Part 1 (1/2)

The Life of Yakoob Beg

by De account of the life of Yakoob Beg ritten with a twofold intention In the first place, it attempts to trace the career of a soldier of fortune, ithout birth, power, or even any great aenius, constructed an independent rule in Central Asia, andthe space of twelve years

The name of the Athalik Ghazi becaerated by popular report, that those who coes with a belief that their hero will be lauded to the skies eous aria was in the highest degree creditable; but he was no Timour or Babur His internal policy was marred by his severity, and the system of terrorism that he principally adopted; and his external policy, bold and audacious as it often as enfeebled by periods of vacillation and doubt Yet his career was truly remarkable He was not the arbiter of the destinies of Central Asia, nor was he even the consistent opponent of Russian claims to supremacy therein He was essentially of the co the weaknesses and the fears of ordinary men The Badaulet, or ”the fortunate one,” as he was called, was essentially indebted to good fortune in many crises of his career He cannot, in any sense, be coiants produced by Central Asia in days of old; and ahanistan probably should rank as high as he does Yet he gives an individuality to the history of Kashgar that it would otherwise lack The recent triulish, the hero they had erected in the country north of Cashes strive to bring before the English reader the greatpower; and this object is really the more important of the two It is absolutely necessary for this country to remember that there are only three Great Powers in Asia, and of these China is in land and Russia are sioverning country China's rule in Eastern Turkestan and Jungaria is one of the es in the history of modern Asia, yet it ave an interest to the consideration of the Chinese in Central Asia that that theht otherwise have failed to supply The authorities used in the coes have been erected are principally and above all the official Report of Sir Douglas Forsyth, and the files of the _Tashkent_ and _Pekin Gazettes_ since the beginning of 1874 Mr Shaw's ar,” and Gregorieff's work on ”Eastern Turkestan,” have also been consulted in various portions of the narrative A vast mass of newspaper articles have likewise been laid under contribution for details which have not been noticed anywhere else

In conclusion, the author would ask the English reader to consider very carefully what the true lesson of Chinese valour and statesmanshi+p uiding power in every Indian border question, from Siam and Birma to Cashmere Mr

Schuyler's ”Turkestan,” which stillwork on Central Asia, although not treating on the affairs of Kashgar, has been frequently referred to for the course of affairs in Khokand; but, in the main, Dr Bellew's historical narrative in Sir D Forsyth's Report has been followed

YAKOOB BEG

CHAPTER I

GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF KASHGAR

The state of Kashgar, which comprises the western portion of Eastern or Chinese Turkestan, has been defined as being bounded on the north by Siberia, on the south by the mountains of Cashmere, on the east by the Great Desert of Gobi, and on the west by the steppe of ”High Pamere”

This description, while sufficiently correct for general speaking, adth with that country Strictly, the naar applies only to the city, and it was not until after the time of Marco Polo, when it was the ion, that it beca country The correct name is either Little Bokhara or Eastern Turkestan, and the Chinese call it Sule Recent writers have styled the territory of the Athalik Ghazi Kashgaria It certainly extended through a larger portion of Chinese Turkestan than did any past native rule in Kashgar, the Chinese of course excepted The definition given above of the liar states that on the north it is bounded by Siberia, but this is erroneous, for the extensive territory of Jungaria or Mugholistan intervenes Jungaria under the Chinese was known as Ili from its capital, and now under the Russians is spoken of as Kuldja, another name for the same city This very extensive and iovernion from their head-quarters at Ili; but in the final settlement after the disruption of the Chinese power in 1863, while Kashgar fell to the Khoja Buzurg Khan, and the eastern portion of Jungaria, together with the cities of Kucha, Karashar, and Turfan south of the Tian Shan range, to the Tungani; Kuldja or Ili was occupied by the Russians The frontier line between Kuldja and Kashgar is very clearly marked by the Tian Shan, and the same effectual barrier divides the continent into tell-defined divisions from Aksu to Turfan and beyond Eastern Turkestan is, therefore, bounded on the north by the Tian Shan, and on the south the Karakoram Mountains form a no less satisfactory bulwark between it and Kohistan and Cashmerian Tibet As has been said, on the west the steppe of Pamir and on the east the desert of Gobi present distinct and secure defences against aggression from without in those directions There are few states in Asia with a more clearlyNature seems to have formed it to lead an isolated and independent existence, happy and prosperous in its own resources and careless of the outer world; but its history has been of a more troubled character, and at only brief intervals has its natural wealth been so fostered as to make it that which it has been called, ”the Garden of Asia” This condition of al centuries, has left many visibleis this ion which contains at the most hest authorities to contain less than 1,000,000 inhabitants In breadth Kashgaria itude E 73 to 89, and in width froar has been always considered to have reached only to Aksu, a town about 300 ar

