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The Chain Madrasa (Zıncırlı Medrese) was built in 1500 by order of the Crimean Khan Meñli I Giray. The name of the madrasa comes from the Turkic word "Zyngyr," which means "chain." A chain hangs above the main gate of the madrasa, so everyone who enters has to lower their head. The madrasa is rectangular with a central courtyard, an entrance on one side, and 11 rooms on the other three sides. At the time, the madrasa taught Turkish and Arabic grammar, calligraphy, arithmetic, ethics, logic, proof theory, fiqh, or Islamic law, theology, and hadith studies. The full course of study took ten years.

In 1909, influenced by the Crimean Tatar Enlightenment movement, Gasprinski built a new two-story madrasa next to the old one. The madrasa closed in 1917 and became the Meñli Giray Research Institute. The institute was abolished in 1923. Later, it served as a teacher's college, a medical school, a wartime sanatorium used by German military personnel, and a mental health clinic after the war. Today, it is managed by the Bakhchysarai History, Culture, and Archaeology Museum.





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Summary: Islamic World in 1550: Mongol Empire Legacy and Muslim History is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: In our last article, "A Journey Through the Islamic World in 1550 (Part 1)," we crossed the African continent, traveled from Egypt into the Ottoman Empire, and visited Tabriz in Iran. The account keeps its focus on Mongol Empire, Islamic World, Muslim History while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.

In our last article, "A Journey Through the Islamic World in 1550 (Part 1)," we crossed the African continent, traveled from Egypt into the Ottoman Empire, and visited Tabriz in Iran. This time, we will visit 12 countries ruled by the descendants of Genghis Khan, moving from Eastern Europe into North Asia and Central Asia, and finally into South Asia.

In the early 13th century, as the Mongol Empire expanded, Genghis Khan began dividing his lands among his sons. Orda and Batu, the sons of Genghis Khan's eldest son Jochi, received lands in southern Russia and Kazakhstan, which gradually formed the Golden Horde. Hulagu Khan, the son of Genghis Khan's fourth son Tolui, received lands in Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and parts of West Asia, which gradually formed the Ilkhanate. After the Yuan Dynasty was established in 1271, the original families of Ogedei and Chagatai, led by Kaidu, opposed Kublai Khan. This led to the formation of the Ogedei Khanate and the Chagatai Khanate, completing the four great Mongol khanates.

After the 14th century, the territory of the Ogedei Khanate was first divided between the Chagatai Khanate and the Yuan Dynasty, and later the Ilkhanate and the Chagatai Khanate also began to split apart. The Golden Horde was the last to decline, splitting into several khanates in the early 15th century.

In 1550, there were 12 countries and regimes established by descendants of Genghis Khan, ruling a vast area from Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and China's Xinjiang to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. They were:

1. The Crimean Khanate ruled the Crimean Peninsula.

2. The Astrakhan Khanate ruled the Volga Delta.

3. The Nogai Horde ruled the region between the Volga and Ural rivers.

4. The Qasim Khanate ruled Kasimov in the modern-day Ryazan Oblast of Russia.

5. The Kazan Khanate ruled the middle Volga region.

6. The Siberian Khanate ruled the area around the Irtysh River.

7. The Kazakh Khanate ruled the Kazakh Steppe.

8. The Khanate of Khiva ruled the Khwarezm region.

9. The Khanate of Bukhara ruled the Transoxiana region of Central Asia.

10. The Yarkent Khanate ruled the southern Xinjiang region.

11. Haidar ruled the Kashmir region.

12. The Arghun dynasty ruled southern Afghanistan and the Sindh region of Pakistan.

Additionally, the Mughal Empire was briefly overthrown at this time, and its second emperor, Humayun, was in exile in Persia.

1. The Crimean Khanate in Ukraine (1441–1783).

We start this journey on the Crimean Peninsula on the northern shore of the Black Sea.

The Khan of the Crimean Khanate was a descendant of Tuka-Timur, the thirteenth son of Jochi, who was Genghis Khan's eldest son. In the 1260s, the Golden Horde gave the Crimean Peninsula to the ancestor of the Crimean Khans, Uran Timur, to rule. The khanate was officially established in 1441.

Around 1500, the Crimean Khan Mengli I Giray built the capital of Salachik. In 1532, Sahib I Giray, the son of Mengli I Giray, established a new capital called Bakhchisarai in a valley two kilometers downstream from Salachik. For the next 250 years, generations of Crimean Khans built palaces and various mosque buildings here.

In 1550, the Khan ruling the Crimean Khanate was Sahib I Giray. He ascended the throne with the help of the Ottoman Empire. Later, he joined forces with the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent to attack the Moldavians, and in 1541, he raided Moscow and brought back spoils of war.

The location of Bakhchisarai, the capital of the Crimean Khanate.



The tomb of Haji I Giray (Dürbe Hacı I Giray) was built in 1501 by Mengli I Giray for his father, the founding Khan of Crimea. It is an octagonal tomb with a lead dome.

Archaeological excavations from 2006 to 2007 examined 18 graves inside the mausoleum, including 13 adults and 5 children. They were wrapped in silk and satin, with some resting on pillows stuffed with fabric scraps and fruit seeds. The mausoleum holds 8 stone sarcophagi covered in velvet, silk, and silver-threaded fabric. These likely include 4 Crimean Khans: Hacı I Giray himself, Meñli I Giray, Nur Devlet—who fought Meñli I Giray for the throne for years before losing—and Sahib I Giray, the son of Meñli I Giray and builder of Bakhchysarai.

After research finished in 2009, these individuals were reburied with Muslim rites.













The Chain Madrasa (Zıncırlı Medrese) was built in 1500 by order of the Crimean Khan Meñli I Giray. The name of the madrasa comes from the Turkic word "Zyngyr," which means "chain." A chain hangs above the main gate of the madrasa, forcing everyone who enters to bow their head. The madrasa is rectangular with a central courtyard, an entrance on one side, and 11 rooms on the other three sides. At the time, the madrasa taught Turkish and Arabic grammar, calligraphy, arithmetic, ethics, logic, proof theory, Islamic law (sharia), theology, and hadith studies. The full course of study took ten years.

In 1909, influenced by the Crimean Tatar Enlightenment movement, Gasprinski built a new two-story madrasa next to the old one. The madrasa closed in 1917 and became the Meñli Giray Research Institute. The institute was abolished in 1923. Later, it served as a teacher's college, a medical school, a sanatorium for German soldiers, and a post-war psychiatric clinic. Today, it is managed by the Bakhchysarai History, Culture, and Archaeology Museum.











The Iron Gate (Demir Qapı) is the oldest structure in the Khan's Palace. It was built between 1503 and 1504 for the Crimean Khan by the architect Aleviz Novy, who had been invited by Ivan the Great to build churches in Moscow. The Iron Gate was likely first built at the Crimean Khan's previous residence, Devlet-Saray, and moved to the main palace building after the Bakhchysarai Khan's Palace was completed in 1532. "Demir Qapı" means "iron gate" in Crimean Tatar. The doorway is made of limestone and features Lombard-Venetian Renaissance decorative styles.











The Great Khan Mosque (Büyük Han Cami) in the Bakhchysarai Khan's Palace was built in 1532 and is one of the earliest structures in the palace. The original mosque had multiple domes, similar to the Seljuk-style mosques popular in the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. The mosque was destroyed by fire in 1736. It was later restored by Khan Selamet II Giray (who reigned from 1740 to 1743) and converted to a tiled roof.

During the Soviet era, the mosque was closed and turned into an exhibition hall for the archaeological museum. After Russia occupied Crimea in 2014, the mosque underwent repairs, some of which caused damage to the building.



















The SaryGuzel Bathhouse was built in 1532 by order of the Crimean Khan Sahib I Giray. Like the Great Khan Mosque, it is one of the earliest buildings in the Bakhchysarai Khan's Palace. In Crimean Tatar, "Sarı" means "yellow or fair-skinned," and "Güzel" means "beautiful." The SaryGuzel Bathhouse is a typical Turkish bath. A furnace in the basement heated the floor with rising hot air, and cold and hot water were supplied through lead pipes. The bathhouse is divided into men's and women's sections, each with its own dome. The domes have star-shaped cutouts for ventilation and light, and there is an indoor courtyard with a fountain at the exit.

The SaryGuzel Bathhouse operated until 1924, when it was closed because it was considered unsafe. It has since been repaired and is now open for exhibitions.















The Khan's cemetery holds the grave of the Crimean Khan Devlet I Giray (reigned 1551–1577). He was appointed Kalga (the second-in-command after the Khan) in 1530. Later, due to court struggles, he went to Istanbul and gradually gained the trust of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. In 1551, with the help of Suleiman the Magnificent, he became the Crimean Khan.



2. The Astrakhan Khanate of Russia (1466–1556)

We continue east to the mouth of the Volga River.

The Astrakhan Khanate was located in the Volga Delta. Its founder, Mahmud bin Küchük, was a prince of the Golden Horde. The Astrakhan Khanate was mainly inhabited by Astrakhan Tatars and Nogais. The Khanate's caravans traveled between Moscow, Kazan, Crimea, Central Asia, and the Transcaucasus region. In 1532, the Astrakhan Khanate began to have contact with Russia. After Russia conquered Kazan in 1552, the Astrakhan Khanate could not escape the same fate.

In 1550, the capital of the Astrakhan Khanate was Hajji Tarkhan, located on the right bank of the Volga River, 12 kilometers north of the modern city of Astrakhan. The city of Hajji Tarkhan was built by the Golden Horde in the late 13th century, appeared in the Travels of Ibn Battuta in the 14th century, was destroyed by Timur's army in 1395, and was rebuilt by the Astrakhan Khanate in the 15th century. The city was occupied by the Crimean Khanate in 1547 and was finally burned down by Ivan the Terrible in 1556.

There are currently about 60,000 Astrakhan Tatars in Russia. Most live in the Astrakhan Oblast, with half living in the city of Astrakhan, where they have their own community and several mosques.

The location of the city of Hajji Tarkhan.



The White Mosque in Astrakhan, photographed by Polinadelia in 2014.



3. The Nogai Horde in Russia and Kazakhstan (1440–1634)

Continuing east from the Volga River, you reach the grasslands of the Nogai tribes.

Nogai was the great-grandson of Jochi, the eldest son of Genghis Khan, and an important leader of the Golden Horde who ruled many Turkic-speaking tribes in the 13th century. A century later, the Golden Horde general Edigu ruled a large area from the Volga to the Ural River, and the tribes under his rule were also called the Nogai Horde.

We can find history about the Nogai Horde in the early 16th century in Russian records. In 1521, the Nogai were driven west by the Kazakhs and crossed the Volga River to attack Astrakhan. In 1522, the Kazakhs captured the capital of the Nogai Horde. In 1523, the Nogai Horde defeated the army that had briefly occupied Astrakhan.

In 1550, the Khan of the Kazan Khanate was Yosuf Khan (1549–1555), who had helped Moscow against the Kazan Khanate in 1549.

Saray-Jük was the capital of the Nogai Horde, located on the border of Europe and Asia in western Kazakhstan. This city sat on a trade route between Europe and China and was an important commercial hub during the Golden Horde period. After being destroyed by Timur in 1395, it was rebuilt in the 1430s and 1440s.

The location of Saray-Jük.



The ruins of Saray-Jük, photographed by Yakov Fedorov in 2020.



4. The Qasim Khanate in Russia (1452–1681)

We head north to the modern-day Ryazan Oblast in Russia.

The Qasim Khanate was located in Russia's Ryazan Oblast. Its founder, Qasim Khan, was the son of Ulugh Muhammad, the founder of the Kazan Khanate. The Qasim Khanate served as a buffer state between the Grand Duchy of Moscow and the Kazan Khanate and was under heavy Russian control.

In 1550, the Khan of the Qasim Khanate was Shahghali, who was installed as the Khan of the Kazan Khanate three times as a Russian vassal. In 1546, Shahghali was overthrown by the people of Kazan and fled back to the Qasim Khanate. Between 1547 and 1551, he participated in several Russian attacks on the Kazan Khanate and took part in the final Russian conquest of Kazan in 1552.

The capital of the Qasim Khanate, Qasimov, is located on the left bank of the Oka River in Russia's Ryazan Oblast, where one thousand Tatar-speaking Qasim Tatars still live today. The Khan Mosque in Qasimov was built by Shahghali in the mid-16th century. It was ordered to be demolished by Peter the Great in 1702, but the minaret (bangke ta) was preserved. This minaret is very similar to the Light Tower (Guangta) of the Huaisheng Mosque in Guangzhou.

The Khan Mosque in Qasimov, photographed by Alexander Novikov in 2014.



The location of Qasimov.



5. The Kazan Khanate in Russia (1438–1552)

We headed east to the city of Kazan on the banks of the Volga River.

The Kazan Khanate was founded by Ulugh Muhammad, a descendant of Genghis Khan's eldest son Jochi, who had ruled the Golden Horde twice. He lost control of the Golden Horde in 1436, then led his army to the Volga River and officially established the Kazan Khanate after capturing Kazan in 1438.

In 1521, the Kazan Khanate formed an alliance with the Astrakhan, Crimean, and Nogai Khanates to resist Moscow together. This caused dissatisfaction among pro-Russian factions within the Kazan Khanate, leading the state into internal conflict.

In 1550, the Khan of the Kazan Khanate was the four-year-old Ötemish Giray, though the actual rulers were his mother, Söyembikä, and the prime minister (uğlan) Qoşçaq. Seeing the instability in the Kazan Khanate, Ivan the Terrible of Russia sent a large army to besiege Kazan in February 1550, but the thawing of the Volga River forced the Russians to retreat and only attack the outskirts of the city. Throughout that year, Söyembikä and Qoşçaq fought against the pro-Russian faction, and relations with Russia continued to worsen.

The Kazan Khanate built many homes and public buildings in Kazan, including the Khan's palace, courtyards, mosques, and tombs, with tall minarets defining the city's skyline. In 1552, Ivan the Terrible invaded Kazan, destroyed the Kazan Khanate, and drove all Tatars out of the city, allowing only Russians to settle there. Between 1556 and 1562, Ivan the Terrible ordered the construction of the Kazan Kremlin on the site of the old Kazan Khanate fortress. The mosques, the Kazan Khan's palace, and the tombs were initially used as armories and ammunition depots, but were eventually completely demolished in the 18th century.

In 1977, hydraulic engineers accidentally dug up a grave while laying rainwater pipes at the Kazan Kremlin and immediately contacted the archaeology department. Archaeological excavations lasted for 10 years, eventually uncovering five graves, two of which were confirmed to be those of the actual founders of the Kazan Khanate: Mäxmüd Khan (died 1463 or 1466) and his grandson, Möxämmät Ämin (died 1518). The tomb was originally made of white stone and finally collapsed in the 17th century.

For further research, the remains of the two Kazan Khans, Mäxmüd and Möxämmät Ämin, were kept at the Institute of Archaeology of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences for 40 years. In May 2017, after continuous efforts by the Tatar Muslims of Kazan, the two Kazan Khans were finally reburied not far from their original graves.







Between 2004 and 2005, the Institute of Archaeology of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences re-excavated the Kazan Khan tombs and discovered the graves of four more Khans: Xalil (died 1467), İbrahim (died 1478), Safa Giray (died 1549), and Canghali (died 1535). Today, these four Kazan Khan graves are protected under a glass roof. Safa Giray Khan came from the Giray family of the Crimean Khanate and served as the Khan of Kazan three times: from 1524–1531, 1535–1546, and 1546–1549. Safa Giray was an anti-Russian Khan. His first reign ended due to Moscow's attack on Kazan, and he regained the throne four years later after Kazan nobles overthrew the pro-Russian Khan. Eleven years later, due to internal unrest in Kazan, he was overthrown again by a pro-Russian Khan. Safa Giray fled to his father-in-law's Nogai tribe, and a few months later, he returned to Kazan with a Nogai army to become the Khan for the third time. Canghali Khan was originally the Khan of the Qasim Khanate, a vassal state of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. In 1532, Grand Prince Vasily III of Moscow defeated the Kazan Khan Safa Giray and installed the 16-year-old Canghali as the pro-Russian Khan of Kazan. He died in 1535 during a coup by Kazan nobles.









There is a performance about the Siege of Kazan at the entrance of the Kul Sharif Mosque inside the Kazan Kremlin. In 1552, when Ivan the Terrible besieged Kazan, the last imam of the Kazan Khanate, Seid Kul Sharif, led the people in a final resistance and died in the city. Today, Seid Kul Sharif is a national hero for the Kazan Tatars, and the new Kul Sharif Mosque built in 2005 is named after him.





The National Museum of the Republic of Tatarstan houses a letter written in 1523 by the Kazan Khan Sahib I Giray (reigned 1521–1524). A replica of this letter is also inside the Kazan Kremlin. In 1521, to resist the control of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Kazan Khanate overthrew the pro-Moscow Khan Shahghali and welcomed Sahib I Giray from Crimea to Kazan to become the new Khan.



6. The Siberian Khanate of Russia (1468-1598)

We continue heading east to the meeting point of the Irtysh River and the Siberian River.

The Siberian (Sibir) Khanate was north of the Kazakh Khanate. It was the northernmost Muslim state in history, reaching all the way to the coast of the Arctic Ocean. In the 16th century, the capital of the Siberian Khanate was Qashliq, located on the right bank of the Irtysh River. Qashliq, also called the City of Siberia, was very prosperous in the early 16th century and had close trade ties with the Kazan Khanate. Later, it was permanently destroyed by the Cossacks, and it is hard to find any traces of it now.

The location of Qashliq city



7. The Kazakh Khanate of Kazakhstan (1465-1847)

Moving south from Siberia, we enter the vast Kazakh steppe.

The founders of the Kazakh Khanate, Janybek Khan and Kerey Khan, were both descendants of Tuqa Temur, the thirteenth son of Jochi, who was the eldest son of Genghis Khan.

In 1550, the Khanate was ruled by Haqnazar Khan (1537-1580). At that time, the Kazakh Khanate had rivals on all sides. He first defeated the Nogai Khanate, then the Khanate of Khiva and the Oirats, and then the Siberian Khanate and the Yarkent Khanate. This made the Kazakh Khanate stronger than ever, earning him the title of King of Turan (Shah-i-Turan).

The capital of the Kazakh Khanate at that time was Sighnaq, located in what is now the Kyzylorda Region of Kazakhstan. This was originally the capital of the Blue Horde and served as an important trade point for steppe tribes to exchange goods with the southern farming regions.

Sighnaq photographed by Azamat Nurlybekov in 2022



The location of Sighnaq





8. The Khanate of Khiva in Turkmenistan (1511–1920)

Continuing southwest, we go deep into the heart of Central Asia.

The Khanate of Khiva was located in the Khwarezm region south of the Aral Sea. It called itself Khwarezm, and its rulers were descendants of Shiban, the fifth son of Jochi, who was the eldest son of Genghis Khan. In the 16th century, the capital of the Khanate of Khiva was Konye-Urgench, located on the border of northern Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. After the Khanate moved its capital to Khiva in the 17th century, this place was gradually abandoned. It was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2005.

Before the Mongol conquest of Khwarezm, Konye-Urgench was one of the wealthiest cities in Central Asia. Most of the current ruins belong to that period, and very few remains from the Khanate of Khiva period have been preserved.

The location of Konye-Urgench





9. The Khanate of Bukhara in Uzbekistan (1500–1785)

Let us continue east into the ancient city of Bukhara.

In the early 16th century, Muhammad Shaybani, a descendant of Shiban (the fifth son of Jochi, Genghis Khan's eldest son), led Uzbek tribes living in the northern Central Asian steppes to overthrow the Timurid dynasty's rule in Transoxiana. He established the Shaybanid Dynasty (1506-1598), opening a new chapter in the history of the Transoxiana region of Central Asia.

The capital of the Shaybanid Dynasty was initially in Samarkand, but it moved to Bukhara after 1533, which is why later generations called it the Khanate of Bukhara. Bukhara served as the capital of the Khanate of Bukhara for 252 years, from 1533 to 1785, and many buildings constructed during that time remain today.

The Mir-i-Arab Madrasa was built in 1535 by order of Ubaidullah, the Khan of the Shaybanid Dynasty (reigned 1533-1539). It was named after the Khan's Sufi mentor, Mir-i-Arab (also known as Sheikh Abdullah Yamani).

To compete for territory, Khan Ubaidullah fought many wars against the Persian Safavid dynasty, the most famous being the siege of the ancient Afghan city of Herat. During many raids on Persia, the Shaybanid Dynasty captured many prisoners. People say the Khan used the money from selling three thousand Persian captives to build the Mir-i-Arab Madrasa.

The Mir-i-Arab Madrasa was built opposite the famous Kalyan mosque in Bukhara, forming a facing structure known as a "kosh."

The Mir-i-Arab Madrasa closed in the 1920s but reopened in 1947. It became the only open madrasa in Bukhara at the time, and almost all the imams of that era were trained at this school.









The Khoja Zaynuddin mosque was built in the first half of the 16th century, located next to an ancient pond (Hauz) in Bukhara. This architectural style is known as a mosque-khanaka (Mosque-Khanaka). It serves as both a mosque and a Sufi center, where people can perform namaz and hold religious gatherings (ermeli).























The Bahouddin Naqshbandi Complex is an important Sufi holy site in Central Asia, often called the 'Little Mecca' of the region. It holds the tomb of Hazrat Muhammad Bahauddin Shah Naqshband, the founder of the famous Naqshbandia Sufi order.

During the Shaybanid dynasty, the Naqshbandia order eventually outperformed other Sufi groups to become the dominant order in the khanate. Unlike other Sufi orders that favored seclusion and leaving the world behind, the Naqshbandia order followed the principles set by its founder: 'solitude in the crowd, travel in the world, caution in action, and enjoyment of the moment.'

In 1544, the Shaybanid Khan Abdulaziz (who reigned from 1539 to 1550) built a Dakhma platform with marble railings at the shrine, along with a Sufi lodge (Khanaqa) nearby. Later, a large cemetery for Bukhara's rulers appeared near the shrine, as every ruler felt honored to be buried close to it.





During the Shaybanid period of the Bukhara Khanate, Tashkent's population and size gradually recovered, making it a commercial and cultural hub along the Silk Road. Most of the historical buildings still standing in Tashkent today were built during this time. Abu Bakr Mohammed Kaffal Shashi was a famous imam and scholar in Tashkent during the Samanid dynasty. After he passed away in 976, he was buried in a garden on the outskirts of Tashkent. The current Kaffal Shashi mausoleum was rebuilt in 1541 during the Shaybanid dynasty. It features the design of a Sufi lodge (Khanaqah), including a tall archway (Iwan) and a dome. Inside, besides Kaffal Shashi, his students are also buried there, including his three main disciples. The mausoleum was once covered in beautiful tiles, but only parts remain today, and they have been restored. Additionally, the window lattices on the mausoleum gate are already 500 years old. According to Tashkent legends, applying dust from this mausoleum to one's face can help a woman become pregnant, which attracts many women who are struggling to conceive.



















10. The Yarkent Khanate in China (1514-1680)

We crossed the Tianshan Mountains and arrived at the city of Shache in southern Xinjiang.

