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Qocho

843–1353 Uyghur kingdom in modern Xinjiang, China

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Through Turkic peoples

History

In 843, a group of Uyghurs migrated southward under the leadership of Pangtele, and occupied Karasahr and Kucha, taking them from the Tibetan Empire.

In 856, this group of Uyghurs received royal recognition from the Tang dynasty. At this time, their capital was in Karasahr (Yanqi).

The land of the Uighurs is very large, so large that to the west it appears boundless. In the fourth and fifth months, all vegetation dries up as if it were winter. The mountains are snow-covered even in summer. When the sun rises it becomes hot, but as soon as it sets, it grows cold. Even in the sixth lunar month (i.e., the peak of summer), people must use wadded coverlets to sleep. It does not rain in summer. The rain only starts to fall in autumn, and then the vegetation begins to sprout. Come winter, the rivers and plains are like our spring, with flowers in full bloom.

— Wugusun Zhongduan

In 866, Pugu Jun declared himself khan and adopted the title of idiqut. The Kingdom of Qocho captured Xizhou (Gaochang), Tingzhou (Beshbalik, or Beiting), Changbaliq (near Ürümqi) and Luntai (Bugur) from the Guiyi Circuit. The Uyghur capital was moved to Xizhou, which the Uyghurs called Idiqutshari. Beshbalik became their summer residence.

On the southern end of the Altai Mountains is a city of the Uighurs, called Bieshiba (Beshbaliq). There is a Tang-era stele there that identifies it as the former Vast Sea (Hanhai) Military Prefecture. The Vast Sea is several hundred li northwest of this city. In that sea is a small island covered with feathers shed by birds. Over two hundred li west of this city is the county of Luntai, which also has a Tang-era stele. Five hundred li south of this city (Beshbaliq) is Hezhou (Qocho), known as Gaochang in the Tang. It is also known as Yizhou. Three to four thousand li west of Gaochang is the city of Wuduan (Khotan), which was known as the kingdom of Yutian in the Tang. The two rivers that produce black and white jade are located there.

— Yelü Chucai

In 869 and 870, the Kingdom of Qocho attacked the Guiyi Circuit but was repelled. In 876, the Kingdom of Qocho seized Yizhou from the Guiyi Circuit. In 880, Qocho attacked Shazhou (Dunhuang) but was repelled. By 887, they were settled under an agrarian lifestyle in Qocho.

In 904, Zhang Chengfeng of the Guiyi Circuit (later renamed Jinshan Kingdom) attacked Qocho and seized Yizhou (Hami/Kumul) and Xizhou (Gaochang). This occupation ended after the Jinshan Kingdom's loss to the Ganzhou Uyghur Kingdom in 911. In 954, Ilig Bilgä Tengri rose to power. In 981, Arslan Bilgä Tengri ilig rose to power. From 981, the Idiqut of Qocho sent tribute missions to the Song dynasty under the title "Nephew Lion King Arslan Khan of the West Prefecture." The addition of the title "Nephew" (外甥) was intended as a show of sincerity to the Han people of the Central Plains, as "nephew" referred to the traditional relationship between the Uyghur Khans and the previous Tang dynasty, who referred to each other as uncle and nephew. Meanwhile, West Prefecture (西州) referred to Qocho's designation under Tang administration. In 984, Arslan Bilgä Tengri ilig became Süngülüg Khagan. In the same year, a Song Chinese envoy reached Qocho and gave an account of the city:

There is no rain or snow here and it is extremely hot. Each year at the hottest time, the inhabitants dig holes in the ground to live in ... The earth here produces all the five grains except buckwheat. The nobility eat horseflesh, while the rest eat mutton, wild ducks and geese. Their music is largely played on the pipa and harp. They produce sables, fine white cotton cloth, and an embroidered cloth made from flower stamens. By custom they enjoy horseback riding and archery ... They use the [Tang] calendar produced in the seventh year of the Kaiyuan reign (719). They fashion pipes of silver or brass and channel flowing water to shoot at each other; or they sprinkle water on each other as a game, which they call pressing out the sun's heat to chase off sickness. They like to take walks, and the strollers always carry a musical instrument with them. There are over fifty Buddhist temples here, the names inscribed over their gates all presented by the Tang court. The temples house copies of the Buddhist scriptures (da zang jing) and the dictionaries Tang yun, Yupian and Jingyun. On spring nights the locals pass the time milling about between the temples. There's an "Imperial Writings Tower' which houses edicts written by the Tang emperor Taizong kept carefully secured. There's also a Manichaean temple, with Persian monks who keep their own religious law and call the Buddhist scriptures the 'foreign Way' ... In this land there are no poor people; anyone short of food is given public aid. People live to an advanced age, generally over one hundred years. No one dies young.

