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Khoja orKhwaja (Kazakh:қожа;Kyrgyz:кожо;Uyghur:خوجا;Persian:خواجه;Tajik:хӯҷа;Uzbek:xo'ja;Chinese:和卓;pinyin:hézhuó), a Persian word literally meaning 'master' or ‘lord’, was used inCentral Asia as a title of the descendants of the noted Central AsianNaqshbandiSufi teacher,Ahmad Kasani (1461–1542) or others in the Naqshbandi intellectual lineage prior to Baha al-din Naqshband. The most powerful religious figure in the late Timurid era was the NaqshbandiShaykhKhwaja Ahrar.[1] The Khojas often were appointed as administrators by Mongol rulers in theAltishahr or present-day region ofTarim Basin inXinjiang,China.
The Khojas of Altishahr claimed to beSayyids (descendants ofMuhammad) and they are still regarded as such by the fraternity people of Altishahr. Although Ahmad Kasani himself, known asMakhdūm-i-Azam or "Great Master" to his followers, never visited Altishahr (today's Tarim Basin), many of his descendants, known asMakhdūmzādas and bearing the titleKhoja (properly written and pronouncedKhwaja) played important parts in the region's politics from the 17th to 19th centuries.
On the death of Aḥmad Kāsānī, a division took place among the Khojas which resulted in one party becoming followers of the Makhdum's elder son Khoja Muhammad Amin better known as Ishan-i-Kalan and another attaching themselves to his younger son Khoja Muhammad Ishaq Wali. The followers of Ishan-i-Kalan seem to have acquired the name ofAq Taghliqs orWhite mountaineers and that of IshaqQara Taghliqs orBlack mountaineers but these names had no reference to the localities where their adherents lived. All were inhabitants of the lowlands and cities of Eastern Turkistan but each section made allies among theKyrgyz of the neighboring mountains and apparently subsidized them in their internecine battles. The Kyrgyz tribes of the WesternTian Shan ranges lying to the north ofKashghar were known as theWhite mountaineers and the Kyrgyz tribes of thePamir,Karakoram andKunlun as the Black mountaineers withYarkand as their main city of influence, such that the Khojas came to assume the designations of their Kyrgyz allies.
TheChagatai languageTadhkirah i Khwajagan (aTadhkirah) was written by M. Sadiq Kashghari.[2]
Note: The following list is incomplete and, at times, possibly slightly inaccurate. It also excludes several collateral lines that ruled over minor territories and were relatively unimportant.
| Aq Taghliq(The White Mountaineers) | Qara Taghliq(The Black Mountaineers) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Khoja خواجہ Makhdum-i-Azam(The Great Master) مخدوم اعظم Makhdum-i-Nura(The Great Light) Hazrat Khoja Khavand Mahmud Shihab-ud-din حضرت خواجہ خاوند محمود شہاب الدین Ahmad Kasani ? ? – 1542 C.E. | ||||
| Ishan-i-Kalān ایشان کلاں Khoja Muhammad Amin محمد امین | Khoja Muhammad Ishaq Wali محمد اسحاق ولی ? – 1599 C.E. | |||
| Khoja Muhammad Yusuf محمد یوسف ?C.E. | Khoja Shadi | |||
| Afaq Khoja(Master of Horizons) آفاق خواجہ Khoja Hidāyatullah هداية اللہ ? – 1693/94 C.E. | Khoja Ubaydullah (Khoja Abdullah?) | |||
| TheZunghar Khanate underGaldan Boshugtu Khan had in 1680 conquered the Tarim Basin and allowed the Khojas administrative hold over the region beginning withAfaq Khoja. | ||||
| Afaq Khoja(Master of Horizons) آفاق خواجہ Khoja Hidāyatullah هداية اللہ ? – 1693/94 C.E. | ||||
| Khan Khojan خان خواجہ جان Khoja Yahya خواجہ یحیی ? – 1693/94 C.E. | Khoja Daniyal خواجہ دانیال | |||
| Khoja Akbash خواجہ اکباش | ||||
| Khoja Ahmed خواجہ احمد | ||||
| Khoja Daniyal خواجہ دانیال TheZunghar Khanate underTsewang Arabtan had in 1720 C.E. appointedKhoja Daniyal as administrator ofAltishahr (or the Six Cities) but withOirat overseers, thus making theQara Taghliq as overall masters. 1720 – 1754 C.E. | ||||
| TheZunghar Khanate underGaldan Tseren divided the Altishahr region, after the death ofKhoja Daniyal, among his sons, again with Oirat overseers. ThusYarkand went to Khoja Chagan;Aqsu went to Khoja Ayub;Khotan went to Khoja Abdullah; and the main cityKashgar went toKhoja Yusuf since his mother was an Oirat Noyan. | ||||
