. Nevertheless, Qing China managed to mobilize "all forces of Empire, that were put into motion" and by September, 1827, collected in Aksu an army of 70,000, under command of military governor of Ili Chang Ling, that in January, 1828, moved against Jahangir Khoja. His forces were defeated within one month, he was captured, and delivered to Beijing. There he was exposed to the attention of China's capital's population, being carried for several weeks in a mobile iron cage through the main streets of Beijing. Finally he was brought to the Daoguang Emperor for interrogation, but, having gone mad due to bad treatment, he couldn't answer any questions. Immediately after the interrogation was completed he was executed. Jahangir Khoja's body was cut into numerous pieces and his bones were thrown to dogs. His portrait was buried in the hill near Beijing. He was forty years old at the time of his death.

[edit] References

Kutlukov, M. Relations between Khanate of Kokand and Qing China. Moscow, Nauka, 1982

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, article on Kashgar
  2. ^ Kim (2003)
  3. ^ This agreement, according to M. Kutlukov, was concluded first by the Kokand ruler Irdana Biy (1751-1770) as soon as the Qings became aware of Khoja Sarymsak (an Ak Taghlik who was the only person among Appak Khoja's descendants to survive the 1757-1759 Qing invasion of Kashgaria), who, via Kabul and Badakhshan, had arrived in Kokand and had settled there. The agreement was confirmed later by the following Kokand rulers: Narbuta Biy (1770-1798), Alim Khan (1798-1810), Omar Khan (1810-1822), and Muhammad Ali Khan (1822-1842). The rulers of Kokand promised in the agreement to hold all Appak Khoja descendants under observation, restrict their activities, and not let them leave Kokand. In exchange, Kokand received every year a definite amount of silver (quantities varied from 250 up to 1000 ingots (yamboos) and tea. Kokand traders were also granted trade privileges in Kashgaria. Jahangir Khoja (1788-1828) was a son of Khoja Sarymsak.
  4. ^ Among volunteers in Jahangir's Army were a lot of ghalchas (mountain Tajiks), whose tight black costume gave rise to the rumours in Siberia about presence of Europeans among Jahangir's troops, those rumours were also contributed by Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, that being upset of the opportunity, might have gained by British forces in India due to this rebellion, reported of 13 British Body Guards of Jahangir Khoja, 7 of them followed him wherever he goes all the time. Last fact was not confirmed by the local sources. According Russian sources, Jahangir's uprising was completely quelled by China by the summer of 1828.

[edit] Literature