The Yarkent (Yarkent) Khanate was a state established in 1514 by Sultan Said Khan, a descendant of the Eastern Chagatai royal family. With Yarkent city (Shache) as its capital, it ruled southern Xinjiang and surrounding areas for over a hundred years until it was annexed by the Dzungar Khanate in 1680.

During the Yarkent Khanate's rule over southern Xinjiang, the Chagatai Mongols eventually shifted from nomadic life to settled living and merged into the Uyghur people. The Uyghurs also gradually developed into a modern ethnic group during this period, and the Twelve Muqam was finalized at this time as well.

'Yarkent Khanate' is actually a name used by modern scholars. In earlier local documents, the Persian word 'Moghuliye' was used, which means 'Mongol State'. Around the same time, Sultan Said Khan's cousin Babur established a state in northern India and also called it 'Moghul'. To distinguish them, Chinese usually translates them as 'Mengwu'er' and 'Mowo'er' respectively.

The founder of the Yarkent Khanate, Said Khan, was the third son of Ahmad Alaq, the ruler of Uyghurstan (modern-day Turpan area) in the eastern part of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate. In 1514, after stabilizing the Transoxiana region, the Uzbek army prepared to wipe out the Chagatai Mongols. After careful thought and discussion, Said Khan decided he could not withstand the Uzbek army's attack, so he left the Fergana Valley, crossed the Tianshan Mountains, and headed toward Yarkent.

In the spring of 1514, Said Khan led his army across the Tianshan Mountains and reached Kashgar via the Torugart Pass. At that time, southern Xinjiang was ruled by Abu Bakr, the leader of the Mongol Dughlat tribe. He was recruiting soldiers in Yarkent city. Said Khan fought a fierce battle outside the city against the Kashgar garrison and defeated the enemy. The enemy closed the gates and refused to come out, so Said Khan could not take the city and turned to attack the city of Yengisar. Said Khan besieged Yengisar for two months and finally captured it after six days of intense fighting.

Hearing that Yengisar had fallen, the Kashgar garrison abandoned the city and fled, so Said Khan marched directly toward Yarkent. When Abu Bakr heard this, he abandoned the city and fled to Hotan, and soon after, Said Khan entered Yarkent city. On September 3, 1514, Said Khan officially ascended the throne and established the Yarkent Khanate.

In 1516, Sultan Said reconciled with his older brother, Mansur Khan, who ruled the eastern part of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate. He agreed to mention Mansur's name during the khutbah (sermon) and to mint coins bearing Mansur's name. Southern Xinjiang welcomed long-awaited peace and order that year. The Tarikh-i-Rashidi describes it this way:

The reconciliation between these two brothers brought safety and prosperity to the residents. Anyone could travel alone between Hami in China and the Fergana region without needing food supplies or fearing robbery.

The location of Yarkand city.



Today, there is a site in the old city of Yarkand called Ordakul, which means royal palace pond. This was likely the location of the Yarkand Khanate's royal palace. The Tarikh-i-Rashidi describes Yarkand city during the early Yarkand Khanate period like this:

They diverted rivers into the city and built gardens. The main roads were lined with poplar trees. People walking around the city could spend half their journey in the shade of these trees, and most of the tree-lined paths had water channels on both sides.





Ordakul Mosque





To the west of Ordakul is the Jami Mosque. Jami is also translated as Jumu'ah, which refers to the weekly Friday congregational prayer. The Jami Mosque was reportedly founded by Sultan Said and later expanded during the reign of Abdullah Khan (reigned 1638–1669).

























After settling down in the oases of southern Xinjiang, many Chagatai Mongols began to complain about city life and missed the nomadic life on the steppes of their homeland, Moghulistan. the small pastures in the southern Xinjiang oases could not support the needs of the Mongol army. In 1522, Sultan Said sent his son, Abdurashid Khan, to lead troops into Moghulistan and conquer the Kyrgyz people living there.

In 1526, the Kazakhs entered Moghulistan and joined forces with the Kyrgyz, reaching a total of over 200,000 people. Sultan Said realized his strength was not enough to fight them, so he ordered all the Chagatai Mongols to return to southern Xinjiang. The Chagatai Mongols' five-year attempt to return to their nomadic homeland ultimately ended in failure.

After the failure in the north, Sultan Said turned his attention to attacking the south. In 1529, Sultan Said raided the Badakhshan region, which lay between the Yarkand Khanate and the Mughal Empire. This raid caused conflict between Sultan Said and his cousin, Emperor Babur. Emperor Babur wrote a letter to Sultan Said warning him that if he continued, you will know the rest yourself.

In 1532, Sultan Said personally led an army south to prepare for an expedition to Lhasa. While crossing the Karakoram Mountains, Sultan Said suffered from severe altitude sickness and lost his strength. In 1533, he decided to return to Yarkand to recover, but he died from altitude sickness while crossing the Karakoram Mountains again.

After Sultan Said died in 1533, his son, Abdurashid Khan (reigned 1533–1560), succeeded him. Abdurashid Khan built a mausoleum for his father at the west gate of Yarkand city. Later, this also became the royal mausoleum of the Yarkand Khanate.

The current mausoleum of Sultan Said was rebuilt in 1997. view all

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Summary: Islamic World in 1550: Mongol Empire Legacy and Muslim History is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: In our last article, "A Journey Through the Islamic World in 1550 (Part 1)," we crossed the African continent, traveled from Egypt into the Ottoman Empire, and visited Tabriz in Iran. The account keeps its focus on Mongol Empire, Islamic World, Muslim History while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.

In our last article, "A Journey Through the Islamic World in 1550 (Part 1)," we crossed the African continent, traveled from Egypt into the Ottoman Empire, and visited Tabriz in Iran. This time, we will visit 12 countries ruled by the descendants of Genghis Khan, moving from Eastern Europe into North Asia and Central Asia, and finally into South Asia.

In the early 13th century, as the Mongol Empire expanded, Genghis Khan began dividing his lands among his sons. Orda and Batu, the sons of Genghis Khan's eldest son Jochi, received lands in southern Russia and Kazakhstan, which gradually formed the Golden Horde. Hulagu Khan, the son of Genghis Khan's fourth son Tolui, received lands in Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and parts of West Asia, which gradually formed the Ilkhanate. After the Yuan Dynasty was established in 1271, the original families of Ogedei and Chagatai, led by Kaidu, opposed Kublai Khan. This led to the formation of the Ogedei Khanate and the Chagatai Khanate, completing the four great Mongol khanates.

After the 14th century, the territory of the Ogedei Khanate was first divided between the Chagatai Khanate and the Yuan Dynasty, and later the Ilkhanate and the Chagatai Khanate also began to split apart. The Golden Horde was the last to decline, splitting into several khanates in the early 15th century.

In 1550, there were 12 countries and regimes established by descendants of Genghis Khan, ruling a vast area from Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and China's Xinjiang to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. They were:

1. The Crimean Khanate ruled the Crimean Peninsula.

2. The Astrakhan Khanate ruled the Volga Delta.

3. The Nogai Horde ruled the region between the Volga and Ural rivers.

4. The Qasim Khanate ruled Kasimov in the modern-day Ryazan Oblast of Russia.

5. The Kazan Khanate ruled the middle Volga region.

6. The Siberian Khanate ruled the area around the Irtysh River.

7. The Kazakh Khanate ruled the Kazakh Steppe.

8. The Khanate of Khiva ruled the Khwarezm region.

9. The Khanate of Bukhara ruled the Transoxiana region of Central Asia.

10. The Yarkent Khanate ruled the southern Xinjiang region.

11. Haidar ruled the Kashmir region.

12. The Arghun dynasty ruled southern Afghanistan and the Sindh region of Pakistan.

Additionally, the Mughal Empire was briefly overthrown at this time, and its second emperor, Humayun, was in exile in Persia.

1. The Crimean Khanate in Ukraine (1441–1783).

We start this journey on the Crimean Peninsula on the northern shore of the Black Sea.

The Khan of the Crimean Khanate was a descendant of Tuka-Timur, the thirteenth son of Jochi, who was Genghis Khan's eldest son. In the 1260s, the Golden Horde gave the Crimean Peninsula to the ancestor of the Crimean Khans, Uran Timur, to rule. The khanate was officially established in 1441.

Around 1500, the Crimean Khan Mengli I Giray built the capital of Salachik. In 1532, Sahib I Giray, the son of Mengli I Giray, established a new capital called Bakhchisarai in a valley two kilometers downstream from Salachik. For the next 250 years, generations of Crimean Khans built palaces and various mosque buildings here.

In 1550, the Khan ruling the Crimean Khanate was Sahib I Giray. He ascended the throne with the help of the Ottoman Empire. Later, he joined forces with the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent to attack the Moldavians, and in 1541, he raided Moscow and brought back spoils of war.

The location of Bakhchisarai, the capital of the Crimean Khanate.



The tomb of Haji I Giray (Dürbe Hacı I Giray) was built in 1501 by Mengli I Giray for his father, the founding Khan of Crimea. It is an octagonal tomb with a lead dome.

Archaeological excavations from 2006 to 2007 examined 18 graves inside the mausoleum, including 13 adults and 5 children. They were wrapped in silk and satin, with some resting on pillows stuffed with fabric scraps and fruit seeds. The mausoleum holds 8 stone sarcophagi covered in velvet, silk, and silver-threaded fabric. These likely include 4 Crimean Khans: Hacı I Giray himself, Meñli I Giray, Nur Devlet—who fought Meñli I Giray for the throne for years before losing—and Sahib I Giray, the son of Meñli I Giray and builder of Bakhchysarai.

After research finished in 2009, these individuals were reburied with Muslim rites.













The Chain Madrasa (Zıncırlı Medrese) was built in 1500 by order of the Crimean Khan Meñli I Giray. The name of the madrasa comes from the Turkic word "Zyngyr," which means "chain." A chain hangs above the main gate of the madrasa, forcing everyone who enters to bow their head. The madrasa is rectangular with a central courtyard, an entrance on one side, and 11 rooms on the other three sides. At the time, the madrasa taught Turkish and Arabic grammar, calligraphy, arithmetic, ethics, logic, proof theory, Islamic law (sharia), theology, and hadith studies. The full course of study took ten years.

In 1909, influenced by the Crimean Tatar Enlightenment movement, Gasprinski built a new two-story madrasa next to the old one. The madrasa closed in 1917 and became the Meñli Giray Research Institute. The institute was abolished in 1923. Later, it served as a teacher's college, a medical school, a sanatorium for German soldiers, and a post-war psychiatric clinic. Today, it is managed by the Bakhchysarai History, Culture, and Archaeology Museum.











The Iron Gate (Demir Qapı) is the oldest structure in the Khan's Palace. It was built between 1503 and 1504 for the Crimean Khan by the architect Aleviz Novy, who had been invited by Ivan the Great to build churches in Moscow. The Iron Gate was likely first built at the Crimean Khan's previous residence, Devlet-Saray, and moved to the main palace building after the Bakhchysarai Khan's Palace was completed in 1532. "Demir Qapı" means "iron gate" in Crimean Tatar. The doorway is made of limestone and features Lombard-Venetian Renaissance decorative styles.











The Great Khan Mosque (Büyük Han Cami) in the Bakhchysarai Khan's Palace was built in 1532 and is one of the earliest structures in the palace. The original mosque had multiple domes, similar to the Seljuk-style mosques popular in the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. The mosque was destroyed by fire in 1736. It was later restored by Khan Selamet II Giray (who reigned from 1740 to 1743) and converted to a tiled roof.

During the Soviet era, the mosque was closed and turned into an exhibition hall for the archaeological museum. After Russia occupied Crimea in 2014, the mosque underwent repairs, some of which caused damage to the building.



















The SaryGuzel Bathhouse was built in 1532 by order of the Crimean Khan Sahib I Giray. Like the Great Khan Mosque, it is one of the earliest buildings in the Bakhchysarai Khan's Palace. In Crimean Tatar, "Sarı" means "yellow or fair-skinned," and "Güzel" means "beautiful." The SaryGuzel Bathhouse is a typical Turkish bath. A furnace in the basement heated the floor with rising hot air, and cold and hot water were supplied through lead pipes. The bathhouse is divided into men's and women's sections, each with its own dome. The domes have star-shaped cutouts for ventilation and light, and there is an indoor courtyard with a fountain at the exit.

The SaryGuzel Bathhouse operated until 1924, when it was closed because it was considered unsafe. It has since been repaired and is now open for exhibitions.















The Khan's cemetery holds the grave of the Crimean Khan Devlet I Giray (reigned 1551–1577). He was appointed Kalga (the second-in-command after the Khan) in 1530. Later, due to court struggles, he went to Istanbul and gradually gained the trust of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. In 1551, with the help of Suleiman the Magnificent, he became the Crimean Khan.



2. The Astrakhan Khanate of Russia (1466–1556)

We continue east to the mouth of the Volga River.

The Astrakhan Khanate was located in the Volga Delta. Its founder, Mahmud bin Küchük, was a prince of the Golden Horde. The Astrakhan Khanate was mainly inhabited by Astrakhan Tatars and Nogais. The Khanate's caravans traveled between Moscow, Kazan, Crimea, Central Asia, and the Transcaucasus region. In 1532, the Astrakhan Khanate began to have contact with Russia. After Russia conquered Kazan in 1552, the Astrakhan Khanate could not escape the same fate.

In 1550, the capital of the Astrakhan Khanate was Hajji Tarkhan, located on the right bank of the Volga River, 12 kilometers north of the modern city of Astrakhan. The city of Hajji Tarkhan was built by the Golden Horde in the late 13th century, appeared in the Travels of Ibn Battuta in the 14th century, was destroyed by Timur's army in 1395, and was rebuilt by the Astrakhan Khanate in the 15th century. The city was occupied by the Crimean Khanate in 1547 and was finally burned down by Ivan the Terrible in 1556.

There are currently about 60,000 Astrakhan Tatars in Russia. Most live in the Astrakhan Oblast, with half living in the city of Astrakhan, where they have their own community and several mosques.

The location of the city of Hajji Tarkhan.



The White Mosque in Astrakhan, photographed by Polinadelia in 2014.



3. The Nogai Horde in Russia and Kazakhstan (1440–1634)

Continuing east from the Volga River, you reach the grasslands of the Nogai tribes.

Nogai was the great-grandson of Jochi, the eldest son of Genghis Khan, and an important leader of the Golden Horde who ruled many Turkic-speaking tribes in the 13th century. A century later, the Golden Horde general Edigu ruled a large area from the Volga to the Ural River, and the tribes under his rule were also called the Nogai Horde.

We can find history about the Nogai Horde in the early 16th century in Russian records. In 1521, the Nogai were driven west by the Kazakhs and crossed the Volga River to attack Astrakhan. In 1522, the Kazakhs captured the capital of the Nogai Horde. In 1523, the Nogai Horde defeated the army that had briefly occupied Astrakhan.

In 1550, the Khan of the Kazan Khanate was Yosuf Khan (1549–1555), who had helped Moscow against the Kazan Khanate in 1549.

Saray-Jük was the capital of the Nogai Horde, located on the border of Europe and Asia in western Kazakhstan. This city sat on a trade route between Europe and China and was an important commercial hub during the Golden Horde period. After being destroyed by Timur in 1395, it was rebuilt in the 1430s and 1440s.

The location of Saray-Jük.



The ruins of Saray-Jük, photographed by Yakov Fedorov in 2020.



4. The Qasim Khanate in Russia (1452–1681)

We head north to the modern-day Ryazan Oblast in Russia.

The Qasim Khanate was located in Russia's Ryazan Oblast. Its founder, Qasim Khan, was the son of Ulugh Muhammad, the founder of the Kazan Khanate. The Qasim Khanate served as a buffer state between the Grand Duchy of Moscow and the Kazan Khanate and was under heavy Russian control.

In 1550, the Khan of the Qasim Khanate was Shahghali, who was installed as the Khan of the Kazan Khanate three times as a Russian vassal. In 1546, Shahghali was overthrown by the people of Kazan and fled back to the Qasim Khanate. Between 1547 and 1551, he participated in several Russian attacks on the Kazan Khanate and took part in the final Russian conquest of Kazan in 1552.

The capital of the Qasim Khanate, Qasimov, is located on the left bank of the Oka River in Russia's Ryazan Oblast, where one thousand Tatar-speaking Qasim Tatars still live today. The Khan Mosque in Qasimov was built by Shahghali in the mid-16th century. It was ordered to be demolished by Peter the Great in 1702, but the minaret (bangke ta) was preserved. This minaret is very similar to the Light Tower (Guangta) of the Huaisheng Mosque in Guangzhou.

The Khan Mosque in Qasimov, photographed by Alexander Novikov in 2014.



The location of Qasimov.



5. The Kazan Khanate in Russia (1438–1552)

We headed east to the city of Kazan on the banks of the Volga River.

The Kazan Khanate was founded by Ulugh Muhammad, a descendant of Genghis Khan's eldest son Jochi, who had ruled the Golden Horde twice. He lost control of the Golden Horde in 1436, then led his army to the Volga River and officially established the Kazan Khanate after capturing Kazan in 1438.

In 1521, the Kazan Khanate formed an alliance with the Astrakhan, Crimean, and Nogai Khanates to resist Moscow together. This caused dissatisfaction among pro-Russian factions within the Kazan Khanate, leading the state into internal conflict.

In 1550, the Khan of the Kazan Khanate was the four-year-old Ötemish Giray, though the actual rulers were his mother, Söyembikä, and the prime minister (uğlan) Qoşçaq. Seeing the instability in the Kazan Khanate, Ivan the Terrible of Russia sent a large army to besiege Kazan in February 1550, but the thawing of the Volga River forced the Russians to retreat and only attack the outskirts of the city. Throughout that year, Söyembikä and Qoşçaq fought against the pro-Russian faction, and relations with Russia continued to worsen.

The Kazan Khanate built many homes and public buildings in Kazan, including the Khan's palace, courtyards, mosques, and tombs, with tall minarets defining the city's skyline. In 1552, Ivan the Terrible invaded Kazan, destroyed the Kazan Khanate, and drove all Tatars out of the city, allowing only Russians to settle there. Between 1556 and 1562, Ivan the Terrible ordered the construction of the Kazan Kremlin on the site of the old Kazan Khanate fortress. The mosques, the Kazan Khan's palace, and the tombs were initially used as armories and ammunition depots, but were eventually completely demolished in the 18th century.

In 1977, hydraulic engineers accidentally dug up a grave while laying rainwater pipes at the Kazan Kremlin and immediately contacted the archaeology department. Archaeological excavations lasted for 10 years, eventually uncovering five graves, two of which were confirmed to be those of the actual founders of the Kazan Khanate: Mäxmüd Khan (died 1463 or 1466) and his grandson, Möxämmät Ämin (died 1518). The tomb was originally made of white stone and finally collapsed in the 17th century.

For further research, the remains of the two Kazan Khans, Mäxmüd and Möxämmät Ämin, were kept at the Institute of Archaeology of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences for 40 years. In May 2017, after continuous efforts by the Tatar Muslims of Kazan, the two Kazan Khans were finally reburied not far from their original graves.







Between 2004 and 2005, the Institute of Archaeology of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences re-excavated the Kazan Khan tombs and discovered the graves of four more Khans: Xalil (died 1467), İbrahim (died 1478), Safa Giray (died 1549), and Canghali (died 1535). Today, these four Kazan Khan graves are protected under a glass roof. Safa Giray Khan came from the Giray family of the Crimean Khanate and served as the Khan of Kazan three times: from 1524–1531, 1535–1546, and 1546–1549. Safa Giray was an anti-Russian Khan. His first reign ended due to Moscow's attack on Kazan, and he regained the throne four years later after Kazan nobles overthrew the pro-Russian Khan. Eleven years later, due to internal unrest in Kazan, he was overthrown again by a pro-Russian Khan. Safa Giray fled to his father-in-law's Nogai tribe, and a few months later, he returned to Kazan with a Nogai army to become the Khan for the third time. Canghali Khan was originally the Khan of the Qasim Khanate, a vassal state of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. In 1532, Grand Prince Vasily III of Moscow defeated the Kazan Khan Safa Giray and installed the 16-year-old Canghali as the pro-Russian Khan of Kazan. He died in 1535 during a coup by Kazan nobles.









There is a performance about the Siege of Kazan at the entrance of the Kul Sharif Mosque inside the Kazan Kremlin. In 1552, when Ivan the Terrible besieged Kazan, the last imam of the Kazan Khanate, Seid Kul Sharif, led the people in a final resistance and died in the city. Today, Seid Kul Sharif is a national hero for the Kazan Tatars, and the new Kul Sharif Mosque built in 2005 is named after him.





The National Museum of the Republic of Tatarstan houses a letter written in 1523 by the Kazan Khan Sahib I Giray (reigned 1521–1524). A replica of this letter is also inside the Kazan Kremlin. In 1521, to resist the control of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Kazan Khanate overthrew the pro-Moscow Khan Shahghali and welcomed Sahib I Giray from Crimea to Kazan to become the new Khan.



6. The Siberian Khanate of Russia (1468-1598)

We continue heading east to the meeting point of the Irtysh River and the Siberian River.

The Siberian (Sibir) Khanate was north of the Kazakh Khanate. It was the northernmost Muslim state in history, reaching all the way to the coast of the Arctic Ocean. In the 16th century, the capital of the Siberian Khanate was Qashliq, located on the right bank of the Irtysh River. Qashliq, also called the City of Siberia, was very prosperous in the early 16th century and had close trade ties with the Kazan Khanate. Later, it was permanently destroyed by the Cossacks, and it is hard to find any traces of it now.

The location of Qashliq city



7. The Kazakh Khanate of Kazakhstan (1465-1847)

Moving south from Siberia, we enter the vast Kazakh steppe.

The founders of the Kazakh Khanate, Janybek Khan and Kerey Khan, were both descendants of Tuqa Temur, the thirteenth son of Jochi, who was the eldest son of Genghis Khan.

In 1550, the Khanate was ruled by Haqnazar Khan (1537-1580). At that time, the Kazakh Khanate had rivals on all sides. He first defeated the Nogai Khanate, then the Khanate of Khiva and the Oirats, and then the Siberian Khanate and the Yarkent Khanate. This made the Kazakh Khanate stronger than ever, earning him the title of King of Turan (Shah-i-Turan).

The capital of the Kazakh Khanate at that time was Sighnaq, located in what is now the Kyzylorda Region of Kazakhstan. This was originally the capital of the Blue Horde and served as an important trade point for steppe tribes to exchange goods with the southern farming regions.

Sighnaq photographed by Azamat Nurlybekov in 2022



The location of Sighnaq





8. The Khanate of Khiva in Turkmenistan (1511–1920)

Continuing southwest, we go deep into the heart of Central Asia.

The Khanate of Khiva was located in the Khwarezm region south of the Aral Sea. It called itself Khwarezm, and its rulers were descendants of Shiban, the fifth son of Jochi, who was the eldest son of Genghis Khan. In the 16th century, the capital of the Khanate of Khiva was Konye-Urgench, located on the border of northern Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. After the Khanate moved its capital to Khiva in the 17th century, this place was gradually abandoned. It was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2005.

