Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din Omar

Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din Omar
Governor of Yunnan (Karadjang)
In office
1274–1279
Preceded by newly created position, previous ruler was King of Dali
Succeeded by Nasr al-Din
Personal details
Born 1211
Bukhara
Died 1279
Yunnan
Nationality Khwarezmian
Children Nasr al-Din,[1] Hassan, Hussein, Shan-su-ding-wu-mo-li, Ma-su-hu
Religion Islam
Military service
Allegiance Yuan dynasty

Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din Omar al-Bukhari (Persian: سید اجل شمس‌الدین عمر; Chinese: 赛典赤·赡思丁, pinyin: Sàidiǎnchì Zhānsīdīng) (1211–1279) was Yunnan's first provincial governor in history, appointed by the Mongol Yuan Dynasty.

Contents

Life

Shams al-Din was of Central Asian origin, being a Muslim Khwarezmian from Bukhara. When Genghis Khan attacked the city during the war between the Khwarizmi shah and the Mongols, Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din Omar's family surrendered to him. He served the court of the Mongol Empire. Later, he was in charge of Imperial finances in 1259,[2] sent to Yunnan by Kublai Khan after conquering the Kingdom of Dali in 1274.

The Yüan-shi gives many biographies of distinguished Muslims in the service of the Mongols. A number of them occupied high offices. In chap, cxxv, we find the biography of 赛典赤·赡思丁 Sai-dien-ch'i shan-sse-ding, called also 烏馬兒 Wu-ma-r. He was a Hui-hui and a descendant of the 别菴伯爾 Bie-an-bo-r. In his country Sai-dien-ch'i has the same meaning as 貴族 (noble family) in Chinese. There is a long biography of Sai-dien-ch'i.[3][4][5]

In the thirteenth century the influence of individual Muslems was immense, especially that of the Seyyid Edjell Shams ed-Din Omar, who served the Mongol Khans till his death in Yunnan AD 1279. His family still exists in Yunnan, and has taken a prominent part in Muslem affairs in China.[6]

He is identified as the ancestor of many Chinese Hui lineages in Yunnan's Panthay Hui population as well as in Ningxia and Fujian provinces.

A Hui legend in Ningxia links four surnames common in the region - Na, Su, La, and Ding - with the descendants of Shams al-Din's son named Nasruddin, who "divided" their ancestor's name (Nasulading, in Chinese) among themselves.[7] The Ding family of Chendai, Fujian claims descent from him.[8] The Ding family has branches in Taiwan, the Philippines, and Malaysia among the diaspora Chinese communities there, no longer practicing Islam but still maintaining a Hui identity.

The deputy secretary-general of the Chinese Muslim Association on Taiwan, Ishag Ma (馬孝棋), has claimed "Sayyid is an honorable title given to descendants of the Prophet Mohammed, hence Sayyid Shamsuddin must be connected to Mohammed". The Ding (Ting) family in Taisi Township in Yunlin County of Taiwan, traces descent from him through the Ding of Quanzhou in Fujian.[9]

Shams al-Din constructed numerous Confucian temples in Yunnan, and promoted Confucian education. He is best known among Chinese for helping sinicize Yunnan province.[10] He also built multiple mosques in Yunnan as well.

Family

He submitted to Chinhiz when the latter waged war in western Asia, and entered his life-guard. Under Ogotai and Mangu khans he was governor, and held other offices. Kubilai khan appointed him minister (see also the list of the ministers, in the Yuan shi, chap. cxii). He died in Yunnan, where he had been governor. Five sons of Sai-dien-ch'i are mentioned, viz. 納速剌丁 Na-su-la-ding (Nasr-uddin), 哈散 Hasan (Hassan), 忽辛 Hu-sin (Hussein), 剌丁 兀默里 Shan-su-ding wu-mo-li and 馬速忽 Ma-su-hu. All these held high offices.

Na-su-la-ding has a separate biography in the same chapter. He was governor in Yunnan, and distinguished himself in the war with the southern tribes of 交趾 Kiao-chi (Cochin-china) and 緬 Mien (Burma). He died in 1292, the father of twelve sons^ the names of five of which are given in the biography, viz. 伯顏察兒 Bo-yen ch'a-r, who had a high office, 烏馬兒 Wu-ma-r, 答法兒 Dje-fa-r (Djafar), 忽先 Hu-sien (Hussein) and 沙的 Sha-di (Saadi).