In 996, Bügü Bilgä Tengri ilig succeeded Süngülüg Khagan.

In 1007, Alp Arsla Qutlugh Kül Bilgä Tengri Khan succeeded Bügü Bilgä Tengri ilig. In 1008, Manichaean temples were converted to Buddhist temples. In 1024, Kül Bilgä Tengri Khan succeeded Alp Arsla Qutlugh Kül Bilgä Tengri Khan. In 1068, Tengri Bügü il Bilgä Arslan Tengri Uighur Tärkän succeeded Kül Bilgä Tengri Khan. By 1096, Qocho had lost Aksu, Tumshuk, and Kucha to the Kara-Khanid Khanate.

In 1123, Bilgä rose to power. He was succeeded by Yur Temur at some point. In 1128, the Kingdom of Qocho became a vassal of the Qara Khitai.

In 1128, during the reign of Bilge Tekin, the Uighur Kingdom became a vassal state of the Western Liao established by the Khitan. Originally the Western Liao exercised only a loose control over the Uighur state, but soon started to extort excessive taxes and levies in the Uighur lands. In 1209, the Uighur Iduq-qut ("Lord of happiness") Barchuk Art Tegin ordered the death of the Khitan magistrate (shangjian) in an attempt to free his people from the rule of the Western Liao. It just so happened that Chinggis Khan's envoys arrived at this juncture, and fearing retaliation from the Liao, he immediately sent envoys to Mongolia to express his willingness to acknowledge allegiance to Chinggis in exchange from protection.

— George Qingzhi Zhao

In 1209, the Kingdom of Qocho became a vassal of the Mongol Empire.

I must, however, point out that, although Chinggis Khan adopted the ruler of the Uighur state Barchukh Art Tegin as his "fifth son", the Uighur state never became the "fifth khanate", as has been suggested by some scholars. The Uighur state was not independent, but was part of the Mongol empire. During the early Yuan dynasty, at least before the Princes' rebellions, the Yuan central government exercised a tight control over the Uighur state. Although the Mongol royal family maintained a marriage relationship with the Uighur Idu-qut family for almost a century, the women who were married into Uighurstan were not the daughters of the Yuan emperors, but were mostly descendants of Ogedei Khan who had lost the throne to the descendants of Tolui, his younger brother. At the same time, although the Mongol royal family continued to marry their Princesses to the Uighur Iduqut, not a single one of the Mongol Khans or Yuan Emperors married a Uighur Princess.

— George Qingzhi Zhao

In 1229, Barčuq Art iduq-qut succeeded Yur Temur. In, 1242 Kesmez iduq-qut succeeded Barčuq Art iduq-qut. In 1246, Salïndï Tigin iduq-qut succeeded Kesmez iduq-qut. In 1253, Ögrünch Tigin iduq-qut succeeded Salïndï Tigin iduq-qut. In 1257, Mamuraq Tigin iduq-qut succeeded Ögrünch Tigin iduq-qut, who was executed for supporting the Ogodeid branch of the Genghisid family. In 1266, Qosqar Tigin iduq-qut succeeded Mamuraq Tigin iduq-qut. In 1280, Negüril Tigin iduq-qut succeeded Qosqar Tigin iduq-qut.

In 1318, Negüril Tigin iduq-qut died. Later, the Kingdom of Qocho became part of the Chagatai Khanate. In 1322, Tämir Buqa iduq-qut rose to power. In 1330, Senggi iduq-qut succeeded Tämir Buqa iduq-qut. In 1332, Taipindu iduq-qut succeeded Senggi iduq-qut. In 1352, Ching Timür iduq-qut succeeded Taipindu iduq-qut and was the last known ruler governor of the kingdom. By the 1370s, the Kingdom of Qocho ceased to exist.

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