Before the Mongol conquest of Khwarezm, Konye-Urgench was one of the wealthiest cities in Central Asia. Most of the current ruins belong to that period, and very few remains from the Khanate of Khiva period have been preserved.

The location of Konye-Urgench





9. The Khanate of Bukhara in Uzbekistan (1500–1785)

Let us continue east into the ancient city of Bukhara.

In the early 16th century, Muhammad Shaybani, a descendant of Shiban (the fifth son of Jochi, Genghis Khan's eldest son), led Uzbek tribes living in the northern Central Asian steppes to overthrow the Timurid dynasty's rule in Transoxiana. He established the Shaybanid Dynasty (1506-1598), opening a new chapter in the history of the Transoxiana region of Central Asia.

The capital of the Shaybanid Dynasty was initially in Samarkand, but it moved to Bukhara after 1533, which is why later generations called it the Khanate of Bukhara. Bukhara served as the capital of the Khanate of Bukhara for 252 years, from 1533 to 1785, and many buildings constructed during that time remain today.

The Mir-i-Arab Madrasa was built in 1535 by order of Ubaidullah, the Khan of the Shaybanid Dynasty (reigned 1533-1539). It was named after the Khan's Sufi mentor, Mir-i-Arab (also known as Sheikh Abdullah Yamani).

To compete for territory, Khan Ubaidullah fought many wars against the Persian Safavid dynasty, the most famous being the siege of the ancient Afghan city of Herat. During many raids on Persia, the Shaybanid Dynasty captured many prisoners. People say the Khan used the money from selling three thousand Persian captives to build the Mir-i-Arab Madrasa.

The Mir-i-Arab Madrasa was built opposite the famous Kalyan mosque in Bukhara, forming a facing structure known as a "kosh."

The Mir-i-Arab Madrasa closed in the 1920s but reopened in 1947. It became the only open madrasa in Bukhara at the time, and almost all the imams of that era were trained at this school.









The Khoja Zaynuddin mosque was built in the first half of the 16th century, located next to an ancient pond (Hauz) in Bukhara. This architectural style is known as a mosque-khanaka (Mosque-Khanaka). It serves as both a mosque and a Sufi center, where people can perform namaz and hold religious gatherings (ermeli).























The Bahouddin Naqshbandi Complex is an important Sufi holy site in Central Asia, often called the 'Little Mecca' of the region. It holds the tomb of Hazrat Muhammad Bahauddin Shah Naqshband, the founder of the famous Naqshbandia Sufi order.

During the Shaybanid dynasty, the Naqshbandia order eventually outperformed other Sufi groups to become the dominant order in the khanate. Unlike other Sufi orders that favored seclusion and leaving the world behind, the Naqshbandia order followed the principles set by its founder: 'solitude in the crowd, travel in the world, caution in action, and enjoyment of the moment.'

In 1544, the Shaybanid Khan Abdulaziz (who reigned from 1539 to 1550) built a Dakhma platform with marble railings at the shrine, along with a Sufi lodge (Khanaqa) nearby. Later, a large cemetery for Bukhara's rulers appeared near the shrine, as every ruler felt honored to be buried close to it.





During the Shaybanid period of the Bukhara Khanate, Tashkent's population and size gradually recovered, making it a commercial and cultural hub along the Silk Road. Most of the historical buildings still standing in Tashkent today were built during this time. Abu Bakr Mohammed Kaffal Shashi was a famous imam and scholar in Tashkent during the Samanid dynasty. After he passed away in 976, he was buried in a garden on the outskirts of Tashkent. The current Kaffal Shashi mausoleum was rebuilt in 1541 during the Shaybanid dynasty. It features the design of a Sufi lodge (Khanaqah), including a tall archway (Iwan) and a dome. Inside, besides Kaffal Shashi, his students are also buried there, including his three main disciples. The mausoleum was once covered in beautiful tiles, but only parts remain today, and they have been restored. Additionally, the window lattices on the mausoleum gate are already 500 years old. According to Tashkent legends, applying dust from this mausoleum to one's face can help a woman become pregnant, which attracts many women who are struggling to conceive.



















10. The Yarkent Khanate in China (1514-1680)

We crossed the Tianshan Mountains and arrived at the city of Shache in southern Xinjiang.

The Yarkent (Yarkent) Khanate was a state established in 1514 by Sultan Said Khan, a descendant of the Eastern Chagatai royal family. With Yarkent city (Shache) as its capital, it ruled southern Xinjiang and surrounding areas for over a hundred years until it was annexed by the Dzungar Khanate in 1680.

During the Yarkent Khanate's rule over southern Xinjiang, the Chagatai Mongols eventually shifted from nomadic life to settled living and merged into the Uyghur people. The Uyghurs also gradually developed into a modern ethnic group during this period, and the Twelve Muqam was finalized at this time as well.

'Yarkent Khanate' is actually a name used by modern scholars. In earlier local documents, the Persian word 'Moghuliye' was used, which means 'Mongol State'. Around the same time, Sultan Said Khan's cousin Babur established a state in northern India and also called it 'Moghul'. To distinguish them, Chinese usually translates them as 'Mengwu'er' and 'Mowo'er' respectively.

The founder of the Yarkent Khanate, Said Khan, was the third son of Ahmad Alaq, the ruler of Uyghurstan (modern-day Turpan area) in the eastern part of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate. In 1514, after stabilizing the Transoxiana region, the Uzbek army prepared to wipe out the Chagatai Mongols. After careful thought and discussion, Said Khan decided he could not withstand the Uzbek army's attack, so he left the Fergana Valley, crossed the Tianshan Mountains, and headed toward Yarkent.

In the spring of 1514, Said Khan led his army across the Tianshan Mountains and reached Kashgar via the Torugart Pass. At that time, southern Xinjiang was ruled by Abu Bakr, the leader of the Mongol Dughlat tribe. He was recruiting soldiers in Yarkent city. Said Khan fought a fierce battle outside the city against the Kashgar garrison and defeated the enemy. The enemy closed the gates and refused to come out, so Said Khan could not take the city and turned to attack the city of Yengisar. Said Khan besieged Yengisar for two months and finally captured it after six days of intense fighting.

Hearing that Yengisar had fallen, the Kashgar garrison abandoned the city and fled, so Said Khan marched directly toward Yarkent. When Abu Bakr heard this, he abandoned the city and fled to Hotan, and soon after, Said Khan entered Yarkent city. On September 3, 1514, Said Khan officially ascended the throne and established the Yarkent Khanate.

In 1516, Sultan Said reconciled with his older brother, Mansur Khan, who ruled the eastern part of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate. He agreed to mention Mansur's name during the khutbah (sermon) and to mint coins bearing Mansur's name. Southern Xinjiang welcomed long-awaited peace and order that year. The Tarikh-i-Rashidi describes it this way:

The reconciliation between these two brothers brought safety and prosperity to the residents. Anyone could travel alone between Hami in China and the Fergana region without needing food supplies or fearing robbery.

The location of Yarkand city.



Today, there is a site in the old city of Yarkand called Ordakul, which means royal palace pond. This was likely the location of the Yarkand Khanate's royal palace. The Tarikh-i-Rashidi describes Yarkand city during the early Yarkand Khanate period like this:

They diverted rivers into the city and built gardens. The main roads were lined with poplar trees. People walking around the city could spend half their journey in the shade of these trees, and most of the tree-lined paths had water channels on both sides.





Ordakul Mosque





To the west of Ordakul is the Jami Mosque. Jami is also translated as Jumu'ah, which refers to the weekly Friday congregational prayer. The Jami Mosque was reportedly founded by Sultan Said and later expanded during the reign of Abdullah Khan (reigned 1638–1669).

























After settling down in the oases of southern Xinjiang, many Chagatai Mongols began to complain about city life and missed the nomadic life on the steppes of their homeland, Moghulistan. the small pastures in the southern Xinjiang oases could not support the needs of the Mongol army. In 1522, Sultan Said sent his son, Abdurashid Khan, to lead troops into Moghulistan and conquer the Kyrgyz people living there.

In 1526, the Kazakhs entered Moghulistan and joined forces with the Kyrgyz, reaching a total of over 200,000 people. Sultan Said realized his strength was not enough to fight them, so he ordered all the Chagatai Mongols to return to southern Xinjiang. The Chagatai Mongols' five-year attempt to return to their nomadic homeland ultimately ended in failure.

After the failure in the north, Sultan Said turned his attention to attacking the south. In 1529, Sultan Said raided the Badakhshan region, which lay between the Yarkand Khanate and the Mughal Empire. This raid caused conflict between Sultan Said and his cousin, Emperor Babur. Emperor Babur wrote a letter to Sultan Said warning him that if he continued, you will know the rest yourself.

In 1532, Sultan Said personally led an army south to prepare for an expedition to Lhasa. While crossing the Karakoram Mountains, Sultan Said suffered from severe altitude sickness and lost his strength. In 1533, he decided to return to Yarkand to recover, but he died from altitude sickness while crossing the Karakoram Mountains again.

After Sultan Said died in 1533, his son, Abdurashid Khan (reigned 1533–1560), succeeded him. Abdurashid Khan built a mausoleum for his father at the west gate of Yarkand city. Later, this also became the royal mausoleum of the Yarkand Khanate.

The current mausoleum of Sultan Said was rebuilt in 1997. view all

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Summary: Islamic World in 1550: Mongol Empire Legacy and Muslim History (Part 1A) is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: In our last article, "A Journey Through the Islamic World in 1550 (Part 1)," we crossed the African continent, traveled from Egypt into the Ottoman Empire, and visited Tabriz in Iran. The account keeps its focus on Mongol Empire, Islamic World, Muslim History while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.

In our last article, "A Journey Through the Islamic World in 1550 (Part 1)," we crossed the African continent, traveled from Egypt into the Ottoman Empire, and visited Tabriz in Iran. This time, we will visit 12 countries ruled by the descendants of Genghis Khan, moving from Eastern Europe into North Asia and Central Asia, and finally into South Asia.

In the early 13th century, as the Mongol Empire expanded, Genghis Khan began dividing his lands among his sons. Orda and Batu, the sons of Genghis Khan's eldest son Jochi, received lands in southern Russia and Kazakhstan, which gradually formed the Golden Horde. Hulagu Khan, the son of Genghis Khan's fourth son Tolui, received lands in Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and parts of West Asia, which gradually formed the Ilkhanate. After the Yuan Dynasty was established in 1271, the original families of Ogedei and Chagatai, led by Kaidu, opposed Kublai Khan. This led to the formation of the Ogedei Khanate and the Chagatai Khanate, completing the four great Mongol khanates.

After the 14th century, the territory of the Ogedei Khanate was first divided between the Chagatai Khanate and the Yuan Dynasty, and later the Ilkhanate and the Chagatai Khanate also began to split apart. The Golden Horde was the last to decline, splitting into several khanates in the early 15th century.

In 1550, there were 12 countries and regimes established by descendants of Genghis Khan, ruling a vast area from Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and China's Xinjiang to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. They were:

1. The Crimean Khanate ruled the Crimean Peninsula.

2. The Astrakhan Khanate ruled the Volga Delta.

3. The Nogai Horde ruled the region between the Volga and Ural rivers.

4. The Qasim Khanate ruled Kasimov in the modern-day Ryazan Oblast of Russia.

5. The Kazan Khanate ruled the middle Volga region.

6. The Siberian Khanate ruled the area around the Irtysh River.

7. The Kazakh Khanate ruled the Kazakh Steppe.

8. The Khanate of Khiva ruled the Khwarezm region.

9. The Khanate of Bukhara ruled the Transoxiana region of Central Asia.

10. The Yarkent Khanate ruled the southern Xinjiang region.

11. Haidar ruled the Kashmir region.

12. The Arghun dynasty ruled southern Afghanistan and the Sindh region of Pakistan.

Additionally, the Mughal Empire was briefly overthrown at this time, and its second emperor, Humayun, was in exile in Persia.

1. The Crimean Khanate in Ukraine (1441–1783).

We start this journey on the Crimean Peninsula on the northern shore of the Black Sea.

The Khan of the Crimean Khanate was a descendant of Tuka-Timur, the thirteenth son of Jochi, who was Genghis Khan's eldest son. In the 1260s, the Golden Horde gave the Crimean Peninsula to the ancestor of the Crimean Khans, Uran Timur, to rule. The khanate was officially established in 1441.

Around 1500, the Crimean Khan Mengli I Giray built the capital of Salachik. In 1532, Sahib I Giray, the son of Mengli I Giray, established a new capital called Bakhchisarai in a valley two kilometers downstream from Salachik. For the next 250 years, generations of Crimean Khans built palaces and various mosque buildings here.

In 1550, the Khan ruling the Crimean Khanate was Sahib I Giray. He ascended the throne with the help of the Ottoman Empire. Later, he joined forces with the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent to attack the Moldavians, and in 1541, he raided Moscow and brought back spoils of war.

The location of Bakhchisarai, the capital of the Crimean Khanate.



The tomb of Haji I Giray (Dürbe Hacı I Giray) was built in 1501 by Mengli I Giray for his father, the founding Khan of Crimea. It is an octagonal tomb with a lead dome.

Archaeological excavations from 2006 to 2007 examined 18 graves inside the mausoleum, including 13 adults and 5 children. They were wrapped in silk and satin, with some resting on pillows stuffed with fabric scraps and fruit seeds. The mausoleum holds 8 stone sarcophagi covered in velvet, silk, and silver-threaded fabric. These likely include 4 Crimean Khans: Hacı I Giray himself, Meñli I Giray, Nur Devlet—who fought Meñli I Giray for the throne for years before losing—and Sahib I Giray, the son of Meñli I Giray and builder of Bakhchysarai.

After research finished in 2009, these individuals were reburied with Muslim rites.













The Chain Madrasa (Zıncırlı Medrese) was built in 1500 by order of the Crimean Khan Meñli I Giray. The name of the madrasa comes from the Turkic word "Zyngyr," which means "chain." A chain hangs above the main gate of the madrasa, forcing everyone who enters to bow their head. The madrasa is rectangular with a central courtyard, an entrance on one side, and 11 rooms on the other three sides. At the time, the madrasa taught Turkish and Arabic grammar, calligraphy, arithmetic, ethics, logic, proof theory, Islamic law (sharia), theology, and hadith studies. The full course of study took ten years.

In 1909, influenced by the Crimean Tatar Enlightenment movement, Gasprinski built a new two-story madrasa next to the old one. The madrasa closed in 1917 and became the Meñli Giray Research Institute. The institute was abolished in 1923. Later, it served as a teacher's college, a medical school, a sanatorium for German soldiers, and a post-war psychiatric clinic. Today, it is managed by the Bakhchysarai History, Culture, and Archaeology Museum.











The Iron Gate (Demir Qapı) is the oldest structure in the Khan's Palace. It was built between 1503 and 1504 for the Crimean Khan by the architect Aleviz Novy, who had been invited by Ivan the Great to build churches in Moscow. The Iron Gate was likely first built at the Crimean Khan's previous residence, Devlet-Saray, and moved to the main palace building after the Bakhchysarai Khan's Palace was completed in 1532. "Demir Qapı" means "iron gate" in Crimean Tatar. The doorway is made of limestone and features Lombard-Venetian Renaissance decorative styles.











The Great Khan Mosque (Büyük Han Cami) in the Bakhchysarai Khan's Palace was built in 1532 and is one of the earliest structures in the palace. The original mosque had multiple domes, similar to the Seljuk-style mosques popular in the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. The mosque was destroyed by fire in 1736. It was later restored by Khan Selamet II Giray (who reigned from 1740 to 1743) and converted to a tiled roof.

During the Soviet era, the mosque was closed and turned into an exhibition hall for the archaeological museum. After Russia occupied Crimea in 2014, the mosque underwent repairs, some of which caused damage to the building.



















The SaryGuzel Bathhouse was built in 1532 by order of the Crimean Khan Sahib I Giray. Like the Great Khan Mosque, it is one of the earliest buildings in the Bakhchysarai Khan's Palace. In Crimean Tatar, "Sarı" means "yellow or fair-skinned," and "Güzel" means "beautiful." The SaryGuzel Bathhouse is a typical Turkish bath. A furnace in the basement heated the floor with rising hot air, and cold and hot water were supplied through lead pipes. The bathhouse is divided into men's and women's sections, each with its own dome. The domes have star-shaped cutouts for ventilation and light, and there is an indoor courtyard with a fountain at the exit.

The SaryGuzel Bathhouse operated until 1924, when it was closed because it was considered unsafe. It has since been repaired and is now open for exhibitions.















The Khan's cemetery holds the grave of the Crimean Khan Devlet I Giray (reigned 1551–1577). He was appointed Kalga (the second-in-command after the Khan) in 1530. Later, due to court struggles, he went to Istanbul and gradually gained the trust of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. In 1551, with the help of Suleiman the Magnificent, he became the Crimean Khan.



2. The Astrakhan Khanate of Russia (1466–1556)

We continue east to the mouth of the Volga River.

The Astrakhan Khanate was located in the Volga Delta. Its founder, Mahmud bin Küchük, was a prince of the Golden Horde. The Astrakhan Khanate was mainly inhabited by Astrakhan Tatars and Nogais. The Khanate's caravans traveled between Moscow, Kazan, Crimea, Central Asia, and the Transcaucasus region. In 1532, the Astrakhan Khanate began to have contact with Russia. After Russia conquered Kazan in 1552, the Astrakhan Khanate could not escape the same fate.

In 1550, the capital of the Astrakhan Khanate was Hajji Tarkhan, located on the right bank of the Volga River, 12 kilometers north of the modern city of Astrakhan. The city of Hajji Tarkhan was built by the Golden Horde in the late 13th century, appeared in the Travels of Ibn Battuta in the 14th century, was destroyed by Timur's army in 1395, and was rebuilt by the Astrakhan Khanate in the 15th century. The city was occupied by the Crimean Khanate in 1547 and was finally burned down by Ivan the Terrible in 1556.

There are currently about 60,000 Astrakhan Tatars in Russia. Most live in the Astrakhan Oblast, with half living in the city of Astrakhan, where they have their own community and several mosques.

The location of the city of Hajji Tarkhan.



The White Mosque in Astrakhan, photographed by Polinadelia in 2014.



3. The Nogai Horde in Russia and Kazakhstan (1440–1634)

Continuing east from the Volga River, you reach the grasslands of the Nogai tribes.

Nogai was the great-grandson of Jochi, the eldest son of Genghis Khan, and an important leader of the Golden Horde who ruled many Turkic-speaking tribes in the 13th century. A century later, the Golden Horde general Edigu ruled a large area from the Volga to the Ural River, and the tribes under his rule were also called the Nogai Horde.

We can find history about the Nogai Horde in the early 16th century in Russian records. In 1521, the Nogai were driven west by the Kazakhs and crossed the Volga River to attack Astrakhan. In 1522, the Kazakhs captured the capital of the Nogai Horde. In 1523, the Nogai Horde defeated the army that had briefly occupied Astrakhan.

In 1550, the Khan of the Kazan Khanate was Yosuf Khan (1549–1555), who had helped Moscow against the Kazan Khanate in 1549.

Saray-Jük was the capital of the Nogai Horde, located on the border of Europe and Asia in western Kazakhstan. This city sat on a trade route between Europe and China and was an important commercial hub during the Golden Horde period. After being destroyed by Timur in 1395, it was rebuilt in the 1430s and 1440s.

The location of Saray-Jük.



The ruins of Saray-Jük, photographed by Yakov Fedorov in 2020.



4. The Qasim Khanate in Russia (1452–1681)

We head north to the modern-day Ryazan Oblast in Russia.

The Qasim Khanate was located in Russia's Ryazan Oblast. Its founder, Qasim Khan, was the son of Ulugh Muhammad, the founder of the Kazan Khanate. The Qasim Khanate served as a buffer state between the Grand Duchy of Moscow and the Kazan Khanate and was under heavy Russian control.

In 1550, the Khan of the Qasim Khanate was Shahghali, who was installed as the Khan of the Kazan Khanate three times as a Russian vassal. In 1546, Shahghali was overthrown by the people of Kazan and fled back to the Qasim Khanate. Between 1547 and 1551, he participated in several Russian attacks on the Kazan Khanate and took part in the final Russian conquest of Kazan in 1552.

The capital of the Qasim Khanate, Qasimov, is located on the left bank of the Oka River in Russia's Ryazan Oblast, where one thousand Tatar-speaking Qasim Tatars still live today. The Khan Mosque in Qasimov was built by Shahghali in the mid-16th century. It was ordered to be demolished by Peter the Great in 1702, but the minaret (bangke ta) was preserved. This minaret is very similar to the Light Tower (Guangta) of the Huaisheng Mosque in Guangzhou.

The Khan Mosque in Qasimov, photographed by Alexander Novikov in 2014.



The location of Qasimov.



5. The Kazan Khanate in Russia (1438–1552)

We headed east to the city of Kazan on the banks of the Volga River.

The Kazan Khanate was founded by Ulugh Muhammad, a descendant of Genghis Khan's eldest son Jochi, who had ruled the Golden Horde twice. He lost control of the Golden Horde in 1436, then led his army to the Volga River and officially established the Kazan Khanate after capturing Kazan in 1438.

In 1521, the Kazan Khanate formed an alliance with the Astrakhan, Crimean, and Nogai Khanates to resist Moscow together. This caused dissatisfaction among pro-Russian factions within the Kazan Khanate, leading the state into internal conflict.

In 1550, the Khan of the Kazan Khanate was the four-year-old Ötemish Giray, though the actual rulers were his mother, Söyembikä, and the prime minister (uğlan) Qoşçaq. Seeing the instability in the Kazan Khanate, Ivan the Terrible of Russia sent a large army to besiege Kazan in February 1550, but the thawing of the Volga River forced the Russians to retreat and only attack the outskirts of the city. Throughout that year, Söyembikä and Qoşçaq fought against the pro-Russian faction, and relations with Russia continued to worsen.

The Kazan Khanate built many homes and public buildings in Kazan, including the Khan's palace, courtyards, mosques, and tombs, with tall minarets defining the city's skyline. In 1552, Ivan the Terrible invaded Kazan, destroyed the Kazan Khanate, and drove all Tatars out of the city, allowing only Russians to settle there. Between 1556 and 1562, Ivan the Terrible ordered the construction of the Kazan Kremlin on the site of the old Kazan Khanate fortress. The mosques, the Kazan Khan's palace, and the tombs were initially used as armories and ammunition depots, but were eventually completely demolished in the 18th century.

In 1977, hydraulic engineers accidentally dug up a grave while laying rainwater pipes at the Kazan Kremlin and immediately contacted the archaeology department. Archaeological excavations lasted for 10 years, eventually uncovering five graves, two of which were confirmed to be those of the actual founders of the Kazan Khanate: Mäxmüd Khan (died 1463 or 1466) and his grandson, Möxämmät Ämin (died 1518). The tomb was originally made of white stone and finally collapsed in the 17th century.

For further research, the remains of the two Kazan Khans, Mäxmüd and Möxämmät Ämin, were kept at the Institute of Archaeology of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences for 40 years. In May 2017, after continuous efforts by the Tatar Muslims of Kazan, the two Kazan Khans were finally reburied not far from their original graves.