The Sai-dien-ch'i of the Chinese authors is without doubt the same personage spoken of by Rashid (D'Ohsson, torn, ii, p. 467) under the name of Sayid Edjell. According to the Persian historian, he was a native of Bokhara, and governor of Karadjang (Yunnan) when Kubilai entered the country, under the reign of Mangu. Subsequently he was appointed vizier, and in the beginning of Kubilai's reign he had charge of the finances. His son Nasruddin was appointed governor in Karadjang, and retained his position in Yunnan till his death, which Rashid, writing about A. D. 1300, says occurred five or six years before (according to the Yüan shi, Na-su-la ding died in 1292). Nasr-uddin's son Abubeker, who had the surname Bayan Fenchan (evidently the Boyen ch'a-r of the Yüan shi), was governor in Zaitun at the time Rashid wrote. He bore also his grandfather's title of Sayid Edjell, and was minister of Finance under Kubilai's successor (D'Ohsson, torn, ii, pp. 476, 507, 508). Nasr-uddin is mentioned by M. Polo, who styles him Nescradin (vol. ii, p. 66).[11][12][13]

Distant Descendants

One of his most prominent descendants was Zheng He.[14]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Greville Stewart Parker Freeman-Grenville, Stuart C. Munro-Hay (2006). Islam: an illustrated history (illustrated, revised ed.). Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 226. ISBN 0826418376. http://books.google.com/books?id=__Q1gOeoJZcC&pg=PA228&dq=mosque+ningpo&hl=en&ei=fwncTbrtFce90AG2uM3GDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CC0Q6AEwATge#v=onepage&q=sayyid%20ajall%20shams%20al%20din%20umar%20son%20nasr%20al%20din&f=false. Retrieved 17th of July, 2011. "Yunnan - centuries later destined to achieve a brief autonomy as a rebellious Muslim state ~is said, after the Mongol conquest, to have been given to Sayyid Ajall Shams al-Din 'Umar as governor, who introduced Islam there. His son Nasr al-Din's victory over the king of Mien (Burma, now Myanmar) was recorded by Marco Polo (1277)" 
  2. ^ Sir Thomas Walker Arnold (1896). The preaching of Islam: a history of the propagation of the Muslim faith. WESTMINSTER: A. Constable and co.. p. 248. http://books.google.com/books?id=O45CAAAAIAAJ&q=china+sayyid+ajal+native+of+bukhara+1259+1270#v=snippet&q=china%20sayyid%20ajal%20native%20of%20bukhara%201259%201270&f=false. Retrieved 2011-05-29. "several Muhammadans also occupying high posts under the Mongol Khaqaans : such were 'Abdu-r Rahman, wh9o in 1244 was appointed head of the Imperial finances and allowed to farm the taxes imposed upon China 1 ; and SAyyid Ajal, a native of Bukhara, to whom Khubilay Khan, on his accesion in 1259, entrusted the management of the Imperial finances ; he died in 1270, leaving a high reputation for honesty, and was succeeded by another Muhammadan named Ahmad, who on the other hand left behind him a reputation the very reverse of that of his predecessor." (Original from the University of California)
  3. ^ (Original from Harvard University)Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. North-China Branch (1876). Journal of the North-China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Volume 10. NEW SERIES No. X.. SHANGHAI: Printed At The "CELESTIAL EMPIBE" Office 10-HANKOW BOAD—10.: The Branch. p. 121. http://books.google.com/books?id=AH0uAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA121&dq=In+chap,+cxxv,+we+find+the+biography+of+%C2%A3+J%7C+%5E+JJJ+J%C2%A7L+%22J*+Sai-dien-ch'i+shansse-ding,+called+also+,B%7C+%5E+Wu-ma-r.+He+was+a+Hui-hui+and+a+descendant+of+the+jjjlj+%5EjSf+ffj+jgf+Bie-an-bo-r.1%C2%BB+In+his+country+Sai-dien-ch'i+has+the+same+meaning+as+jgf+J%C2%A3+(noble+family)+in+Chinese.+There+is+a+long+biography+of+Sai-dien-ch'i,&hl=en&sa=X&ei=4vX4TsuoD4j50gG_8vGjAg&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=In%20chap%2C%20cxxv%2C%20we%20find%20the%20biography%20of%20%C2%A3%20J%7C%20%5E%20JJJ%20J%C2%A7L%20%22J*%20Sai-dien-ch'i%20shansse-ding%2C%20called%20also%20%2CB%7C%20%5E%20Wu-ma-r.%20He%20was%20a%20Hui-hui%20and%20a%20descendant%20of%20the%20jjjlj%20%5EjSf%20ffj%20jgf%20Bie-an-bo-r.1%C2%BB%20In%20his%20country%20Sai-dien-ch'i%20has%20the%20same%20meaning%20as%20jgf%20J%C2%A3%20(noble%20family)%20in%20Chinese.