| Khoja Yusuf خواجہ یوسف He would unite his brothers and the cities after an attempt was made on his life and his brother Khoja Chagan was kidnapped and imprisoned by the Oirats and chiefs of the cities who were against the authority of the Khojas. Yusuf was successful and in 1754–55 C.E. he freed the territory ofZunghar Khanate's hold. 1754 – 1757 C.E. | ||||
| TheZunghar Khanate underAmarsana devised a plan to replace theQara Taghliqs withAq Taghliqs. He brought back the exiled sons ofKhoja Ahmed from Irin Khabirghan on the head waters of theIla river to the east ofGhulja. They wereKhoja Burhan-ud-din andKhan Khoja. Khan Khoja was kept as hostage whereasKhoja Burhan-ud-din was sent with Oirat, Chinese and Turks to re-conquer the Altishahr which was achieved in 1758 C.E. | ||||
| Khoja Burhan-ud-din خواجہ برهان الدین He along with his brother Khan Khoja rebelled against their Oirat and subsequentlyQing dynasty Chinese overlords. But were eventually driven out of the region toBadakhshan where the ruler Sultan Shah killed them both. Kashghar was annexed as an integral part of the Chinese Empire under the Provincial Governor ofIli (region aroundIli River). In this war four of the sons of the Aq Taghliq family were killed in fight and two were taken prisoners to Beijing for execution there. Only one son of Khoja Burhan-ud-din escaped; His name wasKhoja Sa'adat Ali commonly calledSarimsak. He had escaped toKhanate of Kokand. He had three sons there;Yusuf Khoja who lived atBukhara then there wasBahauddin and lastlyJahangir Khoja who would raise a rebellion against the Chinese in 1825 C.E. 1758 C.E. | ||||
| TheQing dynasty to consolidate their authority in this western province of their Empire in 1764 C.E. builtHoi Yuan Chen on theIli River and re-settledOirats in theDzungharia region, which had been depopulated by the massacre of half a million people by Chinese emigrants and exiles fromGansu, along withSibo Solon andDaur colonists as well as aManchu garrison of soldiers of theGreen Dragon standard. In theIli district seven thousand Muslim families were reduced to serfdom as tillers of the soil while the remnant of theOirats were granted roaming tracts in their former locale. TheGeneral of Ili, essentially a Viceroy with three Lieutenants atIli,Turbaghatai andKashghar, was in overall control but the details of local government were left to be administered as before by Muslim officers. However, Chinese garrisons were located in the principal cities with outposts established on the frontiers and at post stages built on all the main routes for quick communication. These moves allowed the Chinese to secure their conquest. This success of the Chinese arms alarmed the Islam polity all over Central Asia although the border Chiefs immediately under their influence professed vassalage to the Chinese Emperor. In 1766,Abul-Mansur Khan of theMiddle Horde submitted to theQianlong Emperor and was granted the title ofPrince.Nur Ali Beg (r.1748–1786) of theLittle Horde in a token of submission sent envoys to Beijing, while in 1758,Irdana Beg of theKhanate of Kokand and then his successorNarbuta Beg recognized the protectorate of China. The rest of Central Asia was panic struck by the establishment of Chinese rule on their frontiers. In 1762 Chinese mandarins with an escort of a hundred and thirty men went to Abul-Mansur Khan and demanded horses and supplies for an army to invadeTurkistan andSamarqand in the spring. As a result,Irdana Beg of theKhanate of Kokand andFazl Beg ofKhujand and the independentKyrgyz Chiefs sent envoys to seek aid from theDurrani Empire of the Afghans who were at this time the most powerful nation of the East besides China.Ahmad Shah Durrani sent a force of Afghans to protect the frontier betweenTashkent andKokand. At the same time he sent an embassy