Between 2004 and 2005, the Institute of Archaeology of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences re-excavated the Kazan Khan tombs and discovered the graves of four more Khans: Xalil (died 1467), İbrahim (died 1478), Safa Giray (died 1549), and Canghali (died 1535). Today, these four Kazan Khan graves are protected under a glass roof. Safa Giray Khan came from the Giray family of the Crimean Khanate and served as the Khan of Kazan three times: from 1524–1531, 1535–1546, and 1546–1549. Safa Giray was an anti-Russian Khan. His first reign ended due to Moscow's attack on Kazan, and he regained the throne four years later after Kazan nobles overthrew the pro-Russian Khan. Eleven years later, due to internal unrest in Kazan, he was overthrown again by a pro-Russian Khan. Safa Giray fled to his father-in-law's Nogai tribe, and a few months later, he returned to Kazan with a Nogai army to become the Khan for the third time. Canghali Khan was originally the Khan of the Qasim Khanate, a vassal state of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. In 1532, Grand Prince Vasily III of Moscow defeated the Kazan Khan Safa Giray and installed the 16-year-old Canghali as the pro-Russian Khan of Kazan. He died in 1535 during a coup by Kazan nobles.









There is a performance about the Siege of Kazan at the entrance of the Kul Sharif Mosque inside the Kazan Kremlin. In 1552, when Ivan the Terrible besieged Kazan, the last imam of the Kazan Khanate, Seid Kul Sharif, led the people in a final resistance and died in the city. Today, Seid Kul Sharif is a national hero for the Kazan Tatars, and the new Kul Sharif Mosque built in 2005 is named after him.





The National Museum of the Republic of Tatarstan houses a letter written in 1523 by the Kazan Khan Sahib I Giray (reigned 1521–1524). A replica of this letter is also inside the Kazan Kremlin. In 1521, to resist the control of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Kazan Khanate overthrew the pro-Moscow Khan Shahghali and welcomed Sahib I Giray from Crimea to Kazan to become the new Khan.



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Summary: Islamic World in 1550: Mongol Empire Legacy and Muslim History (Part 1A) is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: In our last article, "A Journey Through the Islamic World in 1550 (Part 1)," we crossed the African continent, traveled from Egypt into the Ottoman Empire, and visited Tabriz in Iran. The account keeps its focus on Mongol Empire, Islamic World, Muslim History while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.

In our last article, "A Journey Through the Islamic World in 1550 (Part 1)," we crossed the African continent, traveled from Egypt into the Ottoman Empire, and visited Tabriz in Iran. This time, we will visit 12 countries ruled by the descendants of Genghis Khan, moving from Eastern Europe into North Asia and Central Asia, and finally into South Asia.

In the early 13th century, as the Mongol Empire expanded, Genghis Khan began dividing his lands among his sons. Orda and Batu, the sons of Genghis Khan's eldest son Jochi, received lands in southern Russia and Kazakhstan, which gradually formed the Golden Horde. Hulagu Khan, the son of Genghis Khan's fourth son Tolui, received lands in Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and parts of West Asia, which gradually formed the Ilkhanate. After the Yuan Dynasty was established in 1271, the original families of Ogedei and Chagatai, led by Kaidu, opposed Kublai Khan. This led to the formation of the Ogedei Khanate and the Chagatai Khanate, completing the four great Mongol khanates.

After the 14th century, the territory of the Ogedei Khanate was first divided between the Chagatai Khanate and the Yuan Dynasty, and later the Ilkhanate and the Chagatai Khanate also began to split apart. The Golden Horde was the last to decline, splitting into several khanates in the early 15th century.

In 1550, there were 12 countries and regimes established by descendants of Genghis Khan, ruling a vast area from Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and China's Xinjiang to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. They were:

1. The Crimean Khanate ruled the Crimean Peninsula.

2. The Astrakhan Khanate ruled the Volga Delta.

3. The Nogai Horde ruled the region between the Volga and Ural rivers.

4. The Qasim Khanate ruled Kasimov in the modern-day Ryazan Oblast of Russia.

5. The Kazan Khanate ruled the middle Volga region.

6. The Siberian Khanate ruled the area around the Irtysh River.

7. The Kazakh Khanate ruled the Kazakh Steppe.

8. The Khanate of Khiva ruled the Khwarezm region.

9. The Khanate of Bukhara ruled the Transoxiana region of Central Asia.

10. The Yarkent Khanate ruled the southern Xinjiang region.

11. Haidar ruled the Kashmir region.

12. The Arghun dynasty ruled southern Afghanistan and the Sindh region of Pakistan.

Additionally, the Mughal Empire was briefly overthrown at this time, and its second emperor, Humayun, was in exile in Persia.

1. The Crimean Khanate in Ukraine (1441–1783).

We start this journey on the Crimean Peninsula on the northern shore of the Black Sea.

The Khan of the Crimean Khanate was a descendant of Tuka-Timur, the thirteenth son of Jochi, who was Genghis Khan's eldest son. In the 1260s, the Golden Horde gave the Crimean Peninsula to the ancestor of the Crimean Khans, Uran Timur, to rule. The khanate was officially established in 1441.

Around 1500, the Crimean Khan Mengli I Giray built the capital of Salachik. In 1532, Sahib I Giray, the son of Mengli I Giray, established a new capital called Bakhchisarai in a valley two kilometers downstream from Salachik. For the next 250 years, generations of Crimean Khans built palaces and various mosque buildings here.

In 1550, the Khan ruling the Crimean Khanate was Sahib I Giray. He ascended the throne with the help of the Ottoman Empire. Later, he joined forces with the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent to attack the Moldavians, and in 1541, he raided Moscow and brought back spoils of war.

The location of Bakhchisarai, the capital of the Crimean Khanate.



The tomb of Haji I Giray (Dürbe Hacı I Giray) was built in 1501 by Mengli I Giray for his father, the founding Khan of Crimea. It is an octagonal tomb with a lead dome.

Archaeological excavations from 2006 to 2007 examined 18 graves inside the mausoleum, including 13 adults and 5 children. They were wrapped in silk and satin, with some resting on pillows stuffed with fabric scraps and fruit seeds. The mausoleum holds 8 stone sarcophagi covered in velvet, silk, and silver-threaded fabric. These likely include 4 Crimean Khans: Hacı I Giray himself, Meñli I Giray, Nur Devlet—who fought Meñli I Giray for the throne for years before losing—and Sahib I Giray, the son of Meñli I Giray and builder of Bakhchysarai.

After research finished in 2009, these individuals were reburied with Muslim rites.













The Chain Madrasa (Zıncırlı Medrese) was built in 1500 by order of the Crimean Khan Meñli I Giray. The name of the madrasa comes from the Turkic word "Zyngyr," which means "chain." A chain hangs above the main gate of the madrasa, forcing everyone who enters to bow their head. The madrasa is rectangular with a central courtyard, an entrance on one side, and 11 rooms on the other three sides. At the time, the madrasa taught Turkish and Arabic grammar, calligraphy, arithmetic, ethics, logic, proof theory, Islamic law (sharia), theology, and hadith studies. The full course of study took ten years.

In 1909, influenced by the Crimean Tatar Enlightenment movement, Gasprinski built a new two-story madrasa next to the old one. The madrasa closed in 1917 and became the Meñli Giray Research Institute. The institute was abolished in 1923. Later, it served as a teacher's college, a medical school, a sanatorium for German soldiers, and a post-war psychiatric clinic. Today, it is managed by the Bakhchysarai History, Culture, and Archaeology Museum.











The Iron Gate (Demir Qapı) is the oldest structure in the Khan's Palace. It was built between 1503 and 1504 for the Crimean Khan by the architect Aleviz Novy, who had been invited by Ivan the Great to build churches in Moscow. The Iron Gate was likely first built at the Crimean Khan's previous residence, Devlet-Saray, and moved to the main palace building after the Bakhchysarai Khan's Palace was completed in 1532. "Demir Qapı" means "iron gate" in Crimean Tatar. The doorway is made of limestone and features Lombard-Venetian Renaissance decorative styles.











The Great Khan Mosque (Büyük Han Cami) in the Bakhchysarai Khan's Palace was built in 1532 and is one of the earliest structures in the palace. The original mosque had multiple domes, similar to the Seljuk-style mosques popular in the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. The mosque was destroyed by fire in 1736. It was later restored by Khan Selamet II Giray (who reigned from 1740 to 1743) and converted to a tiled roof.

During the Soviet era, the mosque was closed and turned into an exhibition hall for the archaeological museum. After Russia occupied Crimea in 2014, the mosque underwent repairs, some of which caused damage to the building.



















The SaryGuzel Bathhouse was built in 1532 by order of the Crimean Khan Sahib I Giray. Like the Great Khan Mosque, it is one of the earliest buildings in the Bakhchysarai Khan's Palace. In Crimean Tatar, "Sarı" means "yellow or fair-skinned," and "Güzel" means "beautiful." The SaryGuzel Bathhouse is a typical Turkish bath. A furnace in the basement heated the floor with rising hot air, and cold and hot water were supplied through lead pipes. The bathhouse is divided into men's and women's sections, each with its own dome. The domes have star-shaped cutouts for ventilation and light, and there is an indoor courtyard with a fountain at the exit.

The SaryGuzel Bathhouse operated until 1924, when it was closed because it was considered unsafe. It has since been repaired and is now open for exhibitions.















The Khan's cemetery holds the grave of the Crimean Khan Devlet I Giray (reigned 1551–1577). He was appointed Kalga (the second-in-command after the Khan) in 1530. Later, due to court struggles, he went to Istanbul and gradually gained the trust of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. In 1551, with the help of Suleiman the Magnificent, he became the Crimean Khan.



Block 1 of 3 for Part 1A view all

Reposted from the web

Summary: This block continues the Crimean Khanate section of Islamic World in 1550, preserving the same site names, captions, mosque details, images, and historical facts from the Chinese source.



The tomb of Haji I Giray (Dürbe Hacı I Giray) was built in 1501 by Mengli I Giray for his father, the founding Khan of Crimea. It is an octagonal tomb with a lead dome.

Archaeological excavations from 2006 to 2007 examined 18 graves inside the mausoleum, including 13 adults and 5 children. They were wrapped in silk and satin, with some resting on pillows stuffed with fabric scraps and fruit seeds. The mausoleum holds 8 stone sarcophagi covered in velvet, silk, and silver-threaded fabric. These likely include 4 Crimean Khans: Hacı I Giray himself, Meñli I Giray, Nur Devlet—who fought Meñli I Giray for the throne for years before losing—and Sahib I Giray, the son of Meñli I Giray and builder of Bakhchysarai.

After research finished in 2009, these individuals were reburied with Muslim rites.













The Chain Madrasa (Zıncırlı Medrese) was built in 1500 by order of the Crimean Khan Meñli I Giray. The name of the madrasa comes from the Turkic word "Zyngyr," which means "chain." A chain hangs above the main gate of the madrasa, forcing everyone who enters to bow their head. The madrasa is rectangular with a central courtyard, an entrance on one side, and 11 rooms on the other three sides. At the time, the madrasa taught Turkish and Arabic grammar, calligraphy, arithmetic, ethics, logic, proof theory, Islamic law (sharia), theology, and hadith studies. The full course of study took ten years.

In 1909, influenced by the Crimean Tatar Enlightenment movement, Gasprinski built a new two-story madrasa next to the old one. The madrasa closed in 1917 and became the Meñli Giray Research Institute. The institute was abolished in 1923. Later, it served as a teacher's college, a medical school, a sanatorium for German soldiers, and a post-war psychiatric clinic. Today, it is managed by the Bakhchysarai History, Culture, and Archaeology Museum.











The Iron Gate (Demir Qapı) is the oldest structure in the Khan's Palace. It was built between 1503 and 1504 for the Crimean Khan by the architect Aleviz Novy, who had been invited by Ivan the Great to build churches in Moscow. The Iron Gate was likely first built at the Crimean Khan's previous residence, Devlet-Saray, and moved to the main palace building after the Bakhchysarai Khan's Palace was completed in 1532. "Demir Qapı" means "iron gate" in Crimean Tatar. The doorway is made of limestone and features Lombard-Venetian Renaissance decorative styles.











The Great Khan Mosque (Büyük Han Cami) in the Bakhchysarai Khan's Palace was built in 1532 and is one of the earliest structures in the palace. The original mosque had multiple domes, similar to the Seljuk-style mosques popular in the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. The mosque was destroyed by fire in 1736. It was later restored by Khan Selamet II Giray (who reigned from 1740 to 1743) and converted to a tiled roof.

During the Soviet era, the mosque was closed and turned into an exhibition hall for the archaeological museum. After Russia occupied Crimea in 2014, the mosque underwent repairs, some of which caused damage to the building.



















The SaryGuzel Bathhouse was built in 1532 by order of the Crimean Khan Sahib I Giray. Like the Great Khan Mosque, it is one of the earliest buildings in the Bakhchysarai Khan's Palace. In Crimean Tatar, "Sarı" means "yellow or fair-skinned," and "Güzel" means "beautiful." The SaryGuzel Bathhouse is a typical Turkish bath. A furnace in the basement heated the floor with rising hot air, and cold and hot water were supplied through lead pipes. The bathhouse is divided into men's and women's sections, each with its own dome. The domes have star-shaped cutouts for ventilation and light, and there is an indoor courtyard with a fountain at the exit.

The SaryGuzel Bathhouse operated until 1924, when it was closed because it was considered unsafe. It has since been repaired and is now open for exhibitions.















The Khan's cemetery holds the grave of the Crimean Khan Devlet I Giray (reigned 1551–1577). He was appointed Kalga (the second-in-command after the Khan) in 1530. Later, due to court struggles, he went to Istanbul and gradually gained the trust of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. In 1551, with the help of Suleiman the Magnificent, he became the Crimean Khan.



Block 2 of 2 for Part 1A-1 view all

Reposted from the web

Summary: This block continues the Crimean Khanate section of Islamic World in 1550, preserving the same site names, captions, mosque details, images, and historical facts from the Chinese source.



The tomb of Haji I Giray (Dürbe Hacı I Giray) was built in 1501 by Mengli I Giray for his father, the founding Khan of Crimea. It is an octagonal tomb with a lead dome.

Archaeological excavations from 2006 to 2007 examined 18 graves inside the mausoleum, including 13 adults and 5 children. They were wrapped in silk and satin, with some resting on pillows stuffed with fabric scraps and fruit seeds. The mausoleum holds 8 stone sarcophagi covered in velvet, silk, and silver-threaded fabric. These likely include 4 Crimean Khans: Hacı I Giray himself, Meñli I Giray, Nur Devlet—who fought Meñli I Giray for the throne for years before losing—and Sahib I Giray, the son of Meñli I Giray and builder of Bakhchysarai.

After research finished in 2009, these individuals were reburied with Muslim rites.













The Chain Madrasa (Zıncırlı Medrese) was built in 1500 by order of the Crimean Khan Meñli I Giray. The name of the madrasa comes from the Turkic word "Zyngyr," which means "chain." A chain hangs above the main gate of the madrasa, forcing everyone who enters to bow their head. The madrasa is rectangular with a central courtyard, an entrance on one side, and 11 rooms on the other three sides. At the time, the madrasa taught Turkish and Arabic grammar, calligraphy, arithmetic, ethics, logic, proof theory, Islamic law (sharia), theology, and hadith studies. The full course of study took ten years.

In 1909, influenced by the Crimean Tatar Enlightenment movement, Gasprinski built a new two-story madrasa next to the old one. The madrasa closed in 1917 and became the Meñli Giray Research Institute. The institute was abolished in 1923. Later, it served as a teacher's college, a medical school, a sanatorium for German soldiers, and a post-war psychiatric clinic. Today, it is managed by the Bakhchysarai History, Culture, and Archaeology Museum.





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The Chain Madrasa (Zıncırlı Medrese) was built in 1500 by order of the Crimean Khan Meñli I Giray. The name of the madrasa comes from the Turkic word "Zyngyr," which means "chain." A chain hangs above the main gate of the madrasa, forcing everyone who enters to bow their head. The madrasa is rectangular with a central courtyard, an entrance on one side, and 11 rooms on the other three sides. At the time, the madrasa taught Turkish and Arabic grammar, calligraphy, arithmetic, ethics, logic, proof theory, Islamic law (sharia), theology, and hadith studies. The full course of study took ten years.

In 1909, influenced by the Crimean Tatar Enlightenment movement, Gasprinski built a new two-story madrasa next to the old one. The madrasa closed in 1917 and became the Meñli Giray Research Institute. The institute was abolished in 1923. Later, it served as a teacher's college, a medical school, a sanatorium for German soldiers, and a post-war psychiatric clinic. Today, it is managed by the Bakhchysarai History, Culture, and Archaeology Museum.





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The tomb of Haji I Giray (Dürbe Hacı I Giray) was built in 1501 by Mengli I Giray for his father, the founding Khan of Crimea. It is an octagonal tomb with a lead dome.

Archaeological excavations from 2006 to 2007 examined 18 graves inside the mausoleum, including 13 adults and 5 children. They were wrapped in silk and satin, with some resting on pillows stuffed with fabric scraps and fruit seeds. The mausoleum holds 8 stone sarcophagi covered in velvet, silk, and silver-threaded fabric. These likely include 4 Crimean Khans: Hacı I Giray himself, Meñli I Giray, Nur Devlet—who fought Meñli I Giray for the throne for years before losing—and Sahib I Giray, the son of Meñli I Giray and builder of Bakhchysarai.

After research finished in 2009, these individuals were reburied with Muslim rites.













The Chain Madrasa (Zıncırlı Medrese) was built in 1500 by order of the Crimean Khan Meñli I Giray. The name of the madrasa comes from the Turkic word "Zyngyr," which means "chain." A chain hangs above the main gate of the madrasa, so everyone who enters has to lower their head. The madrasa is rectangular with a central courtyard, an entrance on one side, and 11 rooms on the other three sides. At the time, the madrasa taught Turkish and Arabic grammar, calligraphy, arithmetic, ethics, logic, proof theory, fiqh, or Islamic law, theology, and hadith studies. The full course of study took ten years.

In 1909, influenced by the Crimean Tatar Enlightenment movement, Gasprinski built a new two-story madrasa next to the old one. The madrasa closed in 1917 and became the Meñli Giray Research Institute. The institute was abolished in 1923. Later, it served as a teacher's college, a medical school, a wartime sanatorium used by German military personnel, and a mental health clinic after the war. Today, it is managed by the Bakhchysarai History, Culture, and Archaeology Museum.





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The Khan's cemetery holds the grave of the Crimean Khan Devlet I Giray (reigned 1551–1577). He was appointed Kalga (the second-in-command after the Khan) in 1530. Later, due to court struggles, he went to Istanbul and gradually gained the trust of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. In 1551, with the help of Suleiman the Magnificent, he became the Crimean Khan.



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The SaryGuzel Bathhouse was built in 1532 by order of the Crimean Khan Sahib I Giray. Like the Great Khan Mosque, it is one of the earliest buildings in the Bakhchysarai Khan's Palace. In Crimean Tatar, "Sarı" means "yellow or fair-skinned," and "Güzel" means "beautiful." The SaryGuzel Bathhouse is a typical Turkish bath. A furnace in the basement heated the floor with rising hot air, and cold and hot water were supplied through lead pipes. The bathhouse is divided into men's and women's sections, each with its own dome. The domes have star-shaped cutouts for ventilation and light, and there is an indoor courtyard with a fountain at the exit.

The SaryGuzel Bathhouse operated until 1924, when it was closed because it was considered unsafe. It has since been repaired and is now open for exhibitions.



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The Iron Gate (Demir Qapı) is the oldest structure in the Khan's Palace. It was built between 1503 and 1504 for the Crimean Khan by the architect Aleviz Novy, who had been invited by Ivan the Great to build churches in Moscow. The Iron Gate was likely first built at the Crimean Khan's previous residence, Devlet-Saray, and moved to the main palace building after the Bakhchysarai Khan's Palace was completed in 1532. "Demir Qapı" means "iron gate" in Crimean Tatar. The doorway is made of limestone and features Lombard-Venetian Renaissance decorative styles.











The Great Khan Mosque (Büyük Han Cami) in the Bakhchysarai Khan's Palace was built in 1532 and is one of the earliest structures in the palace. The original mosque had multiple domes, similar to the Seljuk-style mosques popular in the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. The mosque was destroyed by fire in 1736. It was later restored by Khan Selamet II Giray (who reigned from 1740 to 1743) and converted to a tiled roof.

During the Soviet era, the mosque was closed and turned into an exhibition hall for the archaeological museum. After Russia occupied Crimea in 2014, the mosque underwent repairs, some of which caused damage to the building.



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Summary: Islamic World in 1550: Mongol Empire Legacy and Muslim History (Part 1A) is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: In our last article, "A Journey Through the Islamic World in 1550 (Part 1)," we crossed the African continent, traveled from Egypt into the Ottoman Empire, and visited Tabriz in Iran. The account keeps its focus on Mongol Empire, Islamic World, Muslim History while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.

In our last article, "A Journey Through the Islamic World in 1550 (Part 1)," we crossed the African continent, traveled from Egypt into the Ottoman Empire, and visited Tabriz in Iran. This time, we will visit 12 countries ruled by the descendants of Genghis Khan, moving from Eastern Europe into North Asia and Central Asia, and finally into South Asia.

In the early 13th century, as the Mongol Empire expanded, Genghis Khan began dividing his lands among his sons. Orda and Batu, the sons of Genghis Khan's eldest son Jochi, received lands in southern Russia and Kazakhstan, which gradually formed the Golden Horde. Hulagu Khan, the son of Genghis Khan's fourth son Tolui, received lands in Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and parts of West Asia, which gradually formed the Ilkhanate. After the Yuan Dynasty was established in 1271, the original families of Ogedei and Chagatai, led by Kaidu, opposed Kublai Khan. This led to the formation of the Ogedei Khanate and the Chagatai Khanate, completing the four great Mongol khanates.

After the 14th century, the territory of the Ogedei Khanate was first divided between the Chagatai Khanate and the Yuan Dynasty, and later the Ilkhanate and the Chagatai Khanate also began to split apart. The Golden Horde was the last to decline, splitting into several khanates in the early 15th century.

In 1550, there were 12 countries and regimes established by descendants of Genghis Khan, ruling a vast area from Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and China's Xinjiang to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. They were:

1. The Crimean Khanate ruled the Crimean Peninsula.

2. The Astrakhan Khanate ruled the Volga Delta.

3. The Nogai Horde ruled the region between the Volga and Ural rivers.

4. The Qasim Khanate ruled Kasimov in the modern-day Ryazan Oblast of Russia.

5. The Kazan Khanate ruled the middle Volga region.

6. The Siberian Khanate ruled the area around the Irtysh River.

7. The Kazakh Khanate ruled the Kazakh Steppe.

8. The Khanate of Khiva ruled the Khwarezm region.

9. The Khanate of Bukhara ruled the Transoxiana region of Central Asia.

10. The Yarkent Khanate ruled the southern Xinjiang region.

11. Haidar ruled the Kashmir region.

12. The Arghun dynasty ruled southern Afghanistan and the Sindh region of Pakistan.

Additionally, the Mughal Empire was briefly overthrown at this time, and its second emperor, Humayun, was in exile in Persia.