%20There%20is%20a%20long%20biography%20of%20Sai-dien-ch'i%2C&f=false. Retrieved December 20 2011. "The conquests of Chinghiz and his successors had opened a highway of communication between the east and the west of Asia; and western people began to frequent the far east, and even to fettle there. The Mongol emperors patronized the colonization of China by foreigners; and with respect to the Mohammedans, it seems, that since Hulagu khan the brother of Mangu khan, ruled over western Asia, emigration from Persia to China had considerably increased. I think it not unlikely, that the Mohammedans now scattered over the whole of China proper, and forming large communities especially in the provinces of Kansu, Shansi and Chili, are for the greater part descendants of those Saracens mentioned by M. Polo in the same provinces. Kashid-eddin states, in his description of China (Yule's Cathay, p. 269), that in his time all the inhabitants of Karadjang (or Yunnan) were Mohammendans; and I feel tolerably certain also, that the Mohammedan power, which suddenly rose in the Chinese province of Yunnan, about ten years ago, may be traced back to the time of the Mongol emperors. 43. The Yuan-thi gives many biographies of distinguished Mohammedans in the service of the Mongols. A number of them occupied high offices. I may quote the names of the Hui-ho met with in the history of the Mongols, and notice occasionally some particulars from their biographies. In chap, cxxv, we find the biography of £ J" 
  4. ^ (Original from Harvard University )E. Bretschneider (1876). Notices of the mediæval geography and history of central and western Asia. LONDON : TRÜBNER & CO., 57 AND 59, LUDGATE HILL: Trübner & co.. p. 47. http://books.google.com/books?id=R98-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA48&lpg=PA48&dq=yunnan+governor+ding+na&source=bl&ots=ilMWmLtAYI&sig=x5LBkLdcX-vbSPhZtqXq2taZtKk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=fsb4Tpv_K8fd0QHx9-TKDw&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=descendant%20country%20meaning%20noble%20family%20biography&f=false. Retrieved December 20 2011. "The conquests of Chinghiz and his successors had opened a highway of communication between the east and the west of Asia; and western people began to frequent the far east, and even to settle there. The Mongol emperors patronized the colonization of China by foreigners; and with respect to the Mohammedans, it seems, that since Hulagu khan the brother of Mangu khan, ruled over western Asia, emigration from Persia to China had considerably increased. I think it not unlikely, that the Mohammedans now scattered over the whole of China proper, and forming large communities especially in the provinces of Kansu, Shansi and Chili,' are for the greater part descendants of those Saracens mentioned by M. Polo in the same provinces. Rashid-eddin states, in his description of China (Yule's Cathay, p. 269), that in his time all the inhabitants of Karadjang (or Yunnan) were Mohammendans; and I feel tolerably certain also, that the Mohammedan power, which suddenly rose in the Chinese province of Yunnan, about ten years ago, may be traced back to the time of the Mongol emperors. 43. The Yuan-shi gives many biographies of distinguished Mohammedans in the service of the Mongols. A number of them occupied high offices. I may quote the names of the Hui-ho met with in the history of the Mongols, and notice occasionally some particulars from their biographies. In chap. cxxv, we find the biography of" 
  5. ^ (Original from the University of Michigan ) Journal of the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Volume 10. NEW SERIES No. X.. SHANGHAI: Printed At The "CELESTIAL EMPIBE" Office 10-HANKOW BOAD—10.: Kelly & Walsh. 