direct to Beijing to demand the restitution of the Muslim States of Eastern Turkistan. Meanwhile, in 1765 the people of Ush-Turfan forestalling the Muslims aid reckoned on, rose in revolt but the rebellion was at once quelled by a massacre of the citizens and the complete destruction of the town. The Afghan deputation was not well received at the Chinese capital andAhmad Shah Durrani was at the time too much engaged against theSikhs to turn his attention in this direction; And the Chinese on their side were deterred from further conquest in the helpless States of Central Asia to the west by the presence of anAfghan army of fifteen thousand men inBadakhshan sent there to ravage the country and execute the King Sultan Shah in revenge for his murder of the two refugee Khojas in 1760. The Chinese brought under subjection, however, theKyrgyz on the north west and yearly sent a force fromKashghar andTurbaghatai accompanied by Chinese traders for barter to collect the annual revenue of 1% of horses and cattle and one per mille of sheep in return for the privilege of pasturing on the steppe betweenLake Balkash and theAlatagh. Thus Chinese rule remained undisturbed till 1816 C.E. | ||||
| Khoja Zia-ud-din Akhund خواجہ ضیاء الدین آخوند He was fromTashmalik orTashbaligh akastone town to the west ofKashghar. He rebelled and with a party ofKyrgyz raided the Chinese outposts. He was soon captured and executed but his sonAshraf Beg carried on the war till he shared the same fate. His young brother, however, was sent to Beijing where he was executed on attaining full age. 1816 C.E. | ||||
| Qing dynasty ruled without disturbance again till 1825 C.E. | ||||
| Jahangir Khoja خواجہ جہانگیر Syed Jahangir Sultan سید جہانگیر سلطان With the help of hisKhanate of Kokand andKyrgyz allies he tookKashgar in 1825.On the fall of Kashghar the people ofYangihissar,Yarkand andKhotan rose simultaneously and massacring the Chinese everywhere razed their forts and joined the service of the Khoja. But the Khoja immediately ran into trouble with his allies fromKhanate of Kokand and they began to fight amongst themselves. By September, 1827, the Chinese collected inAksu an army of 70,000, under command of military governor of Ili,Chang Ling, and in January, 1828, moved against Jahangir Khoja. He was defeated at theBattle of Yangabad and fled in despair till his ownKyrgyz allies fearing the Chinese, handed him over to them. He was taken to China andDaoguang Emperor was pleased of the Chinese success had the Khoja first tortured and then executed. The Chinese recovering possession of the revolted cities re-established their authority by numerous executions and tortures and confiscations and by the transportation of twelve thousand Muslim families fromKashghar region toGhulja where they were settled as serfs under the name ofTaranchi orthose who sweat i.e. laborers. 1825 – 1828 C.E. | ||||
| Qing dynasty rule restored. | ||||
| Yusuf Khoja خواجہ یوسف Muhammad Ali Khan, the Khan of Kokand had recently annexedKyrgyz territories and now decided in 1829 to attack the Chinese. For this purpose he invitedYusuf Khoja the elder brother ofJahangir Khoja fromBukhara and set him on the throne of his ancestors. Yusuf took the field in September 1830 with a force of 20,000 men mostlyAndijan andTashkent troops with someKaratigin levies andKashghar refugees all under the command ofMingbashiHaq Quli Beg, a brother in law of Muhammad Ali Khan. The Chinese with 3,000 men advanced to oppose them but were defeated atMingyol and the invaders pushing on seizedKashghar where Yusuf was at once set on the throne.Yangihissar, Yarkand,Khotan and Aksu up to theMuzart Pass quickly fell into his possession and the Chinese as before were everywhere massacred while the arrival of their troops fromGhulja was delayed for want of carriage. This advance of the Kokand army roused the hostility ofEmirate of Bukhara against Andijan and Muhammad Ali Khan to avert the attack threatened byNasr-Allah Khan bin Haydar Tora at once recalled his GeneralHaq Quli Beg and Yusuf unable to hold his position unsupported amongst the fickle Muslims of Kashghar returned with him in November or December after a rule of only ninety days. 1830 C.E. | ||||