1. The Crimean Khanate in Ukraine (1441–1783).

We start this journey on the Crimean Peninsula on the northern shore of the Black Sea.

The Khan of the Crimean Khanate was a descendant of Tuka-Timur, the thirteenth son of Jochi, who was Genghis Khan's eldest son. In the 1260s, the Golden Horde gave the Crimean Peninsula to the ancestor of the Crimean Khans, Uran Timur, to rule. The khanate was officially established in 1441.

Around 1500, the Crimean Khan Mengli I Giray built the capital of Salachik. In 1532, Sahib I Giray, the son of Mengli I Giray, established a new capital called Bakhchisarai in a valley two kilometers downstream from Salachik. For the next 250 years, generations of Crimean Khans built palaces and various mosque buildings here.

In 1550, the Khan ruling the Crimean Khanate was Sahib I Giray. He ascended the throne with the help of the Ottoman Empire. Later, he joined forces with the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent to attack the Moldavians, and in 1541, he raided Moscow and brought back spoils of war.

The location of Bakhchisarai, the capital of the Crimean Khanate.

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5. The Kazan Khanate in Russia (1438–1552)

We headed east to the city of Kazan on the banks of the Volga River.

The Kazan Khanate was founded by Ulugh Muhammad, a descendant of Genghis Khan's eldest son Jochi, who had ruled the Golden Horde twice. He lost control of the Golden Horde in 1436, then led his army to the Volga River and officially established the Kazan Khanate after capturing Kazan in 1438.

In 1521, the Kazan Khanate formed an alliance with the Astrakhan, Crimean, and Nogai Khanates to resist Moscow together. This caused dissatisfaction among pro-Russian factions within the Kazan Khanate, leading the state into internal conflict.

In 1550, the Khan of the Kazan Khanate was the four-year-old Ötemish Giray, though the actual rulers were his mother, Söyembikä, and the prime minister (uğlan) Qoşçaq. Seeing the instability in the Kazan Khanate, Ivan the Terrible of Russia sent a large army to besiege Kazan in February 1550, but the thawing of the Volga River forced the Russians to retreat and only attack the outskirts of the city. Throughout that year, Söyembikä and Qoşçaq fought against the pro-Russian faction, and relations with Russia continued to worsen.

The Kazan Khanate built many homes and public buildings in Kazan, including the Khan's palace, courtyards, mosques, and tombs, with tall minarets defining the city's skyline. In 1552, Ivan the Terrible invaded Kazan, destroyed the Kazan Khanate, and drove all Tatars out of the city, allowing only Russians to settle there. Between 1556 and 1562, Ivan the Terrible ordered the construction of the Kazan Kremlin on the site of the old Kazan Khanate fortress. The mosques, the Kazan Khan's palace, and the tombs were initially used as armories and ammunition depots, but were eventually completely demolished in the 18th century.

In 1977, hydraulic engineers accidentally dug up a grave while laying rainwater pipes at the Kazan Kremlin and immediately contacted the archaeology department. Archaeological excavations lasted for 10 years, eventually uncovering five graves, two of which were confirmed to be those of the actual founders of the Kazan Khanate: Mäxmüd Khan (died 1463 or 1466) and his grandson, Möxämmät Ämin (died 1518). The tomb was originally made of white stone and finally collapsed in the 17th century.

For further research, the remains of the two Kazan Khans, Mäxmüd and Möxämmät Ämin, were kept at the Institute of Archaeology of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences for 40 years. In May 2017, after continuous efforts by the Tatar Muslims of Kazan, the two Kazan Khans were finally reburied not far from their original graves.







Between 2004 and 2005, the Institute of Archaeology of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences re-excavated the Kazan Khan tombs and discovered the graves of four more Khans: Xalil (died 1467), İbrahim (died 1478), Safa Giray (died 1549), and Canghali (died 1535). Today, these four Kazan Khan graves are protected under a glass roof. Safa Giray Khan came from the Giray family of the Crimean Khanate and served as the Khan of Kazan three times: from 1524–1531, 1535–1546, and 1546–1549. Safa Giray was an anti-Russian Khan. His first reign ended due to Moscow's attack on Kazan, and he regained the throne four years later after Kazan nobles overthrew the pro-Russian Khan. Eleven years later, due to internal unrest in Kazan, he was overthrown again by a pro-Russian Khan. Safa Giray fled to his father-in-law's Nogai tribe, and a few months later, he returned to Kazan with a Nogai army to become the Khan for the third time. Canghali Khan was originally the Khan of the Qasim Khanate, a vassal state of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. In 1532, Grand Prince Vasily III of Moscow defeated the Kazan Khan Safa Giray and installed the 16-year-old Canghali as the pro-Russian Khan of Kazan. He died in 1535 during a coup by Kazan nobles.









There is a performance about the Siege of Kazan at the entrance of the Kul Sharif Mosque inside the Kazan Kremlin. In 1552, when Ivan the Terrible besieged Kazan, the last imam of the Kazan Khanate, Seid Kul Sharif, led the people in a final resistance and died in the city. Today, Seid Kul Sharif is a national hero for the Kazan Tatars, and the new Kul Sharif Mosque built in 2005 is named after him.





The National Museum of the Republic of Tatarstan houses a letter written in 1523 by the Kazan Khan Sahib I Giray (reigned 1521–1524). A replica of this letter is also inside the Kazan Kremlin. In 1521, to resist the control of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Kazan Khanate overthrew the pro-Moscow Khan Shahghali and welcomed Sahib I Giray from Crimea to Kazan to become the new Khan.



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2. The Astrakhan Khanate of Russia (1466–1556)

We continue east to the mouth of the Volga River.

The Astrakhan Khanate was located in the Volga Delta. Its founder, Mahmud bin Küchük, was a prince of the Golden Horde. The Astrakhan Khanate was mainly inhabited by Astrakhan Tatars and Nogais. The Khanate's caravans traveled between Moscow, Kazan, Crimea, Central Asia, and the Transcaucasus region. In 1532, the Astrakhan Khanate began to have contact with Russia. After Russia conquered Kazan in 1552, the Astrakhan Khanate could not escape the same fate.

In 1550, the capital of the Astrakhan Khanate was Hajji Tarkhan, located on the right bank of the Volga River, 12 kilometers north of the modern city of Astrakhan. The city of Hajji Tarkhan was built by the Golden Horde in the late 13th century, appeared in the Travels of Ibn Battuta in the 14th century, was destroyed by Timur's army in 1395, and was rebuilt by the Astrakhan Khanate in the 15th century. The city was occupied by the Crimean Khanate in 1547 and was finally burned down by Ivan the Terrible in 1556.

There are currently about 60,000 Astrakhan Tatars in Russia. Most live in the Astrakhan Oblast, with half living in the city of Astrakhan, where they have their own community and several mosques.

The location of the city of Hajji Tarkhan.



The White Mosque in Astrakhan, photographed by Polinadelia in 2014.



3. The Nogai Horde in Russia and Kazakhstan (1440–1634)

Continuing east from the Volga River, you reach the grasslands of the Nogai tribes.

Nogai was the great-grandson of Jochi, the eldest son of Genghis Khan, and an important leader of the Golden Horde who ruled many Turkic-speaking tribes in the 13th century. A century later, the Golden Horde general Edigu ruled a large area from the Volga to the Ural River, and the tribes under his rule were also called the Nogai Horde.

We can find history about the Nogai Horde in the early 16th century in Russian records. In 1521, the Nogai were driven west by the Kazakhs and crossed the Volga River to attack Astrakhan. In 1522, the Kazakhs captured the capital of the Nogai Horde. In 1523, the Nogai Horde defeated the army that had briefly occupied Astrakhan.

In 1550, the Khan of the Kazan Khanate was Yosuf Khan (1549–1555), who had helped Moscow against the Kazan Khanate in 1549.

Saray-Jük was the capital of the Nogai Horde, located on the border of Europe and Asia in western Kazakhstan. This city sat on a trade route between Europe and China and was an important commercial hub during the Golden Horde period. After being destroyed by Timur in 1395, it was rebuilt in the 1430s and 1440s.

The location of Saray-Jük.



The ruins of Saray-Jük, photographed by Yakov Fedorov in 2020.



4. The Qasim Khanate in Russia (1452–1681)

We head north to the modern-day Ryazan Oblast in Russia.

The Qasim Khanate was located in Russia's Ryazan Oblast. Its founder, Qasim Khan, was the son of Ulugh Muhammad, the founder of the Kazan Khanate. The Qasim Khanate served as a buffer state between the Grand Duchy of Moscow and the Kazan Khanate and was under heavy Russian control.

In 1550, the Khan of the Qasim Khanate was Shahghali, who was installed as the Khan of the Kazan Khanate three times as a Russian vassal. In 1546, Shahghali was overthrown by the people of Kazan and fled back to the Qasim Khanate. Between 1547 and 1551, he participated in several Russian attacks on the Kazan Khanate and took part in the final Russian conquest of Kazan in 1552.

The capital of the Qasim Khanate, Qasimov, is located on the left bank of the Oka River in Russia's Ryazan Oblast, where one thousand Tatar-speaking Qasim Tatars still live today. The Khan Mosque in Qasimov was built by Shahghali in the mid-16th century. It was ordered to be demolished by Peter the Great in 1702, but the minaret (bangke ta) was preserved. This minaret is very similar to the Light Tower (Guangta) of the Huaisheng Mosque in Guangzhou.

The Khan Mosque in Qasimov, photographed by Alexander Novikov in 2014.



The location of Qasimov.



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6. The Siberian Khanate of Russia (1468-1598)

We continue heading east to the meeting point of the Irtysh River and the Siberian River.

The Siberian (Sibir) Khanate was north of the Kazakh Khanate. It was the northernmost Muslim state in history, reaching all the way to the coast of the Arctic Ocean. In the 16th century, the capital of the Siberian Khanate was Qashliq, located on the right bank of the Irtysh River. Qashliq, also called the City of Siberia, was very prosperous in the early 16th century and had close trade ties with the Kazan Khanate. Later, it was permanently destroyed by the Cossacks, and it is hard to find any traces of it now.

The location of Qashliq city



7. The Kazakh Khanate of Kazakhstan (1465-1847)

Moving south from Siberia, we enter the vast Kazakh steppe.

The founders of the Kazakh Khanate, Janybek Khan and Kerey Khan, were both descendants of Tuqa Temur, the thirteenth son of Jochi, who was the eldest son of Genghis Khan.

In 1550, the Khanate was ruled by Haqnazar Khan (1537-1580). At that time, the Kazakh Khanate had rivals on all sides. He first defeated the Nogai Khanate, then the Khanate of Khiva and the Oirats, and then the Siberian Khanate and the Yarkent Khanate. This made the Kazakh Khanate stronger than ever, earning him the title of King of Turan (Shah-i-Turan).

The capital of the Kazakh Khanate at that time was Sighnaq, located in what is now the Kyzylorda Region of Kazakhstan. This was originally the capital of the Blue Horde and served as an important trade point for steppe tribes to exchange goods with the southern farming regions.

Sighnaq photographed by Azamat Nurlybekov in 2022



The location of Sighnaq





8. The Khanate of Khiva in Turkmenistan (1511–1920)

Continuing southwest, we go deep into the heart of Central Asia.

The Khanate of Khiva was located in the Khwarezm region south of the Aral Sea. It called itself Khwarezm, and its rulers were descendants of Shiban, the fifth son of Jochi, who was the eldest son of Genghis Khan. In the 16th century, the capital of the Khanate of Khiva was Konye-Urgench, located on the border of northern Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. After the Khanate moved its capital to Khiva in the 17th century, this place was gradually abandoned. It was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2005.

Before the Mongol conquest of Khwarezm, Konye-Urgench was one of the wealthiest cities in Central Asia. Most of the current ruins belong to that period, and very few remains from the Khanate of Khiva period have been preserved.

The location of Konye-Urgench





9. The Khanate of Bukhara in Uzbekistan (1500–1785)

Let us continue east into the ancient city of Bukhara.

In the early 16th century, Muhammad Shaybani, a descendant of Shiban (the fifth son of Jochi, Genghis Khan's eldest son), led Uzbek tribes living in the northern Central Asian steppes to overthrow the Timurid dynasty's rule in Transoxiana. He established the Shaybanid Dynasty (1506-1598), opening a new chapter in the history of the Transoxiana region of Central Asia.

The capital of the Shaybanid Dynasty was initially in Samarkand, but it moved to Bukhara after 1533, which is why later generations called it the Khanate of Bukhara. Bukhara served as the capital of the Khanate of Bukhara for 252 years, from 1533 to 1785, and many buildings constructed during that time remain today.

The Mir-i-Arab Madrasa was built in 1535 by order of Ubaidullah, the Khan of the Shaybanid Dynasty (reigned 1533-1539). It was named after the Khan's Sufi mentor, Mir-i-Arab (also known as Sheikh Abdullah Yamani).

To compete for territory, Khan Ubaidullah fought many wars against the Persian Safavid dynasty, the most famous being the siege of the ancient Afghan city of Herat. During many raids on Persia, the Shaybanid Dynasty captured many prisoners. People say the Khan used the money from selling three thousand Persian captives to build the Mir-i-Arab Madrasa.

The Mir-i-Arab Madrasa was built opposite the famous Kalyan mosque in Bukhara, forming a facing structure known as a "kosh."

The Mir-i-Arab Madrasa closed in the 1920s but reopened in 1947. It became the only open madrasa in Bukhara at the time, and almost all the imams of that era were trained at this school.









The Khoja Zaynuddin mosque was built in the first half of the 16th century, located next to an ancient pond (Hauz) in Bukhara. This architectural style is known as a mosque-khanaka (Mosque-Khanaka). It serves as both a mosque and a Sufi center, where people can perform namaz and hold religious gatherings (ermeli).























The Bahouddin Naqshbandi Complex is an important Sufi holy site in Central Asia, often called the 'Little Mecca' of the region. It holds the tomb of Hazrat Muhammad Bahauddin Shah Naqshband, the founder of the famous Naqshbandia Sufi order.

During the Shaybanid dynasty, the Naqshbandia order eventually outperformed other Sufi groups to become the dominant order in the khanate. Unlike other Sufi orders that favored seclusion and leaving the world behind, the Naqshbandia order followed the principles set by its founder: 'solitude in the crowd, travel in the world, caution in action, and enjoyment of the moment.'

In 1544, the Shaybanid Khan Abdulaziz (who reigned from 1539 to 1550) built a Dakhma platform with marble railings at the shrine, along with a Sufi lodge (Khanaqa) nearby. Later, a large cemetery for Bukhara's rulers appeared near the shrine, as every ruler felt honored to be buried close to it.





During the Shaybanid period of the Bukhara Khanate, Tashkent's population and size gradually recovered, making it a commercial and cultural hub along the Silk Road. Most of the historical buildings still standing in Tashkent today were built during this time. Abu Bakr Mohammed Kaffal Shashi was a famous imam and scholar in Tashkent during the Samanid dynasty. After he passed away in 976, he was buried in a garden on the outskirts of Tashkent. The current Kaffal Shashi mausoleum was rebuilt in 1541 during the Shaybanid dynasty. It features the design of a Sufi lodge (Khanaqah), including a tall archway (Iwan) and a dome. Inside, besides Kaffal Shashi, his students are also buried there, including his three main disciples. The mausoleum was once covered in beautiful tiles, but only parts remain today, and they have been restored. Additionally, the window lattices on the mausoleum gate are already 500 years old. According to Tashkent legends, applying dust from this mausoleum to one's face can help a woman become pregnant, which attracts many women who are struggling to conceive.



















10. The Yarkent Khanate in China (1514-1680)

We crossed the Tianshan Mountains and arrived at the city of Shache in southern Xinjiang.

The Yarkent (Yarkent) Khanate was a state established in 1514 by Sultan Said Khan, a descendant of the Eastern Chagatai royal family. With Yarkent city (Shache) as its capital, it ruled southern Xinjiang and surrounding areas for over a hundred years until it was annexed by the Dzungar Khanate in 1680.

During the Yarkent Khanate's rule over southern Xinjiang, the Chagatai Mongols eventually shifted from nomadic life to settled living and merged into the Uyghur people. The Uyghurs also gradually developed into a modern ethnic group during this period, and the Twelve Muqam was finalized at this time as well.

'Yarkent Khanate' is actually a name used by modern scholars. In earlier local documents, the Persian word 'Moghuliye' was used, which means 'Mongol State'. Around the same time, Sultan Said Khan's cousin Babur established a state in northern India and also called it 'Moghul'. To distinguish them, Chinese usually translates them as 'Mengwu'er' and 'Mowo'er' respectively.

The founder of the Yarkent Khanate, Said Khan, was the third son of Ahmad Alaq, the ruler of Uyghurstan (modern-day Turpan area) in the eastern part of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate. In 1514, after stabilizing the Transoxiana region, the Uzbek army prepared to wipe out the Chagatai Mongols. After careful thought and discussion, Said Khan decided he could not withstand the Uzbek army's attack, so he left the Fergana Valley, crossed the Tianshan Mountains, and headed toward Yarkent.

In the spring of 1514, Said Khan led his army across the Tianshan Mountains and reached Kashgar via the Torugart Pass. At that time, southern Xinjiang was ruled by Abu Bakr, the leader of the Mongol Dughlat tribe. He was recruiting soldiers in Yarkent city. Said Khan fought a fierce battle outside the city against the Kashgar garrison and defeated the enemy. The enemy closed the gates and refused to come out, so Said Khan could not take the city and turned to attack the city of Yengisar. Said Khan besieged Yengisar for two months and finally captured it after six days of intense fighting.

Hearing that Yengisar had fallen, the Kashgar garrison abandoned the city and fled, so Said Khan marched directly toward Yarkent. When Abu Bakr heard this, he abandoned the city and fled to Hotan, and soon after, Said Khan entered Yarkent city. On September 3, 1514, Said Khan officially ascended the throne and established the Yarkent Khanate.

In 1516, Sultan Said reconciled with his older brother, Mansur Khan, who ruled the eastern part of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate. He agreed to mention Mansur's name during the khutbah (sermon) and to mint coins bearing Mansur's name. Southern Xinjiang welcomed long-awaited peace and order that year. The Tarikh-i-Rashidi describes it this way:

The reconciliation between these two brothers brought safety and prosperity to the residents. Anyone could travel alone between Hami in China and the Fergana region without needing food supplies or fearing robbery.

The location of Yarkand city.



Today, there is a site in the old city of Yarkand called Ordakul, which means royal palace pond. This was likely the location of the Yarkand Khanate's royal palace. The Tarikh-i-Rashidi describes Yarkand city during the early Yarkand Khanate period like this:

They diverted rivers into the city and built gardens. The main roads were lined with poplar trees. People walking around the city could spend half their journey in the shade of these trees, and most of the tree-lined paths had water channels on both sides.





Ordakul Mosque





To the west of Ordakul is the Jami Mosque. Jami is also translated as Jumu'ah, which refers to the weekly Friday congregational prayer. The Jami Mosque was reportedly founded by Sultan Said and later expanded during the reign of Abdullah Khan (reigned 1638–1669).

























After settling down in the oases of southern Xinjiang, many Chagatai Mongols began to complain about city life and missed the nomadic life on the steppes of their homeland, Moghulistan. the small pastures in the southern Xinjiang oases could not support the needs of the Mongol army. In 1522, Sultan Said sent his son, Abdurashid Khan, to lead troops into Moghulistan and conquer the Kyrgyz people living there.

In 1526, the Kazakhs entered Moghulistan and joined forces with the Kyrgyz, reaching a total of over 200,000 people. Sultan Said realized his strength was not enough to fight them, so he ordered all the Chagatai Mongols to return to southern Xinjiang. The Chagatai Mongols' five-year attempt to return to their nomadic homeland ultimately ended in failure.

After the failure in the north, Sultan Said turned his attention to attacking the south. In 1529, Sultan Said raided the Badakhshan region, which lay between the Yarkand Khanate and the Mughal Empire. This raid caused conflict between Sultan Said and his cousin, Emperor Babur. Emperor Babur wrote a letter to Sultan Said warning him that if he continued, you will know the rest yourself.

In 1532, Sultan Said personally led an army south to prepare for an expedition to Lhasa. While crossing the Karakoram Mountains, Sultan Said suffered from severe altitude sickness and lost his strength. In 1533, he decided to return to Yarkand to recover, but he died from altitude sickness while crossing the Karakoram Mountains again.

After Sultan Said died in 1533, his son, Abdurashid Khan (reigned 1533–1560), succeeded him. Abdurashid Khan built a mausoleum for his father at the west gate of Yarkand city. Later, this also became the royal mausoleum of the Yarkand Khanate.

The current mausoleum of Sultan Said was rebuilt in 1997. view all

Reposted from the web

Summary: Islamic World in 1550: Southeast Asia — Sultanates, Trade and Muslim History is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: In the first article, "A Journey Through the Islamic World in 1550 (Part 1)," we crossed the African continent, traveled from Egypt into the Ottoman Empire, and then visited Tabriz in Iran. The account keeps its focus on Southeast Asian Islam, Islamic World, Muslim History while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.

In the first article, "A Journey Through the Islamic World in 1550 (Part 1)," we crossed the African continent, traveled from Egypt into the Ottoman Empire, and then visited Tabriz in Iran.

In the second article, "A Journey Through the Islamic World in 1550 (Part 2) — The Legacy of the Mongol Empire," we visited 12 countries ruled by descendants of Genghis Khan, moving from Eastern Europe into North and Central Asia, and finally into South Asia.

In the third part of our series, 'A Journey Through the Islamic World in 1550 (Part 3) — South Asia,' we explore the Islamic culture of South Asia. We travel from Delhi into Gujarat, central India, and the Deccan Plateau. We visit five sultanates on the plateau before boarding a ship to the Maldives to begin our journey across the Indian Ocean.

In this part, we will cross the Bay of Bengal and enter the Islamic world of Southeast Asia.

The Sultanate of Patani in Thailand (1457?) -1902)

The Sultanate of Patani is located on the border of modern-day Thailand and Malaysia. Its early history is unclear, but it likely converted to Islam in the mid-15th century. After the Portuguese conquered the Sultanate of Malacca in 1511, Patani became an important trading port. to a large number of Chinese merchants, hundreds of Portuguese traders settled here.

In 1550, the sultanate was ruled by Sultan Muzaffar Shah. According to the Patani history book 'Hikayat Patani,' the ancient Krue Se mosque in Patani was originally built by Sultan Muzaffar Shah.

Krue Se mosque photographed by Phoowadon Duangmee



The location of Patani



The legacy of the Malacca Sultanate.

Until the end of the 15th century, European spices were obtained through Venice. Venice got them from Arabs and Indians, who in turn got them from Malacca. This process was complex and tedious. Driven by a desire for spices, the King of Portugal ordered his explorers to bypass the Cape of Good Hope to break the trade chain and establish a direct trade route to the East.