1876. p. 121. http://books.google.com/books?id=jOA5NxDIbfYC&pg=PA122&lpg=PA122&dq=yunnan+governor+ding+na&source=bl&ots=5XYg05BVTy&sig=Nvyn3OSzylA023rdDY-kfXWnbg0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=fsb4Tpv_K8fd0QHx9-TKDw&ved=0CEAQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=descendant%20meaning%20noble%20family%20biography&f=false. Retrieved December 20 2011. "The conquests of Chinghiz and his successors had opened a highway of communication between the east and the vest of Asia; and western people began to frequent the far east, and even to fettle there. The Mongol emperors patronized the colonization of China by foreigners; and with respect to the Mohammedans, it seems, that since Hulagu khan the brother of Mangu khan, ruled over western Asia, emigration from Persia to China had considerably increased. I think it not unlikely, that the Mohammedans now scattered over the whole of China proper, and forming large communities especially in the provinces of Kansu, Shansi and Chili, are for the greater part descendants of those Saracens mentioned by M. Polo in the same provinces. Rashid-eddin 6tates, in his description of China (Yule's Cathay, p. 269), that in his time all the inhabitants of Karadjang (or Yunnan) were Mohammendans; and I feel tolerably certain also, that the Mohammedan power, which suddenly rose in the Chinese province of Yunnan, about ten years ago, may be traced back to the time of the Mongol emperors. 43. The Yiian-thi gives many biographies of distinguished Mohammedans in the service of the Mongols. A number of them occupied high offices. I may quote the names of the Hui-ho met with in the history of the Mongols, and notice occasionally some particulars from their biographies. In chap, exxv, we find the biography of *£§ j8l jfe Jj" 
  6. ^ Arthur Evans Moule (1914). The Chinese people: a handbook on China .... LONDON : Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, Northumberland Avenue W.C. : 43 Queen Victoria Street. E.C.: Society for promoting Christian knowledge. p. 317. http://books.google.com/books?id=ZBYcQ5mnr34C&pg=PA317&dq=mosque+ningpo&hl=en&ei=VwrcTdTRPOLf0QG_7tC5Dw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAjgy#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 17th of July, 2011. "their Mosques at Ganfu (Canton) during the T'ang dynasty (a.d. 618—907) is certain, and later they spread to Ch'iian-chou and to Kan-p'u, Hangchow, and perhaps to Ningpo and Shanghai. These were not preaching or proselytising inroads, but commercial enterprises, and in the latter half of the eighth century there were Moslem troops in Shensi, 3,000 men, under Abu Giafar, coming to support the dethroned Emperor in A.d. 756. In the thirteenth century the influence of individual Moslems was immense, especially that of the Seyyid Edjell Shams ed-Din Omar, who served the Mongol Khans till his death in Yunnan A.d. 1279. His family still exists in Yunnan, and has taken a prominent part in Moslem affairs in China. The present Moslem element in China is most numerous in Yunnan and Kansu; and the most learned Moslems reside chiefly in Ssuch'uan, the majority of their books being printed in the capital city, Ch'eng-tu. Kansu is perhaps the most dominantly Mohammedan province in China, and here many different sects are found, and mosques with minarets used by the orthodox muezzin calling to prayer, and in one place veiled women are met with. These, however, are not Turks or Saracens, but for the most part pure Chinese. The total Moslem population is probably under 4,000,000, though other statistical estimates, always uncertain in China, vary from thirty to ten millions; but the figures given here are the most reliable at present obtainable, and when it is remembered that Islam in China has not been to any great extent a preaching or propagandist power by" (Original from Harvard University)
  7. ^ Dillon, Michael (1999). China's Muslim Hui community: migration, settlement and sects. Routledge. p. 22. ISBN 0700710264. http://books.google.com/books?id=hUEswLE4SWUC. 
  8. ^ Angela Schottenhammer (2008). Angela Schottenhammer. ed. The East Asian Mediterranean: Maritime Crossroads of Culture, Commerce and Human Migration. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 123. ISBN 3447058099. http://books.google.com/books?id=GSA_AaRdgioC&pg=PA123&dq=ming+empire,+patron+of+islam+in+china+and+southeast+and+west+asia&hl=en&ei=SszhTfraO8fg0QGR-_2HBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=ming%20empire%2C%20patron%20of%20islam%20in%20china%20and%20southeast%20and%20west%20asia&f=false. Retrieved 2010-06-28. 
  9. ^ Loa Iok-Sin / STAFF REPORTER (Sun, Aug 31, 2008). "FEATURE : Taisi Township re-engages its Muslim roots". Taipei Times: p. 4. http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2008/08/31/2003421916. Retrieved May 29, 2011. 