When the Chinese about fifty years ago conceded certain trade privileges to Khokand, they were not to have effect east of Aksu; this fact seenized liar The capital of this district, which at one tidom under a native ruler, at another a tributary of soles of his effete successors, and at a third time a subject province of the Chinese, has fluctuated as much as the fortunes of the state itself Now it has been Yarkand, now Kashgar, and yet again, on several occasions, Aksu The clai run, for, although Yarkand is still the larger city, Yakoob Beg established his capital at Kashgar, and hout the whole of Asia by the ar is situated in a plain in the north of the province, and the small river on which it is built is known as the Kizil Su Immediately beyond it the country becomes hilly and mountainous, until in the far distance may be seen the snow-clad peaks of the Tian Shan, and the Aksai Plateau Although the population is barely 30,000, there is now an air of brisker activity in the bazaars and caravanserais of this capital than in any other city in the country The trade carried on with Russia in recent years has given some life to the place; but few, if any, merchants proceed more inland than this, whether they come from Khokand or from Kuldja The town stretches on both sides of the river, which is crossed by a wooden bridge; but there are no buildings of any pretensions for external beauty or internal coy Shahr, five loos within each other; the outer ones are occupied by the household troops and by the court officials, and the inner one of all is set apart for the family and _serai_ of the ruler himself In connection with this is a hall of audience, in which he receives in soleners as it seear used to be a strongly fortified position, but the only reth are the ruins which are strewn freely all around Kashgar is, therefore, an open and quite defenceless town, and lies co the high road from Aksu or Bartchuk, or across the y Shahr, about fivefort, where he deposited all his treasure, and this ar as well as the residence of the ruler Yangy Shahr means new city, and as a fortification erected by a Central Asian potentate with very limited means, it must be considered to be a very creditable piece of military workmanshi+p The Andijanis or Khokandian merchants who have at various times settled here, form a very important class in this town in particular, and it was they who more than any one else contributed to the success of the invasion of Buzurg Khan and Mahomed Yakoob It is, however, said that these merchant classes had becos, whether because Yakoob Beg did not fulfil all his proar under its late rule was not restored to that prosperous condition which excited the ad Tsang, before hi as any other city in either Turkestan, while life and property were a great deal more secure than in some we could mention

Situated about half-way on the road to Yarkand is Yangy Hissar, a tohich has always been of importance both as a reatly fallen into decay, however, but still possesses a certain a a hbouring country