In 1509, a Portuguese representative arrived in Malacca with a letter from the King, hoping to establish direct trade. However, because the Portuguese had previously led Catholics against 'infidels' in India, the powerful Indian Tamil Muslim faction in the Malacca court was very hostile toward them. The Sultanate of Malacca eventually decided to arrest the Portuguese representative. He escaped alone, but his companions were imprisoned.

In 1511, the Portuguese governor of India led 18 ships and 1,400 men to Malacca to negotiate the release of the prisoners with the Sultan. After three months of delays, the Portuguese successfully bribed the castle guards to open the main gate. The Portuguese army entered Malacca, and the last Sultan fled.

The Portuguese demolished the original palace, cemeteries, and mosques of the Malacca Sultanate to build the A Famosa fortress.





St. Paul's Church, built inside the fortress in 1521, is the oldest church building in Southeast Asia.



The location of Malacca



After the Portuguese conquered Malacca, the last Sultan, Mahmud Shah, retreated south to Bintan Island, south of Singapore. He established his capital at Tanjungpinang and continued to rule the Malays as Sultan. Between 1515 and 1519, the Sultan led several military campaigns to retake Malacca, but the Portuguese defeated him each time. In 1526, the Portuguese completely destroyed Tanjungpinang. Mahmud Shah fled to Kampar in Riau, where he died in 1528.

The location of Tanjungpinang



After Mahmud Shah died, his two sons established the Sultanate of Perak and the Sultanate of Johor. Along with the Sultanate of Pahang, which had been established earlier by another Malaccan prince, there were three sultanates on the Malay Peninsula ruled by Malaccan princes during this period.

1. The Sultanate of Perak, Malaysia (1528–present)

The Sultanate of Perak is located on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. It was founded by Muzaffar Shah I, the eldest son of the last Malaccan Sultan, Mahmud Shah. After his father died in 1528, his brother Alauddin established the Sultanate of Johor, while he traveled to Perak and became the Sultan of Perak.

In 1550, the Perak Sultanate was ruled by its second sultan, Mansur Shah I. He began taxing tin mines within Perak, which gradually made the sultanate wealthy. During his reign, the Perak Sultanate was defeated by Siam in the north, forced to pay annual tribute, and had to allow Siam to buy tin tax-free.

The location of Perak.



2. The Pahang Sultanate of Malaysia (1470–1623)

The Pahang Sultanate was a Malay state on the east coast of the Malay Peninsula, founded by a prince from the Malacca Sultanate. The Pahang Sultanate became officially independent after the Portuguese conquered the Malacca Sultanate in 1511. In 1523, the Pahang Sultanate joined forces with the remnants of the Malacca Sultanate in the Johor region to defeat the Portuguese. In retaliation, the Portuguese destroyed all the ships of the Pahang Sultanate and killed over 600 people. In 1540, the Portuguese teamed up with the Pattani Sultanate to attack the Pahang Sultanate, killing the sultan himself.

In 1550, the Pahang Sultanate was ruled by Sultan Zainal Abidin Shah. That year, the three sultanates founded by Malacca princes—Pahang, Johor, and Perak—united to try and retake Malacca from the Portuguese. However, the Portuguese army used a diversionary strategy to harass the ports of Pahang, forcing the Pahang Sultanate's army to withdraw.

The location of Pahang.



3. The Johor Sultanate of Malaysia (1528–present)

After the last sultan of the Malacca Sultanate, Mahmud Shah, passed away, his second son, Alauddin Riayat, established the Johor Sultanate in the upper reaches of Kota Tinggi, Johor, Malaysia. In 1535, the Portuguese twice led 400 soldiers to invade Johor. Alauddin led the Malays in a fierce counterattack, heavily damaging the Portuguese, and eventually signed a peace treaty with them.

After 1540, Alauddin moved the capital of the Johor Sultanate to the mouth of the Johor River, now known as Old Johor (Johor Lama). That same year, he sent troops to defeat the Aceh Sultanate, which had invaded the Aru Kingdom. This battle is hailed as the most glorious victory achieved by the Malays after the fall of the Malacca Sultanate.

The Old Johor Museum introduces this history of the Johor Sultanate; photo taken by Chongkian in 2016.



The location of Old Johor.





Sultanates of Indonesia.

1. The Aceh Sultanate of Indonesia (1496–1903)

The Aceh Sultanate was located in Aceh Province on the northern tip of Sumatra, Indonesia. In the 16th and 17th centuries, it was a major power in the Malay Archipelago, competing with the Johor Sultanate and the Portuguese for control of the Strait of Malacca. At the same time, the court of the Sultan of Aceh was a center for Islamic scholarship.

The Aceh Sultanate began expanding its control over northern Sumatra in the 1520s and started clashing with the Portuguese. In 1521, Sultan Ali led his army to defeat a Portuguese fleet of 200 men, capturing many European cannons. After this, the war between the Aceh Sultanate and the Portuguese continued unabated. Meanwhile, the Aceh Sultanate also took in many Malaccan nobles who had fled after the Portuguese conquered the Malacca Sultanate.

In 1550, the Aceh Sultanate was ruled by its third sultan, Alauddin al-Kahar, who is known as the most powerful warrior in the history of the Aceh Sultanate. Alauddin began conquering southern Sumatra in 1539 and killed the ruler of the Aru Kingdom, but he was pushed back by the Johor Sultanate in 1540. To compete with the Portuguese for control of the Strait of Malacca, Alauddin led an army in a night raid on Malacca in 1547, but he was ultimately defeated. After that, the Aceh Sultanate enjoyed 15 years of peace.

The tomb of Sultan Alauddin al-Kahar; photo taken by Si Gam in 2015.



The dark area shows the territory of the Aceh Sultanate in 1524, mapped by Gunawan Kartapranata in 2009.



The location of Banda Aceh.



2. The Banten Sultanate of Indonesia (1527–1813).

Banten is on the western tip of Java Island, separated from Sumatra by the Sunda Strait. In the early 16th century, it belonged to the Hindu Sunda Kingdom. The rise of the Cirebon and Demak sultanates on Java threatened the Sunda Kingdom, so the kingdom asked the Portuguese in Malacca for help. In 1522, the Portuguese formed an alliance with the Sunda Kingdom to control the local pepper trade.

However, after the alliance was formed, the Portuguese failed to send troops to help in time. The joint Cirebon-Demak army took the chance to capture the important Sunda Kingdom port of Sunda Kalapa and renamed it Jakarta. After that, the Sunda Kingdom fought the Cirebon-Demak army alone for five years. In 1527, the Cirebon Sultan Sunan Gunung Jati sent his son, Maulana Hasanuddin, to join the Demak Sultanate and capture the important port of Banten. Sunan Gunung Jati then named his son the Sultan of Banten.

Soon after becoming Sultan of Banten, Maulana Hasanuddin began building a new port city at the mouth of the Banten River. By the mid-16th century, Banten had become an important port that could rival Malacca. According to the Portuguese historian João de Barros, Banten was located in the middle of the harbor. A clear river ran through the city, allowing ships to sail into the town center. The city had a brick fortress with a two-story wooden defensive structure. There was a square in the city center used as a market in the morning and for military or artistic events at noon. On the south side of the square was the Sultan's palace, known as the Surosowan Palace, with a tall building next to it where the Sultan met his subjects. On the west side of the square was the Great Mosque, which is the current Great Mosque of Banten.

At that time, only local residents lived inside the city. Foreigners lived by the harbor north of the city, with foreign Muslims in the northeast and foreign non-Muslims in the northwest.

Only ruins remain of the Surosowan Palace built by Maulana Hasanuddin, which served as the residence for generations of Banten sultans. The palace was designed by a Dutchman, so it features the corner bastion structure of a Dutch fortress. The Surosowan Palace currently has two-meter-high walls made of red stone and coral. The most obvious ruin inside is the Sultan's princess's bathing pool, which is similar in structure to the existing pools in the Yogyakarta Sultan's Palace.













The tomb of Maulana Hasanuddin is right next to the Great Mosque of Banten.





Street view of Banten city.













The location of Banten city.





3. The Cirebon Sultanate of Indonesia (1447–1679).

The Cirebon Sultanate was located in western Java and was founded by Prince Cakrabuana of the Hindu Sunda Kingdom. Prince Cakrabuana's mother was a Muslim, and he converted to Islam. Later, the prince studied under a Sufi sheikh from Iran and, at the sheikh's request, established a new settlement called Cirebon.

In 1550, the ruler of the Cirebon Sultanate was Sunan Gunung Jati (reigned 1479–1568), one of the nine saints (Wali Sanga) of Javanese Islam. He was the nephew of the sultanate's founder, Prince Cakrabuana. There are many legends about Sunan Gunung Jati, but some contradict each other, suggesting these stories may combine the experiences of more than one historical figure.

According to legend, Sunan Gunung Jati went on Hajj at age 22 and studied in Mecca, Baghdad, Egypt, and Champa. After returning home to Java, he studied under another one of the nine saints, Sunan Ampel, and served in the court of the Demak Sultanate. After returning to Cirebon, he suggested to his uncle that they establish an Islamic school (pesantren).

After inheriting the throne, he wrote to his grandfather, the King of Sunda, to announce that he would stop paying tribute to the Sunda Kingdom and that it was now an independent sultanate. According to the 1515 book The Suma Oriental of Tomé Pires: An Account of the East, from the Red Sea to China by Portuguese explorer Tomé Pires, the Cirebon Sultanate was already a mature Muslim nation by 1515. During the reign of Sunan Gunung Jati, Cirebon grew into a prosperous port city that attracted many Arab and Chinese merchants. This place was not only a trade hub but also a center for the Islamic faith.

The Great Mosque of Cirebon, built by Sunan Gunung Jati, photographed by Aris Riyanto in 2014.



The location of Cirebon.



4. The Demak Sultanate of Indonesia (1475–1568).

The Demak Sultanate was located on the north coast of central Java, a place that was once a port for the Hindu-Buddhist Majapahit Kingdom. After the 15th century, as the Majapahit Kingdom declined, many Muslim merchants from Arabia and India chose to settle on the north coast of Java. In 1475, a Majapahit prince who had converted to Islam began ruling Demak, and he declared himself Sultan after his father died in 1478.

After the Portuguese conquered the Malacca Sultanate in 1511, the Demak Sultanate launched attacks against the Portuguese and the Majapahit Kingdom to protect the spice trade. Although they were defeated at sea by the Portuguese, the Demak Sultanate crushed the Majapahit Kingdom on land, completely ending the once-powerful kingdom in 1527. At its peak, the Demak Sultanate controlled all the trade ports on the north coast of Java and gained control over the ports of Jambi and Palembang in eastern Sumatra, making it a powerful maritime nation at the time.

In 1550, the ruler of the Demak Sultanate was Arya Penangsang, a brave but vicious Sultan who would not hesitate to use cruel methods to achieve his goals. The Sultan's teacher was Sunan Kudus, one of the nine Javanese Islamic saints (Wali Sanga), who helped the Sultan seize the throne in 1549.

A one-hour drive northeast from the city of Demak brings you to Kudus, an important holy city of Islam on Java. Kudus is the only city on Java with an Arabic name. 'Kudus' is actually the Arabic pronunciation of Jerusalem, 'al-Quds,' and it was named after Sunan Kudus, one of the nine Javanese Islamic saints (Wali Sanga). The tomb of Kudus is now an important religious site on Java, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque next to the tomb is world-famous for its unique minaret built in an early traditional Javanese style.

Kudus came from a family of religious scholars, and his father was the imam of the Great Mosque of Demak. Kudus served as an officer in four wars between the Demak Sultanate and the Majapahit Kingdom, but he spent most of his energy on spreading the faith. Kudus studied under Sunan Kalijaga, one of the nine Javanese Islamic saints (Wali Songo) and the founder of the Great Mosque of Demak. Like his teacher, Kudus was very tolerant of traditional Javanese culture. He once tied a cow, which Hindus consider sacred, inside the mosque to attract Hindus, and he forbade people from slaughtering cows. When building the mosque, Kudus also used Javanese Hindu architectural styles.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque of Kudus (Masjid Al Aqsa Menara Kudus) was built by Kudus in 1549 and is known for its unique traditional Javanese architectural style.

The mosque shares its name with the famous Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. People say while on his way to perform the Hajj, Kudus helped cure a plague in a city and refused the generous gifts offered by the locals, accepting only a stone from the holy land surrounding the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. After returning to Java, Kudus used the stone in this mosque.



During the 19th century.



During the early 20th century.



The architectural style of the Al-Aqsa Mosque of Kudus directly inherited Buddhist/Hindu architecture from the Majapahit era, featuring two types of characteristic gates: Candi Bentar and Kori Agung.

A Candi is a type of Hindu/Buddhist mosque architecture found on Java, Bali, and Lombok. Candi Bentar means 'split Candi,' which refers to a Candi that is split symmetrically down the middle to create a path. The split gate (candi bentar) does not actually have doors. It serves as a passage from the secular world into a sacred space, creating a sense of solemnity before you reach the main building.



The grand gate (kori agung), also known as the paduraksa gate in Hindu and Buddhist architecture, is the main entrance from the secular world into a sacred space. The grand gate (kori agung) comes from the ancient Hindu gopuram gate. It was widely used in Javanese Hindu and Buddhist temples after the 8th and 9th centuries. After the 15th century, Islamic sultanates adopted it for mosques, palaces, and tombs, though without the complex Hindu and Buddhist decorations.

The grand gate (kori agung) is actually a type of stepped temple (candi) in the Majapahit style. It is built from red brick and features beautiful patterns on its wooden door panels.



The main prayer hall of the mosque was rebuilt in modern times, but it still preserves two original grand gates (kori agung) inside.







The most famous structure at the Al-Aqsa Mosque is this minaret, which is the oldest in Java and the only one on the island from the 16th century. This tower is not a Persian-style spire at all. It is a traditional Javanese Majapahit-style tower, and a large drum (bedug) used for the call to prayer sits at the top. Today, drum towers (bale kulkul) of the same style still exist in Bali, where they are used to signal attacks, fires, or public events.



The ablution pool at the Al-Aqsa Mosque is also very unique. Every water tap has a traditional statue next to it. People say Sunan Kudus designed this during the early construction phase to attract local Hindus and Buddhists to come here to clean themselves.





Sunan Kudus passed away in 1550 and is buried in the backyard of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The holy tomb is also built in the traditional Majapahit architectural style.





The split gate (candi bentar) in the middle of the passage.



During the early 20th century.



Next is another grand gate (kori agung).



Then you enter the bathing area, where people clean their bodies to prepare for entering the holy tomb.





Passing through this split gate (candi bentar) leads you into the outer burial area.







Passing through this grand gate (kori agung) brings you to the actual holy tomb.







The Langgar Bubrah ruins are in a small alley south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. They are an important witness to Java's transition from Hinduism to Islam in the 16th century.

People say Prince Pontjowati of the Majapahit Kingdom built Langgar Bubrah in 1533, and it was originally a Hindu temple. Later, Prince Pontjowati converted to Islam under Sunan Kudus and became his student, so the site was converted into a mosque.





Traditional Majapahit-style brick carvings.









The room once had a roof, but it did not survive. Now, only the stone column bases (umpak) that supported the roof remain. Next to the column bases is a Hindu linga, along with a stone used for grinding herbs.



Beside the ruins, there is also a Hindu stone carving of Shiva.





In the city of Demak, there is the tomb of Sunan Kalijaga, one of the nine saints (Wali Songo) of Javanese Islam, built in 1550. He played a major role in the spread of Islam in Java.

When Sunan Kalijaga performed missionary work (da'wah), he used local Javanese culture and art as a medium. He slowly integrated the faith into traditional Javanese customs, which was key to the formation of traditional Javanese Islamic culture.

During his missionary work, Sunan Kalijaga was skilled at using art forms like shadow puppetry (wayang), traditional gamelan music, and carving. He also promoted traditional Javanese Muslim clothing (baju takwa), the Sekaten festival, and the Grebeg Maulud parade.

Legend says Sunan Kalijaga lived to be 100 years old and did not pass away until 1550. During his life, he witnessed the fall of the Majapahit Kingdom and the establishment of the Demak, Cirebon, and Banten sultanates. He eventually passed away in Demak and was buried southeast of the city.

Today, the tomb of Sunan Kalijaga is one of the most important Islamic holy sites in Java, visited by hundreds of people every day.















I caught the Friday prayer (Jumu'ah) at the Sunan Kalijaga tomb mosque and saw them use the traditional large drum (Bedug) for the call to prayer. After the Friday prayer, everyone received a popsicle and a snack, and everyone enjoyed them.











Next to the Sunan Kalijaga tomb is a large bazaar, where many stalls sell T-shirts and pictures featuring the face of the saint Sunan Kalijaga. I bought pictures of the nine saints (Wali Sanga) of Javanese Islam and the saint Sunan Kalijaga. Saint Sunan Kalijaga is the only one among the nine saints who wore traditional Javanese clothing, which shows how he used traditional Javanese culture as a way to spread the faith.









The locations of Demak and Kudus.





The four sultanates of the Spice Islands.

1. The Sultanate of Ternate in Indonesia (1486-1914).

The Sultanate of Ternate ruled parts of eastern Indonesia and the southern Philippines, making it the most powerful of the four sultanates in the Spice Islands. As the only place that produced cloves, Ternate controlled most of the spice trade in the Spice Islands.

Because of the reliance on the spice trade, Islam spread quickly to Ternate after Muslim merchants and Sufi sheikhs brought it to Java in the 15th century, and many people, including the royal family, converted to the faith. In 1486, the King of Ternate officially changed his title from Kolano to Sultan and established the Sultanate of Ternate.

After the Portuguese conquered Malacca in 1511, the spice trade route that used to go through Malacca was temporarily cut off. In 1512, the Portuguese came to Ternate to control the spice trade, and the Sultan of Ternate also hoped to work with them, allowing them to build a fortress in 1522. The Portuguese soon began to control the sultanate, and the bad behavior of the Portuguese garrison and their efforts to spread Catholicism further strained their relationship with the Sultan. In 1535, the people of Ternate attacked a village that had converted to Catholicism, so the Portuguese deposed Sultan Tabariji and sent him to Goa, India, where he converted to Catholicism.

In 1550, Sultan Hairun was the ruler of the Ternate Sultanate. After the Portuguese deposed the old Sultan in 1535, they forcibly took Prince Hairun away to make him a puppet ruler, and Hairun's mother died after falling from a window while resisting them. Hairun was initially forced to live inside the Portuguese fortress, but he was later allowed to move around freely. Because the Portuguese wanted a more controllable Sultan, they decided to depose and exile Hairun to Goa, India, in 1544, while recalling the former Sultan Tabariji, who had already converted to Catholicism in Goa. However, Tabariji died on the way back, and Hairun returned to the throne in 1546.

The Portuguese spent years trying to get Hairun to convert, but their efforts proved useless. Still, to resist the other three sultanates in North Maluku, Hairun chose to keep working with the Portuguese. In 1550, the Sultanate of Jailolo angrily attacked a village that had recently converted to Catholicism. The Portuguese joined forces with the Sultanate of Ternate to conquer the Sultanate of Jailolo, which further increased the power of the Ternate Sultanate.

Residents of Ternate as depicted in the 1540 Portuguese work Códice Casanatense.



The Benteng Kota Janji, a castle built by the Portuguese on Ternate Island in 1522, which means Castle of Promise. This castle witnessed Sultan Hairun signing a treaty with the Portuguese, but it was also where Sultan Hairun was eventually assassinated by the Portuguese.

Photo by dangdude03.



The location of Ternate.





2. The Sultanate of Tidore in Indonesia (1450-1967).

Tidore Island, home to the Sultanate of Tidore, sits right next to Ternate Island. It was the main rival to the Sultanate of Ternate in the spice trade, and people say the very first cloves grew here. Like Ternate, Tidore converted to Islam in the late 15th century after being influenced by Arab Sufi sheikhs, which is when they officially established their sultanate.

When the Portuguese arrived in the Spice Islands in 1512, both the Sultanate of Tidore and the Sultanate of Ternate wanted to work with them. The Ternateans got there first and brought the Portuguese back to their country, so Tidore lost its chance to partner with them.

In 1521, the Sultanate of Tidore hosted Ferdinand Magellan’s Spanish fleet during their voyage around the world. To compete with the alliance between the Portuguese and the Sultanate of Ternate, the Sultanate of Tidore gave the Magellan fleet a warm welcome and filled the Spanish ships with spices.

During the 1520s, the Sultanate of Tidore and the Sultanate of Ternate were constantly at war. The people of Tidore could not beat the Portuguese cannons, so they eventually had to sign a peace treaty.

In 1550, the Sultanate of Tidore was ruled by Sultan Mir. He took the throne in 1526, a time when Tidore was being invaded by the Portuguese, who even burned down the Sultan's palace. Finally, in 1527, the warm welcome Tidore had given Magellan’s fleet six years earlier paid off. A Spanish expedition arrived in Tidore after a three-year voyage. Although only one of the seven original ships remained, the alliance between Tidore and Spain was officially formed.

Because of threats from the Portuguese, the Spanish finally left Tidore in 1546, but the Spanish fort built on Tidore Island still stands today. In 1550, the joint forces of the Portuguese and the Sultanate of Ternate conquered the Sultanate of Jailolo, which made them much stronger. They then pressured the Sultanate of Tidore and forced them to tear down the Spanish fort.

The location of Tidore





3. The Sultanate of Jailolo in Indonesia (late 15th century–1832)

The Sultanate of Jailolo was on the west coast of Halmahera Island, north of Ternate Island. It also rose to power because of the clove trade and officially became a sultanate after converting to Islam in the late 15th century.

In his 1515 book, The Suma Oriental: An Account of the East, from the Red Sea to China, the Portuguese explorer Tomé Pires recorded that the Sultanate of Jailolo was often at war with the Sultanate of Ternate. Many cloves grew within the sultanate, and although the king was a Muslim, most of the people were not.

In 1550, the ruler of the sultanate was Katarabumi. He was a devout Muslim and the main force resisting the Portuguese at the time. He fiercely attacked the Sultanate of Ternate for its alliance with the Portuguese and invaded villages that had converted to Catholicism, which earned him a high reputation locally.

In 1550, the joint forces of the Portuguese and the Sultanate of Ternate besieged Katarabumi’s fort. After running out of food and supplies, Katarabumi was forced to surrender and was removed from power, and the Sultanate of Jailolo became a vassal state of the Sultanate of Ternate.

The location of Jailolo



4. The Sultanate of Bacan (late 15th century–1965)

The Sultanate of Bacan was in the Bacan Islands, south of Ternate Island. It also rose to power because of the clove trade and officially became a sultanate after converting to Islam in the late 15th century.

When the Portuguese first entered the Spice Islands in 1512, the Sultanate of Bacan had more people and ships than the other three sultanates in the Spice Islands. Compared to the other three sultanates, Bacan produced very few cloves and relied mainly on trading forest products from the Papua region. In the 1520s, the Sultanate of Bacan was hostile toward the alliance between the Portuguese and the Sultanate of Ternate. They tried to stay away from the Europeans, but the Portuguese eventually attacked their capital in 1534.

By the mid-16th century, the clove production of the Sultanate of Bacan had increased to match Ternate's. It became an important port of call for merchant ships and maintained friendly relations with the chiefs in Papua.