  10. ^ Michael Dillon (1999). China's Muslim Hui community: migration, settlement and sects. Richmond: Curzon Press. p. 23. ISBN 0700710264. http://books.google.com/books?id=BwuSpFiOFfYC&pg=PA22&dq=na+family+hui&hl=en&ei=QGHLTdz1Isjj0gHamKXWBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=sayyid%20ajall%20confucian%20temples%20education&f=false. Retrieved 2010-06-28. 
  11. ^ (Original from Harvard University)Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. North-China Branch (1876). Journal of the North-China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Volume 10. NEW SERIES No. X.. SHANGHAI: Printed At The "CELESTIAL EMPIBE" Office 10-HANKOW BOAD—10.: The Branch. p. 122. http://books.google.com/books?id=AH0uAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA122&lpg=PA122&dq=yunnan+governor+ding+na&source=bl&ots=wE5Mu6tPCM&sig=Ho-XAh5-wGXrm8p45XPgOT-MfjU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=fsb4Tpv_K8fd0QHx9-TKDw&ved=0CCEQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=yunnan%20governor%20ding%20na&f=false. Retrieved December 20 2011. "from which we learn that he submitted to Chinhiz when the latter waged war in western Asia, and entered his life-guard. Under Ogotai and Mangu khans he was governor, and held other offices. Kubilai khan appointed him minister (see also the list of the ministers, in the Yuan shi, chap. cxii). He died in Yunnan, where he had been governor. Five sons of Sai-dien-ch'i are mentioned, viz. ffli ~X Nasvrla-ding (Nasr-uddin), Bj^ ^ Hasan (Hassan), ^ Hu-sin (Hussein)," 
  12. ^ (Original from Harvard University )E. Bretschneider (1876). Notices of the mediæval geography and history of central and western Asia. LONDON : TRÜBNER & CO., 57 AND 59, LUDGATE HILL: Trübner & co.. p. 48. http://books.google.com/books?id=R98-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA48&lpg=PA48&dq=yunnan+governor+ding+na&source=bl&ots=ilMWmLtAYI&sig=x5LBkLdcX-vbSPhZtqXq2taZtKk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=fsb4Tpv_K8fd0QHx9-TKDw&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=yunnan%20governor%20ding%20na&f=false. Retrieved December 20 2011. "from which we learn that he submitted to Chinhiz when the latter waged war in western Asia, and entered his life-guard. Under Ogotai and Mangu khans he was governor, and held other offices. Kubilai khan appointed him minister (see also the list of the ministers, in the Yuan shi, chap. cxii). He died in Yunnan, where he had been governor. Five sons of Sai-dien-ch'i are mentioned, viz. 3^ jli ~T Na-su-to-dvy (Nasr-uddin), ^ Ha-san (Hassan), ^ ^Hu-sin(Hussein), H j$i ~J" 7G .3. Shan-su-ding wu-moli and jfo Ma-su-hu. All these held high offices. Na-su-la-ding has a separate biography in the same chapter. Ha was governor in Yunnan, and distinguished himself in the war with the southern tribes of 3jg g£ Kiad-chi (Cochin-china) and jgg Mien (Burma). He died in 1292, the father of twelve sons, the names of five of which are given in the biography, viz. fjjj" 
  13. ^ (Original from the University of Michigan ) Journal of the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Volume 10. NEW SERIES No. X.. SHANGHAI: Printed At The "CELESTIAL EMPIBE" Office 10-HANKOW BOAD—10.: Kelly & Walsh. 1876. p. 122. http://books.google.com/books?id=jOA5NxDIbfYC&pg=PA122&lpg=PA122&dq=yunnan+governor+ding+na&source=bl&ots=5XYg05BVTy&sig=Nvyn3OSzylA023rdDY-kfXWnbg0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=fsb4Tpv_K8fd0QHx9-TKDw&ved=0CEAQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=yunnan%20governor%20ding%20na&f=false. Retrieved December 20 2011. "from which we learn that he submitted to Chinhiz when the latter waged war in western Asia, and entered his life-guard. Under Ogotai and Mangu khans he was governor, and held other offices. Kubilal khan appointed him minister (see also the list of the ministers, in the Yiian shi, chap. cxii). He died in Yunnan, where he had been governor. Five sons of Sai-dien-ch'i are mentioned, viz. j£ ^'J T NarSUrlarding (Nasr-uddin), Vfe ^ Hasan (Hassan), j^J Hu-sin (Hussein), f" 
  14. ^ Shih-Shan Henry Tsai: Perpetual Happiness: The Ming Emperor Yongle. Washington Press 2002, p. 38 (restricted online copy at Google Books)

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