Yarkand, about eighty miles as the crow flies, and 120 by road, to the south-east of Kashgar, is still the most populous of all the cities of Eastern Turkestan It lies in the open plain on the Yarkand river, and its walls, four reatness Under the Chinese it was quite the las Forsyth esti country has nearly 200,000 ardens and orchards, which extend in a wide belt round it, give an air of peculiar prosperity to the country, and quite possibly induce travellers to take a too sanguine view of the resources of the country In addition to the abundance of fruit and grain produce that is brought into the city for sale, there is a large and profitable business carried on in leather Yarkand has almost a reat indeed The Ae quantities yearly for his army, for, in addition to that required for boots and saddles, ih Yarkand is the chief h its population is thriving and energetic, there is a general _consensus_ of opinion that it has become much less prosperous and much overnar, and the disappearance of Chinese ent merchant of the town replied as follows to questions put to him, as to the Chinese and native rulers, and it will be seen that it was especially favourable to the claims of the Chinese as the betterto the life and activity there was in the time of the Khitay To-day the peasantry cos, with their cotton and yarn, or with their sheep and cattle and horses for sale, and they go back with printed cotton, a fur cap, or city made boots, or whatever doood dinner inside theoods till next week's o out with a small venture in the interireat day is market-day in town It was very different in the Khitay tiht and sold every day, and market-day was a much jollier time There was no Kazi Rais, with his six Muhtasib, ar people off to prayer, and drive the women out of the streets, and nobody was bastinadoed for drinking spirits and eating forbidden meats There were mimics and acrobats, and fortune-tellers and story-tellers, who st the crowd and diverted the people There were flags and banners and all sorts of pictures floating at the shop fronts; and there was the _jallab_, who painted her face and decked herself in silks and laces to please her custo to a question whether the morals were not more depraved under this system than under the strict Mahomedan rule of the Athalik Ghazi, the same witness went on to say--”Yes, perhaps so There were et drunk and have their pockets picked But so they do now, though not so publicly, because we are under Islaraphic piece of evidence gives a clearer picture of the two systeraphs of explanatory writing; and, to return to the immediate subject before us, it shows that Yarkand has deteriorated in wealth and population since the Chinese were expelled froo

Khoten is situated 150 miles south-east of Yarkand, and about ninety miles due east of Sanju It lies on the northern base of the Kuen Lun Mountains, and is the aria

Under the Chinese, it was one of thecentres of industry, and as the _entrepot_ of all trade with Tibet it held a bustling active community The Chinese called it Houtan, and even now it is locally called Ilchi In addition to the wool and gold iold e, and idely celebrated for its musk, silk, and jade It likewise has suffered froy and wealth of that extraordinary people have found, in the case of this city also, a very inadequate substitute in the strict

Ush Turfan, New Turfan, is a sar to Aksu, and is not to be confounded with the better known Turfan which is situated in the far east on the highway to Kansuh This latter town is called Kuhna Turfan, or Old Turfan, to distinguish it fro been a place of the first ie from its position on the road followed by the Chinese caravans, and Yakoob Beg converted it into a strongseveral forts there

Aksu, one of the old capitals of Kashgar, h it has, perhaps, more than any other declined since the expulsion of the Khitay Before that event took place there was a road across the lacier, and relays ofthis delicately constructed road in a state fit for passage both on foot and mounted But all this has been discontinued for many years now, and not only is the road quite impassable, but it would require much labour and hbourhood of this town there are rich mines of lead, copper, and sulphur These have, practically speaking, been untouched in recent years Coal is also the ordinary fuel aence as well as in worldly prosperity, the good people of Aksu used to be entitled to a foreari As a consequence of the blocking up of the Muzart Pass, the old trade with Kuldja has completely disappeared, and all communications with this Russian province are now carried on by the Naryar, but is a decided loss to Aksu Aksu may still justly rank as an iain all the ground it has lost In conclusion, wehas converted its old walls and castles into fortifications, which are said to be capable of resisting the fire of ar, Yangy Hissar, Yarkand, Khoten, Ush Turfan, and Aksu--and these constitute the territory of Kashgar proper At one time, indeed, it was called Alty Shahr, or six cities, from this fact In addition to these an, in the extreme south-west, which is principally of ihanistan Near Sirikul are Badakshan and Wakhan, and it has been asserted that Shere Ali, of Afghanistan, vieith a suspicious eye the presence of Kashgar in this quarter It is quite certain that he would not have tolerated that further advance along the Pa seemed on several occasions inclined to hil Pass, and has consequently been often mentioned in recent accounts of this road to India

Maralbashi+, or Bartchuk, a ically i placed at the junction of the roads froar and Yarkand, which lead by the bed of the Yarkand river to Kucha But it possesses greater interest for us, as being the chief town of the district inhabited by the extraordinary tribe of the Dolans