The location of Bacan



The Sultanate of Brunei in Brunei (1368–1888)

Brunei is located on the north coast of Borneo Island in Southeast Asia. It is made up mostly of Malay people and was part of the Hindu Majapahit Empire in the 14th century. In the 15th century, Indian and Arab merchants brought Islam through trade. Brunei then broke away from the Majapahit Empire, converted to Islam, and became the independent Sultanate of Brunei. From the 15th to the 17th century, the Sultanate of Brunei stretched from northern Borneo to the Sulu Archipelago in the southern Philippines, and even reached Manila in the northern Philippines. After the Portuguese conquered the Malacca Sultanate in 1511, many wealthy Malaccan nobles moved to Brunei, which further strengthened Brunei's power.

In 1521, Magellan's fleet arrived in Brunei. An Italian explorer on the fleet named Antonio Pigafetta left behind valuable records about the Sultanate of Brunei. He saw the main city of the Sultanate of Brunei at the time, Water Village (Kampong Ayer), and compared this city built entirely on water to the Venice of the East. In 1550, the seventh Sultan, Saiful Rijal, ruled Brunei.

Today, Water Village (Kampong Ayer) remains a water city.



The location of Brunei.



The Sultanate of Sulu in the Philippines (1457–1915).

The Sultanate of Sulu is located at the intersection of today's Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Starting in the late 14th century, Sufi missionaries came to the Sulu Archipelago with Arab merchant caravans to spread the faith. In 1457, the Arab explorer Sharif ul-Hashim officially established the Sultanate of Sulu. He is recorded in his genealogy as a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad.

In 1550, the Sultanate of Sulu was a vassal of the Sultanate of Brunei. They would not become independent from the Sultanate of Brunei until after 1578.



The location of Sulu.



The Sultanate of Maguindanao in the Philippines (1520–1905).

The Sultanate of Maguindanao is located in the southern part of Mindanao Island in the Philippines. Its founder was Shariff Muhammed Kabungsuwan, who traveled from Johor on the Malay Peninsula to Maguindanao to preach. It is said he was a descendant of Imam Hasan.

In 1550, the second Sultan, Sharif Maka-alang, ruled the Sultanate of Maguindanao. The capital of the Sultanate of Maguindanao was Cotabato on Mindanao Island in the Philippines. The Maguindanao people living here are the sixth-largest ethnic group in the Philippines and are skilled at producing various metal tools.

The location of Maguindanao.



The online journey through 50 Muslim countries in 1550 ends here. Next time, I will choose another time period to continue this online travel. view all

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Summary: Islamic World in 1550: Mongol Empire Legacy and Muslim History is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: The Altun Mosque next to the royal tomb is said to have been built in 1533, and it now looks as it did after renovations in 1735. The account keeps its focus on Mongol Empire, Islamic World, Muslim History while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.



The Altun Mosque next to the royal tomb is said to have been built in 1533, and it now looks as it did after renovations in 1735.





During the reign of Rashid Khan, foreign wars decreased significantly, but the success rate increased greatly. The national situation stabilized, and social, economic, and cultural life began to recover. According to the History of Musicians (Tavārikh-i mūsīqiyyūn) written in 1853 by the Hotan scholar Mulla Ismutulla Mujizi, during Rashid Khan's reign, Queen Amannisa Khan and the chief court musician Kidirhan organized a group of excellent musicians, singers, and poets to collect and organize the Muqam music circulating in various regions. This effort resulted in the compilation of 16 Muqam suites, including one set of suites processed by Amannisa Khan and another by Kidirhan. During the Yarkand Khanate, Muqam only existed in the form of the grand suite known as Qong Neghma. In 1879, musicians from Kashgar and Yarkand organized the Muqam again, adding the folk narrative poem Dastan and the song-and-dance form Mexirep, which made the structure of the Muqam much larger. In the 1950s, the Cultural Department of the Xinjiang Military District organized the recording of the entire Twelve Muqam as performed by the master Turdi Akhun. After being organized and edited, the musical scores were officially published in 1960, which finalized the Twelve Muqam.

A new tomb for Amannisa Khan was built at the entrance of the Yarkand Royal Tombs in the 1990s.





A statue of Amannisa Khan in the park.



The tomb of Kidirhan is located within the Yarkand Royal Tombs.











11. Haidar of Kashmir (1540-1551)

We head south, crossing the Pamir Mountains into the Kashmir Valley.

Mirza Muhammad Haidar was a Chagatai Mongol noble and a cousin of both Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire, and Said Khan, the founder of the Yarkand Khanate. In his youth, he followed Said Khan in battle, helped establish the Yarkand Khanate, and was promoted to commander for his military achievements. After Said Khan died in 1533, the successor, Rashid Khan, killed many members of Haidar's family, forcing Haidar to flee to India to seek refuge with the Mughal Emperor Humayun. In 1540, after the Mughal Empire was conquered by the Sur Empire, Haidar led an army to conquer Kashmir, and he ruled it for 11 years in the name of the Mughal Empire.

Haidar spent five years in Kashmir writing the immortal Central Asian history book, The History of Rashid (Tarikh-i-Rashidi). This book is divided into two parts. The first part begins with the accession of Tughluq Timur, the first Khan of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate to convert to Islam, and continues through the reign of Rashid Khan of Yarkand. It spans two centuries and covers politics, economy, culture, and other aspects. The second part contains Haidar's personal experiences and observations, providing a very detailed and rare account of the founding of the Yarkand Khanate. In 1550, a noble rebellion broke out in Kashmir. Haidar was struck by an arrow and died while suppressing the rebellion, and the Shah Mir dynasty restored its rule over Kashmir.

The location of Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir.



My copy of The History of Rashid.



Haidar's tomb is located at Mazar-i-Salatin in Srinagar, and it was restored in 2018.

A photo of Haidar's tomb taken in 2018 by Bulat Sarsenbayev, the former Ambassador of Kazakhstan to India.



12. The Arghun Dynasty of Afghanistan and Pakistan (1520–1591)

We continue south into the Sindh province of Pakistan.

The Arghun dynasty was located between southern Afghanistan and Pakistan's Sindh province, and its rulers claimed to be descendants of the Ilkhanate ruler Arghun Khan. The Arghun family was originally the governor of the Timurid Empire in Kandahar, Afghanistan, and they began to oppose Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire, in the early 16th century. Feeling threatened by Babur, the Arghun family invaded Sindh in 1520, conquered the local Samma dynasty, and began their rule over the Sindh region. In 1522, after a long siege, Babur captured Kandahar, and the Arghun dynasty officially moved its capital to Bukkur in the Sindh province of Pakistan.

In 1550, the Arghun dynasty was ruled by Shah Husayn. In 1540, the Mughal Emperor Humayun was driven out of India by the Sur Empire. Humayun asked Shah Hussain for help fighting the Sur Empire, but he was refused. Later, Humayun tried to take Sindh province but failed. In 1543, he finally left the Arghun dynasty and headed to Kandahar.

The location of Bhakkar city in Pakistan.





That is the end of the second part of our journey. In the next part, we will go deeper into the South Asian subcontinent to look at the Muslim dynasties there. view all

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Summary: Islam Book Guide: DK Introduction to Islam — Muslim History and Visual Culture is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: I found a popular science book titled Islam published by DK at the Panjiayuan antique book market. It is full of pictures and text and even comes with a giant poster. The account keeps its focus on Islam Books, DK Islam, Muslim History while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.

I found a popular science book titled Islam published by DK at the Panjiayuan antique book market. It is full of pictures and text and even comes with a giant poster.







The first chapter is about the story of the noble Prophet, where you can see that classic miniature painting of the Night Journey.





The second chapter is about the Quran, showing beautiful handwritten manuscripts.



The third chapter introduces the Five Pillars. It includes demonstrations by modern people and paintings from the Ottoman period, and it uses a tile artifact featuring the Kaaba to explain how the Kaaba is structured.





The fourth chapter introduces the mosque (masjid). It uses a small Andalusian-style mosque model to explain the basic structure, and the miniature painting on the right showing an imam giving a khutbah on the minbar is also very cute.





The fifth chapter covers the history of the Caliphs. The Tiraz in the top right corner is an embroidered decoration sent by the Caliph. It can be in various forms like armbands, robes, or headscarves, and it is embroidered with the Caliph's name, a dua, or poetry.





The sixth chapter is about scholars and teachers. The eighth chapter is about calligraphy and writing. The ninth chapter covers various explorations of knowledge like astronomy, navigation, and architecture.









Let's take a look at the religious holidays.



The first is Ramadan. The book shows a colorful glass lamp lit during iftar.



The second is the Prophet's Birthday (Mawlid an-Nabi). The book shows Kenyan children celebrating the day, when many people recite the praise poem Qasīdat al-Burda.



The third is Eid al-Fitr. On the left are the Eid cards people send each other, and on the right are Eid balloons that add to the festive atmosphere.



The fourth is Eid al-Adha. The Hausa people in northern Nigeria call it the Durbar festival or Sallah festival, where they hold colorful knight parades and equestrian performances.



The fifth is called Seb-i Arus, which is the day of the Sufi master Rumi. On this day, the Mevlevi Sufi order he founded holds grand commemorative events and performs the Sema whirling ceremony.



The sixth is Ashura, when the Shia mourn Imam Hussein. The book shows people carrying a model of the Hussein gongbei.



The seventh is Laylat al-Miraj. Muslims in Iran, Turkey, and South Asia all celebrate this day, lighting up entire cities with lamps and candles. The book shows the Buraq that the noble Prophet rode during his Night Journey, which is often depicted as a human-faced horse in Persian and South Asian miniature paintings.



The eighth is circumcision (Khitan), which is usually performed at age seven. The book shows a group of Turkish boys preparing to enter the mosque for their circumcision.



In the Spain section, the left side introduces Andalusian troubadours, the Great Mosque of Cordoba, the Alhambra, and an ivory carved box from the Umayyad Caliphate. The right side introduces the ancient city of Granada and the last Caliph, the Mudejar architecture developed by Andalusian Muslims after Christian rule, and the Moorish style in Spanish architecture.





In the Africa section, the left side introduces the Berbers, Quran manuscripts from Timbuktu, the mud-built Great Mosque of Djenne, and the 9th-century ribat in the ancient Tunisian city of Sousse. The right side introduces a Mauritanian scholar studying, West African Ashanti warriors wearing robes covered in leather pouches containing the Quran, North African floral pattern tiles, the famous medieval Catalan Atlas showing the ruler of the West African Mali Empire, Mansa Musa, traveling for Hajj between 1324 and 1325, and the gongbei of a saint in Sudan. view all

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Summary: Ili to Turpan — Chagatai Khanate Tombs and Muslim History is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: In the 61st Regiment of Huocheng County in Yili and Aiding Lake Town in the Gaochang District of Turpan, you can find the tombs of Tughlugh Timur, the founding khan of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, and Khizr Khoja, the. The account keeps its focus on Chagatai Khanate, Muslim History, Xinjiang Travel while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.

In the 61st Regiment of Huocheng County in Yili and Aiding Lake Town in the Gaochang District of Turpan, you can find the tombs of Tughlugh Timur, the founding khan of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, and Khizr Khoja, the third khan. These are the only two remaining royal tombs from the Eastern Chagatai Khanate. I have visited both of these tombs, and I want to use them to give you a brief introduction to the early history of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate.



The Tughlugh Timur tomb (mazar) in Yili.



The Khizr Khoja tomb (mazar) in Turpan.

The Chagatai Khanate was formed in 1225 after Genghis Khan conquered the Western Liao Dynasty during his western campaign and divided the vast lands north and south of the Tianshan Mountains among his second son, Chagatai. Chagatai's royal court was located near Almaliq in Yili, which served as the center of the entire khanate.

After the 14th century, the Chagatai Mongols who had long lived in the Transoxiana region grew accustomed to settled city life and converted to the faith. This created growing conflict with the Chagatai Mongols in the eastern grasslands who insisted on a nomadic lifestyle. Eventually, the eastern Chagatai Mongol nobles killed the khan who had settled in the west to protect their traditions, causing the Chagatai Khanate to split into eastern and western parts. In 1348, the Dughlat tribe, which ruled the southern Xinjiang region, installed Tughlugh Timur, a descendant of Chagatai Khan, as the khan. He became the founding khan of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate.

After taking the throne, Khan Tughlugh Timur ordered all Chagatai Mongols in the Eastern Chagatai Khanate to convert to the faith. He later unified the entire khanate through two western campaigns, but the khanate fell back into chaos shortly after his death.

In 1368, the Dughlat noble Qamar ud-Din massacred almost all of Khan Tughlugh Timur's descendants. Only the khan's infant son, Khizr Khoja, was hidden away.

In 1370, the Chagatai noble Amir Timur unified the Western Chagatai Khanate. He established the Timurid Dynasty with a Chagatai khan as his puppet and became known to later generations as Timur the Great.

It was not until 1389, after Qamar ud-Din was completely defeated by Timur the Great, that Khizr Khoja, who had been in hiding for years, was able to take the throne as the third khan of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate. After Khizr Khoja took the throne, Timur the Great marched east and captured the city of Almaliq. Khizr Khoja had to move his court east to Turpan, where he eventually passed away.

In the late 15th century, the Eastern Chagatai Khanate split again into eastern and western parts. In 1514, Said Khan, a descendant of Khan Tughlugh Timur, made Yarkand his capital and ruled the entire southern Xinjiang region. This is known in history as the Yarkand Khanate.



The map of the Chagatai Khanate's territory is based on the Historical Atlas of China, which primarily relies on the Jingshi Dadian from 1330-31 and the Appendix on Northwest Geography in the History of Yuan.

1. Traveling to the Tughlugh Timur tomb (mazar).

In the midsummer of 2016, I set off from the Yili Prefecture Passenger Transport Center on Jiefang West Road in Yining and first took a bus to Qingshuihe Town in Huocheng County. After leaving the Qingshuihe bus station, I crossed the street and caught a small car to the 61st Regiment at the northwest corner of the intersection. The "Big Mazar" was actually 3 kilometers away from the 61st Regiment base. When the driver heard I wanted to see it, he drove me straight to the gate and waited for me to finish my visit before taking me back to Qingshuihe Town.

Looking from a distance, the gate of the mazar was tightly shut. When I walked up, I found an old man sleeping in the ticket office. After I woke him up, he gave me a large ring of keys. He told me which one was for the main gate, which was for the Big Mazar, and which was for the Small Mazar. Then he collected the ticket fee and let me go in with the keys.

The Tughlugh Timur mazar is the only remaining Yuan Dynasty royal tomb building in Xinjiang. It is also the only surviving ground-level ruin of the Chagatai Khanate's capital, Almaliq, making it extremely valuable.

Standing in front of the tomb is truly moving. I take out the key to open the gate of the shrine (mazar), and it feels like I have stepped back into the Chagatai Khanate from over 600 years ago.











Taken by a Russian in 1904.













Next to the shrine (mazar) of Tughluq Timur is the shrine said to belong to his sister.







I lock the door and return to the real world.



2. The diverse city of Almaliq.

To the west of Tughluq Timur's shrine lies Almaliq, the capital of the Chagatai Khanate. Almaliq gets its name from the word for apple, and it first rose to prominence due to the Northern Silk Road during the Tang Dynasty. A Sogdian document unearthed at Mount Mug in the early 8th century already mentions the name Almaliq.

During the Western Liao period, Almaliq was ruled by the Muslim Karluks (a Western Turkic tribe known as Geluolu in the Tang Dynasty), and history refers to it as the Kingdom of Almaliq. In 1211, Kuchlug, a prince of the Turkic Naiman tribe, seized power in the Western Liao with the help of the Khwarazmian Empire and then repeatedly besieged Almaliq. To defend against Kuchlug's attacks, the Karluk leader Ozar Khan chose to submit to Genghis Khan.

In 1214, Ozar Khan was captured by Kuchlug's soldiers while out hunting. Kuchlug's soldiers chained Ozar Khan and brought him to the gates of Almaliq, but the city's defenders kept the gates shut. Just then, Kuchlug learned that the Chagatai Khan's army was on its way to Almaliq, so he retreated and killed Ozar Khan along the way.

In 1218, the Mongol army killed Kuchlug, and the Western Liao dynasty fell. Soon after, Genghis Khan divided his lands among his sons, and Almaliq became the location of the Chagatai Ulus's main camp (khan court).



At that time, the city of Almaliq was home to Han Chinese, Mongols, and Uyghurs, as well as Muslims, Christians, and even Taoists. The Taoist master Qiu Chuji passed through Almaliq on his way west to Afghanistan to meet Genghis Khan in 1220, and again on his return east in 1222. The Travels of Master Changchun records:

After another stage, we arrived at Almaliq on the 27th day of the ninth month... and stayed in the western fruit orchard. The locals call fruit 'alima,' and because there are many fruit trees, the city is named after them.

When Qiu Chuji returned east, he met a master craftsman named Zhang who was building bridges and roads for Chagatai. Zhang invited Qiu Chuji to his home and told him that he was also a Taoist, with three altars and over 400 followers in Almaliq who practiced morning and evening prayers.

Yelü Chucai also lived in Almaliq for a period of time. He wrote in his Record of a Journey to the West:

Westerners call apples 'almaliq,' and the city is surrounded by apple orchards, which is why it is named so.

At the same time, the Yuan Dynasty city of Almalik was a center for Nestorian Christianity in Central Asia. Archaeologists found over ten Nestorian gravestones with Syriac inscriptions in the city, and their style matches other Nestorian stones found in the Seven Rivers region. Additionally, seven 13th to 14th-century Nestorian epitaphs in Syriac were found in the Seven Rivers region, all noting that the deceased came from Almalik.

On December 31, 2016, at the Ili Grassland Culture Exhibition held at the Zhenjiang Museum, I was lucky enough to see one of the Almalik Nestorian gravestones from the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture Museum collection. The owner of this gravestone was named Georges, who died in 1362 or 1365, during the period of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate.



3. Settled or Nomadic?

Two cultural systems existed within the Chagatai Khanate: the western Transoxiana region followed the Islamic faith and lived in cities, while the eastern Moghulistan region kept its nomadic traditions. After the 14th century, the conflict between settled and nomadic life grew, making the split of the khanate inevitable.



The base map comes from the Historical Atlas of China, which is mainly based on the 1330-31 Compendium of Governance (Jingshi Dadian) and the Geography Section of the History of Yuan (Yuan Shi).

In 1331, the Muslim Chagatai Khan Tarmashirin took the throne. He kept promoting the Islamic faith among the Chagatai Mongols in Transoxiana, but the Chagatai Mongols in the eastern Ili River valley stuck to their traditions.

Tarmashirin loved the city life of Transoxiana so much that he even stopped the tradition of traveling to Almalik every year. Because of this, the Chagatai Mongol nobles living in Almalik grew to oppose Tarmashirin, believing he had abandoned Mongol traditions and the roots of the Chagatai Khanate—Almalik.

In 1334, Tarmashirin’s nephew Buzan, who lived in the east, killed Tarmashirin near Samarkand to protect Mongol traditions. Historians believe the death of Tarmashirin was a major turning point in the decline of the Chagatai Khanate.

In 1343, the last Chagatai Khan, Qazan Sultan, took the throne. Qazan Sultan was cruel and killed many innocent people, leading to rebellions across the khanate. In 1346, Qazan Sultan was killed by Qazghan, the leader of the Barlas tribe—the most powerful Chagatai Mongol tribe at the time and the tribe of Tamerlane—and the Chagatai Khanate fell into division.

4. Establishing the Eastern Chagatai Khanate

1. Tughluq Timur becomes Khan

After Qazan Sultan died, every powerful Chagatai Mongol tribe in Transoxiana chose a descendant of the Chagatai Khan to be their own khan. This period is known as the era of the tribal kings (muluk-i tavaif) of the Chagatai Khanate.

In 1346, amid the trend of tribes searching for Chagatai descendants, Bulaji, the leader of the Dughlat tribe that ruled Aksu, Kashgar, Yarkand, and Hotan, did not want to be left behind. He claimed to have found Tughluq Timur, the 16-year-old grandson of the Great Khan D'ua. In 1348, Tughluq Timur was made khan in Aksu, establishing the Eastern Chagatai Khanate.

2. The Eastern Chagatai Mongols convert to the Islamic faith

The most detailed account of Tughluq Timur leading the Chagatai Mongols to convert to the Islamic faith is in the Tarikh-i-Rashidi. However, as a descendant of Tughluq Timur, the author included many legends and stories when telling his ancestor's history.

The first chapter of the Tarikh-i-Rashidi begins with the scene of Tughluq Timur meeting his Islamic teacher, Shaikh Jamal al-Din.

One day, while Tughluq Timur Khan was feeding pork to his dogs, an attendant brought Shaikh Jamal al-Din to meet him. The Khan asked the Shaikh, "Are you better than this dog? Or is this dog better than you?" The Shaikh replied, "If I believe in Allah, then I am certainly better; if I do not believe in Allah, then this dog is better than me." The Khan was deeply moved by these words, and a love for Islam grew in his heart.

According to the Tarikh-i-Rashidi, the ancestors of Shaikh Jamal al-Din were Sufi sages from Bukhara in Central Asia. After Genghis Khan conquered Bukhara, they moved around and eventually settled in the city of Katak near Lop Nur. Regarding Jamal al-Din's journey to Aksu to meet Tughluq Timur, the Tarikh-i-Rashidi records:

After a Friday Jumu'ah prayer, Jamal al-Din told everyone he had received a revelation from Allah that the city of Katak would face a disaster, so he had to leave immediately. The muezzin responsible for the call to prayer (adhan) at the mosque begged Jamal al-Din to take him along, and Jamal al-Din agreed. After traveling for a while, the muezzin said he had something to do and wanted to return to the city. Once back, he climbed the minaret of the mosque and gave the call to prayer one last time. Just as he finished the call, sand fell from the sky and buried the entire town, leaving only the top of the minaret visible above the sand dunes. Terrified, the muezzin chased after Jamal al-Din through the night to tell him what had happened to Katak. Upon hearing this, Jamal al-Din hurried on until he reached the area near the city of Aksu.

At that time, eighteen-year-old Tughluq Timur was hunting outside Aksu. His men reported that someone was hiding nearby, so Tughluq Timur sent them to bring the person before him, which led to the meeting mentioned earlier. Jamal al-Din explained the teachings of Islam to Tughluq Timur, and Tughluq Timur promised that once he became the Great Khan, he would convert to the faith. This story is recorded in the Tarikh-i-Rashidi as follows:

When he came to the Khan, he saw the Khan standing alone in a quiet place with a sad expression on his face. The Khan asked the Shaikh, "What must a person have to be better than a dog? The Shaikh replied, "Faith." Then, the Shaikh explained to the Khan what faith is and the various duties of a Muslim. The Khan wept bitterly right there and said, "If I become Khan and hold supreme power, you must come to me. I promise you that I will convert to Islam."

However, Jamal al-Din passed away shortly after. Before he died, Jamal al-Din instructed his son, Arshad al-Din, to fulfill his final wish: to help Tughluq Timur convert to the faith once he became the Great Khan. He told his son that before meeting Tughluq Timur, he had a dream where Arshad al-Din carried a lamp to the top of a mountain, and the light made the entire East shine brightly.