| Qing dynasty changed its policy in the region due to the rising influence and power of theKhanate of Kokand underMuhammad Ali Khan and practically gave up control of the trade and certain revenues of the region in a treaty to him in 1831–32 C.E. On his partMuhammad Ali Khan was to restrain the Khojas and he consequently strictly watched their movements. | ||||
| Zuhur-ud-din ظہور الدین 1832 – 1846 C.E. | ||||
| Revolt of Haft Khojajan (Revolt of the Seven Khojas) It was conducted by that number of the members of the Aq Taghliqs. The eldest of these wasEhsan Khan Khoja commonly calledKatta Tora orGreat Lord and amongst the others wereKhoja Buzurg Khan,Khoja Wali Khan,Khoja Kichik Khan andKhoja Tawakkul Khan all of whom subsequently figured in the conquest of the country byYaqub Beg Atalik Ghazi. 1846 C.E. | ||||
| Eshan Khan Khoja خواجہ ایشان خان Katta Tora now assumed the government inKashghar and appointed the others to the surrounding towns and settlements. He and his kinsmen began to pillage the houses of the government officials appointed by the Chinese and seizing their wives and daughters to stock their harems at once abandoned themselves to a course of unbridled licentiousness and debauchery their troops the while besieging the Chinese garrison shut up in theMangshin. But within 75 days the Chinese arrived and defeated the Khojas at theBattle of Kok Rabat. 1846 C.E. | ||||
| Qing dynasty rule restored. | ||||
| Ahmed Wang احمد وانگ 1846 – 1857 C.E. | ||||
| Khoja Wali Khan خواجہ ولی خان During 1855–56Khoja Wali Khan and his brotherKhoja Kichik Khan made several attempts to invadeKashghar but on each occasion were repulsed at the frontier pickets owing to their numerical weakness. In the spring on 16 May 1857, however,Khoja Wali Khan after performing the prayers ofRamadan set out fromKokand with seven Kashghar emissaries and a small band of trusty adherents to carry out a preconcerted enterprise against the Chinese. They arrived at theOcsalar Fort belonging to Kokand on the Ush-Turfan and Kashghar road at night and surprising the little garrison killed the commandant and won over the soldiers to join the Khoja. Gradually his ranks swelled. At the same time some scouts sent out by the Chinese were captured and brought to Wali Khan who inaugurated his bloody career by at once striking off their heads with his own hand. He then pushed on and crossing theKizil ford surprised the picket there as they slumbered under the effects of their opium pipes and slew every soul of them and at dawn appeared before theKum Darwaza orSand Gate on the south side of the city ofKashgar. He took the city and was welcomed asBuzurg Khan Tora. In the confusion Ahmad Wang the Muslim governor on the part of the Chinese with a few others escaped by the opposite gate and took refuge in theMangshin orYangishahr with the Chinese garrison. He began to consolidate his rule and sent commanders to take remaining Chinese forts. But the Chinese relief force rescued the besieged and recovered lost territories forcing Wali Khan to flee but was captured and brought beforeMuhammad Khudayar Khan, the Khan of Kokand. And thus after a rule of only a 115 days in September, 1857 ended the last of the Khoja revolts. May – September 1857 C.E. | ||||
| Qing dynasty rule restored until 1865 whenYaqub Beg became commander-in-chief of the army of theKokand Khanate. Taking advantage of theHui Uprising in western China, he capturedKashgar andYarkand from the Chinese and gradually took control of most of the region, includingAqsu, Kucha, and other cities in 1867. He made himself the ruler ofKashgaria with its capital in Kashgar. At about this time he received the title ofAtalik Ghazi. | ||||