In 1348, Tughluq Timur officially took the throne. In 1456, Arshad al-Din traveled from Aksu to the Khan's royal court (ordu) near the city of Almalik to try and meet the Great Khan. The royal court was heavily guarded, and Arshad al-Din could not get in. He began calling the call to prayer (adhan) loudly every morning at dawn. The Great Khan finally heard the call, and the two were able to meet.

That very morning, Arshad al-Din led the conversion ceremony for Great Khan Tughluq Timur. He then met with the royal ministers one by one. 160,000 Chagatai Mongols converted to the faith, which became a major turning point for the eastern Chagatai Mongols.

5. The Final Unification of the Khanate

By 1360, the Chagatai Mongol tribes in the Transoxiana region had been fighting each other for over a decade. To end the chaos, Great Khan Tughluq Timur decided to lead a large army west to unify the Chagatai Khanate. In March 1360, the army marched all the way to the city of Kesh (located in southern Uzbekistan). A young noble commander (amir) named Timur (Amir Timur, the future Timur the Great) from the Barlas tribe, which had lived in Kesh for generations, surrendered to the Eastern Chagatai Khanate. He was granted Kesh and the surrounding territory, and Great Khan Tughluq Timur returned home victorious.

Not long after the Great Khan left, the eastern generals left in charge of Transoxiana argued with the local generals. Timur fled north of the Amu Darya river and gathered an army.

In 1361, Great Khan Tughluq Timur led a second western campaign, and the Chagatai generals in Transoxiana surrendered one after another. To ease the tension between the eastern and western generals, Great Khan Tughluq Timur negotiated with Timur again and appointed him as the governor of Kesh and the surrounding area.

After fully controlling Transoxiana and reunifying the entire Chagatai Khanate, Great Khan Tughluq Timur left his son Ilyas Khoja to rule Transoxiana while he returned to the east.

After the Great Khan left, Timur had a falling out with the commander left in charge. He fled to the upper reaches of the Amu Darya to join his brother-in-law, Amir Husayn, and gathered another army. In the famous Battle of the Stone Bridge, Timur used a smaller force to defeat the Eastern Chagatai army and retook Kesh.





After the Timurid Empire was established, Timur renamed his hometown of Kesh to Shahrisabz.

6. The Death of the Great Khan

1. Ilyas Khoja Takes the Throne

In 1363, Timur and Prince Ilyas Khoja prepared for a decisive battle just outside Kesh. Just then, news arrived that Great Khan Tughluq Timur had passed away. The Eastern Chagatai generals urged the prince to return to Almalik quickly to take the throne, but Timur's army was already close, so the battle had to go on.

The battle began with deafening war cries. Prince Ilyas Khoja led his cavalry in an attack, but they were driven back by Timur's archers. The Eastern Chagatai army was completely defeated. The prince fled back to Almalik to take the throne, and Timur occupied a large part of Transoxiana.

In 1364, all the Chagatai generals in Transoxiana held a meeting and decided to name Khabul Shah, a descendant of the Chagatai Khan, as the Western Chagatai Khan. With this, the Chagatai Khanate, once unified by Tughluq Timur Khan, split apart again. Soon after, the vast Timurid Empire would rise from the ruins of the Western Chagatai Khanate.

2. Battle of the Muddy Swamp

In 1364, Prince Ilyas Khoja returned to Almalik to take the throne as the second Khan of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate.

In May 1365, Ilyas Khoja fought another major battle against the allied forces of Timur and Amir Husayn near the Syr Darya River. Just as the decisive battle began, a sudden downpour turned the ground into a quagmire, trapping the horses in deep mud. This is why later generations call it the Battle of the Muddy Swamp (ni zhao zhi zhan).

Timur's army could not move in the mud. Ilyas Khoja was prepared; his Eastern Chagatai troops covered themselves with felt blankets and waited for Timur's men to charge before throwing them off to fight. Countless soldiers died in the mud.

The Tarikh-i-Rashidi (Rashide Shi) describes this scene vividly:

Although the sun was still in the position of the Orion constellation, the sky suddenly filled with dark clouds, thunder rumbled, and lightning flashed. Wind and rain rushed into the sky from their hiding places. The heavens echoed with continuous thunder, and within the clouds brewing with lightning, thousands of golden rays shot out like arrows of light. The rain poured down, and the raindrops whistled as they cut through the air. It was as if the god of fate had once again fallen ill and decided to stir up trouble. The stars shed so many tears that it seemed the great floods of the primordial age were about to return. People heard Nuh (Noah) once again offering a dua for the rain to stop.

The livestock on the battlefield seemed to float in the air like fish. The horses' feet sank so deep into the mud that their bellies touched the ground, and the dampness made them look thin and bony. They became weak and emaciated, paralyzed, and their bones felt loose. The feathers on the arrow shafts fell off, and the nocks dropped away. Clothes and equipment became heavy from the rain, making it difficult for both infantry and cavalry to move. Because of this, our army (Timur's) lost confidence and courage, but the enemy remained in place, covering themselves with felt to keep their clothes and weapons dry. When our army reached them, they threw off the felt covers and entered the battle with energetic horses and dry weapons, and so the fighting officially began.

Timur defeated the Eastern Chagatai army with a brave attack, but the victory caused a conflict between Timur and his brother-in-law, Husayn. The next morning, the Eastern Chagatai army turned defeat into victory, killing tens of thousands of Timur's soldiers.

After the Battle of the Muddy Swamp, the Western Chagatai lords retreated south of the Amu Darya River, and Ilyas Khoja began to besiege Samarkand. Just as the city-defending army was struggling, a plague broke out in the East Chagatai army. Most of the horses died from the sickness, and Ilyas Khoja was forced to return to Almaliq.

In 1370, Timur unified the entire Western Chagatai Khanate. He established the Timurid Empire as the protector of the Chagatai Khan and became known to later generations as Timur the Great.



Timur the Great holds a grand feast in Samarkand, painted by Sharuf ad-din Ali Yesdy in 1628.

7. The succession of Khizr Khoja

1. The Khan's entire family is killed

Tughluq Timur Khan was originally placed on the throne by Bulaji, the leader of the Dughlat tribe. After Bulaji passed away, the Khan wanted to weaken the power of the Dughlat tribe. Instead of following tradition and letting Bulaji's brother succeed him, he let Bulaji's 6-year-old son, Khudaidad, take the position. This caused dissatisfaction among Bulaji's brothers, especially the third brother, Qamar ud-Din, who held a grudge.

After returning to Almaliq, Ilyas Khoja lost his authority because of the defeat. In 1368, Qamar ud-Din started a rebellion. He killed Ilyas Khoja while he was sleeping and slaughtered almost all members of the royal family. Only Tughluq Timur Khan's youngest son, Khizr Khoja, was hidden by Khudaidad and his mother. They moved around to hide in places like the Pamir Mountains, the Kunlun Mountains, and Lop Nur.

After Qamar ud-Din ruled the East Chagatai Khanate, Timur launched six wars against it, historically known as the Eastern Expeditions against Chagatai. In 1389, Qamar ud-Din was finally completely defeated. His subordinates hid him deep in the dense forests by the Irtysh River, and his whereabouts became unknown.

2. The succession of Khizr Khoja

In 1389, the 16-year-old prince Khizr Khoja took the throne with the help of Khudaidad, becoming the third Great Khan of the Chagatai Khanate.

Hearing that Khizr Khoja had succeeded to the throne, Timur immediately led his army to fight a decisive battle. He defeated the East Chagatai army in one strike, looted a large number of subjects and livestock from the East Chagatai Khanate, and completely destroyed the city of Almaliq. Because the Timurids in the west were too powerful, Khizr Khoja chose to conquer Turpan around 1392 and moved the Khan's court to Anle City in Turpan. Khizr Khoja promoted Islam in Turpan, which gradually made Turpan a cultural center for Islam.

During the reign of Khizr Khoja, the East Chagatai Khanate finally regained stability. The Tarikh-i-Rashidi states:

At the time of his accession, because Qamar ud-Din had usurped the throne and the Emir Timur was aggressive, the state was on the verge of collapse, but it became strong and consolidated again. Old systems that had been abandoned were restored, and the administration of the Khan's court and the affairs of the nobles were back on track.

3. Anle City in Turpan

Anle City is located south of the Emin Minaret (Sugong Ta). It is 300 meters wide from north to south and 700 meters long from east to west, with a karez well (kan'erjing) running underground through the city. The south of the city rises 8 to 10 meters above the ground, and every courtyard or house inside the city has storage pits and water wells.

In 1422, the East Chagatai Great Khan Uwais Khan defeated the Oirats and reoccupied Anle City. He used Anle City as his main residence, and since then, Anle City has been an important city of the East Chagatai Khanate.

In the second half of the 15th century, the East Chagatai Khanate split again. Ahmad Alaq (reigned 1487–1503) ruled the eastern part of the Khanate with Anle City as the center. It is called the Turpan Khanate in the History of Ming, and Anle City was later replaced by the name Turpan.

In 1514, Sultan Said Khan founded the Yarkent Khanate, while his older brother, Mansur Khan (reigned 1503–1543), continued to rule the eastern part of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate with Turpan as his capital. In 1570, the army of the Yarkent Khanate invaded Turpan, captured Muhammad Khan, the last ruler of the Turpan Khanate, and brought the khanate to an end.

In 1679, Galdan, the leader of the Dzungar Khanate, occupied Turpan. After years of fighting between the Dzungars and the Qing Dynasty, the region was finally incorporated into the Qing Empire in 1755. In 1780, the Qing government built Guang'an City northwest of Anle City. The administrative center of Turpan moved to Guang'an City (the current urban area of Turpan), and Anle City was gradually abandoned.















I picked some incredibly sweet mulberries at the ancient city of Anle! They tasted just like honey. May is truly the season for mulberries.









The Emin Minaret (Sugong Ta) is located just north of the ancient city of Anle.



8. Visiting the Mazar of Khizr Khoja

Khizr Khoja passed away in Turpan between 1402 and 1404. In 1415, Chen Cheng, an envoy sent by the Ming Dynasty to the Western Regions, wrote in his Record of Mountains, Rivers, and Customs of the Western Regions:

There are two high mounds in the city, surrounded by trees and enclosed by walls. These are the tombs of the former king, Khizr Khoja, and his wife. Near the tombs is a small mound, said to be where his favorite minister was buried with him.

Even locals might not know this place well. When using navigation, you can search for 'Xie'erniji,' and the mazar is in the southeast of the village.















A prayer rug used when visiting the graves.









When visiting the graves, people tie triangular flags to the tree branches. Some scholars believe this is a remnant of shamanic customs.



9. Further Reading

The historical information in this article mainly comes from several books: History of the Mughals in Central Asia: Tarikh-i-Rashidi, A Brief History of the Islamic Khanates in Xinjiang, Research on the History of the Chagatai Khanate, Research on the Silk Road and the History of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, and History of Islam in China's Xinjiang Region.



History of the Mughals in Central Asia: Tarikh-i-Rashidi (Volume 1)

Mirza Muhammad Haidar / 1985 / Xinjiang People's Publishing House



Research on the History of the Chagatai Khanate

Liu Yingsheng / 2006 / Shanghai Classics Publishing House



Research on the Silk Road and the History of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate

Tian Weijiang / 1999 / Xinjiang People's Publishing House view all

Reposted from the web

Summary: Hainan — Muslim History, Mosques and Local Communities is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: The Huihui people are a Muslim ethnic group living in Huicun and Huixin villages in Sanya City, Hainan, numbering nearly 10,000. The account keeps its focus on Hainan Muslims, Muslim History, China Mosques while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.





The Huihui people are a Muslim ethnic group living in Huicun and Huixin villages in Sanya City, Hainan, numbering nearly 10,000. Although classified as Hui, their Huihui language belongs to the Austronesian family, sharing origins with the Cham languages of southern Vietnam. The Huihui people's lifestyle is strongly influenced by the local ethnic groups of Hainan, yet they maintain devout Islamic faith, making them a very unique ethnic group on China's southeastern coast.

Among the Huihui people in Sanya, many legends circulate about their origins, pointing to regions like Arabia, Malaysia, the Western Regions, Annan, and Champa.

A legend recorded in the 1990 article "Hainan Muslims: Then and Now" in "Sanya Culture and History," Volume 2, states that the Huihui people believe they migrated from Arabia to Vietnam and then to Hainan:

"Our ancestors were originally a fishing tribe during the Abbasid Caliphate in Arabia. Due to internal conflict in the country, life became very difficult, so they moved to a place called Annan (present-day Vietnam). Later, a plague broke out, killing many people. They left that place and set sail to find a better land, but unfortunately encountered a typhoon and were scattered to Hainan Island.



In a legend recorded in the 1990 paper "Investigation into the Origin and Ethnic Customs of the Hui Muslims of Sanya, Hainan Island," presented at the Sixth National Symposium on the History of Hui Muslims, the Hui Hui Muslims believe their ancestors moved from the Arab world (Da Shi) to Champa during the Tang Dynasty, and then from Champa to Hainan Island during the Song and Yuan dynasties.

"Our ancestors were originally 'people from the Western Regions.' During the Tang Dynasty, they moved to Champa due to internal strife in the Arab world. Between the Song and Yuan dynasties, they made a living by fishing at sea in Champa. Driven by typhoons, their ships drifted to various coastal areas of Hainan Island, mainly Yazhou, Wanzhou, and Danzhou."



Sanya Bay beach

In 1981, Zheng Yiqing, a scholar from the Institute of Ethnology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, visited Sanya to study the Hui Hui language. She interviewed elderly Hui Hui people there, who told her that the Hui Hui people came from Malaysia to southern Vietnam to engage in fishing, and were blown to Hainan by a typhoon.

"According to the older generation here, their ancestors first settled in Malaysia, then drifted to southern Vietnam to live and work as fishermen." "Once, they encountered a typhoon, and several boats were blown to the coast of Yaxian County, Hainan Island. One boat capsized, one drifted to the sea off Tiandu (Liupan Commune), one drifted to the sea off Sanya, and one drifted to the sea off Yacheng."



Sanya Bay beach

An article from 1986, "The Origin and Characteristics of the Hui Muslims of Yanglan, Hainan Island" by Jiang Yongxing and Mei Weilan, mentions local accounts stating they came from Champa in Vietnam. They say a typhoon brought them to Hainan during the Song Dynasty.

"Our original home is Champa in Vietnam. Our ancestors made a living by fishing at sea. Forced by a typhoon, our boats drifted to various coastal areas of Hainan Island, mainly Yacheng and Wanning, with some reaching Dan County (all coastal counties on Hainan Island, with Sanya and Dan County facing Champa across the sea). This was about seven or eight hundred years ago, during the Song Dynasty."



So, where did the Huihui people really come from? Are they descendants of the Champa people? Let's first sort through historical records to see what we can find.

I. The Origin of Muslims in Hainan

1. Arab and Persian Merchant Ships in the Tang Dynasty

The earliest Muslims to arrive in Hainan were Arab and Persian merchants during the Tang Dynasty.

In the later Tang Dynasty, the overland Silk Road gradually became blocked. Meanwhile, the maritime Silk Road continued to thrive, boosted by advances in navigation and shipbuilding. Many Arab and Persian merchant ships sailed the Indian Ocean to trade in cities like Guangzhou, Quanzhou, and Yangzhou. Carried by the north-bound monsoon winds in the South China Sea, these Persian and Arab ships often sailed close to the coast of Hainan Island. Both the "Vast Records of the Taiping Era" and the "Tang Monk Jianzhen's Eastern Voyage" (also known as "The Biography of Monk Jianzhen") mention local pirates robbing these ships.

The "Vast Records of the Taiping Era," Volume 286, tells of the great pirate Chen Zhenwu in Zhenzhou (present-day Sanya, Hainan) during the Tang Dynasty, who became a millionaire by plundering Persian merchant ships. The text states: "This began with merchant ships from the Western Regions that were wrecked and drifted ashore."

The "Tang Monk Jianzhen's Eastern Voyage" records that the great pirate Feng Ruofang in Wan'an Prefecture (present-day Wanning City in southeastern Hainan) captured Persian merchant ships. He seized a large number of Persians: "Each year, he would capture two or three Persian ships, stealing their cargo and taking people as slaves. The area where these slaves lived stretched three days' journey north to south and five days' journey east to west, with villages close to one another."

But currently, there's no direct evidence showing that Muslims in Hainan are descendants of Arab and Persian sea merchants from the Tang Dynasty.

2. Arab merchants from Champa who settled in Danzhou during the Northern Song Dynasty.

The earliest clear record in historical texts about the origin of Muslims in Hainan comes from the History of Song, Volume 489, under the section on Champa. It states: 'In the third year of the Yongxi reign (986 AD), officials in Danzhou reported that a Champa man named Pu Luo'e, pressured by Jiaozhou, led his clan of over a hundred people to seek refuge.'

Danzhou is located in the northwestern part of Hainan Island. Jiaozhou, also known as Jiaozhi, was the Song Dynasty's name for northern Vietnam. The surname Pu was a common Han Chinese surname used by Muslims along the southeastern coast during the Song and Yuan dynasties. It's thought to come from 'Abu,' a prefix in Arabic names.

The most famous Muslim with the surname Pu was Pu Shougeng, a major sea merchant in Quanzhou during the late Song and early Yuan periods. Also, Yue Fei's grandson, the Southern Song writer Yue Ke, came to Guangzhou with his father when he was 10 years old (in 1192). He met a group of Arab merchants surnamed Pu who had moved from Champa to Guangzhou. He recorded this in detail in his book "Tang Shi," Volume 11, "Foreigners of Panyu by the Sea." The "Bai Fan" (White Foreigners) mentioned here refers to Arabs and Persians.

"Panyu is home to various foreign peoples living together by the sea. The most prominent among them are surnamed Pu, known as 'Bai Fan' people. They were originally nobles from Champa." "After sailing at sea and encountering storms, they feared returning. So, they petitioned their ruler, wishing to stay in China to help trade."

The Huaisheng Mosque was the center of Guangzhou's "foreign quarter" at that time.





The reason Pu Luo'e led his clan from Champa to Danzhou in Hainan in 986 was due to a significant war in Vietnamese history. Starting in the 10th century, the Yue state in northern Vietnam began attacking Champa in the south. In 982, the Early Lê dynasty of Vietnam destroyed Champa's capital, Indrapura (near present-day Da Nang), scattering many Chams.



Champa, also translated as Zhanpo, was a state founded by the Cham people in southern Vietnam in 192 CE. Early Champa was strongly influenced by India, believing in Brahmanism and practicing the caste system.

Because its land was long and narrow and fragmented, Champa mainly developed maritime trade, becoming an important transit point on the Maritime Silk Road during the Song and Yuan dynasties. Both Chinese merchant ships departing from Guangzhou and Quanzhou, and Arab and Persian merchant ships from the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf coasts, chose to stop in Champa. Therefore, many Arab and Persian merchants lived as expatriates in Champa during the Song and Yuan dynasties.

Two Kufic tombstones written in Arabic were excavated in Phan Thiet and Phan Rang cities in southeastern Vietnam. The first is the tombstone of a road worker named Abu Kamil, who passed away on November 20, 1039. The other is a notice about how local Muslims got along with the indigenous people, written in a mix of Kufic and Naskh scripts. It is thought to have been carved between 1025 and 1035. The inscription suggests that Arab and Turkish merchants lived here in a community.

From the 10th to the 13th centuries, Champa was still mainly Brahmanist, with Muslims being mostly Arab expatriates. The kingdom of Champa sent envoys to China multiple times between the 10th and 12th centuries. Many of these envoys had names that can be traced to Arabic transliterations.

The book Taiping Huanyu Ji, written during the Song Dynasty's Taiping Xingguo era (976-983), has an entry on Champa that records the first Champa envoy during the Five Dynasties period:

"In the fifth year of Xiande (958), its king, Sri Indravarman, sent his minister, Puo Hesan, to present local products. Among them were fifteen glass bottles of rosewater, said to come from the Western Regions... He also presented eighty-four glass bottles of naphtha, an oil that burns more intensely when it meets water, which their country uses in naval battles."

The envoy Puo Hesan's name can be translated as Abu Hasan. This rosewater was recorded in the Song Dynasty book Zhufanzhi as floral water from the land of Dashi (Arabia), and naphtha refers to petroleum.

During the Song Dynasty, Champa sent envoys even more frequently. According to the Song Shi, Volume 489, the Champa entry, in 961, Puo Hesan again brought rhinoceros horn, ivory, camphor, spices, peacocks, and Dashi bottles, all goods from the Maritime Silk Road.

In 1053, "its envoy, Pu Sima Ying, came to present local products." The name Pu Si Ma can be translated as Abu Ismail.

In 1056, envoys were sent to offer local products. The name Pu Xi Tuo Pa can be translated as Abu Hittabah.

In 1068, envoys were sent to pay tribute. The name Pu Ma Wu can be translated as Abu Mahmud.

In 1155, Pu Weng Du Gang, Pu Weng Tuan, and others also came to pay tribute. They were likely Arab merchants too.

Today, the surname Pu is still a major surname among the Hui Muslims.

Besides official delegations, more Arab merchants from Champa came to the Song Dynasty to do business. Wang Yucheng, a literary scholar from the Northern Song Dynasty, wrote in the

It wasn't until the 14th-15th centuries, after the Malays converted to Islam, that the Champa people gradually began to adopt Islam under Malay influence. Therefore, the early Champa immigrants with the surname Pu who came to Hainan might have been Arab expatriates.

3. Arab merchants from the Northern Song Dynasty who immigrated to Yazhou

In 1022, Ding Wei, the prime minister of the Northern Song Dynasty, was dismissed and demoted to Yazhou as an official in charge of household registration. He lived in Yazhou, the southernmost part of Hainan, for three years between 1022 and 1025. During his time in Yazhou, Ding Wei wrote "Tian Xiang Zhuan" about agarwood, which is included in the "Chen Shi Xiang Pu" in the "Siku Quanshu" (Complete Library in Four Sections). The book records that most of the agarwood from Champa at that time was exported to Guangzhou and Arabia. One Arab merchant ship was blown to Yazhou by a hurricane, and the Arab merchants settled there.

Champa produced a great deal of agarwood, which was traded and shipped either to Panyu (Guangzhou) or to Arabia. Precious agarwood is as valuable as gold. The village elders say that in recent years, large foreign ships from the Great Food (Dashi) country have been caught in hurricanes and forced to dock in this neighboring prefecture. The leader, being very wealthy, threw a lavish banquet, boasting extravagantly. The people of the prefecture looked at each other and said, "In terms of wealth, we truly can't compete. But look at their cooking: the smoke from their stoves is thick and unmoving, the food is dry and light, skinny and burnt. It's not delicious." So, they took some wood from the north shore and burned it right there. The smoke rose faintly, as if drawing from the eastern sea. The rich, oily smoke congealed like lacquer, and its fragrance lasted, becoming even better over time. The people on the large ships were defeated by this.



The ancient city of Yazhou is located northwest of Sanya. Map data from Baidu Maps.

4. Champa soldiers who fled to Hainan Island during the Southern Song Dynasty.

In the 13th century, Champa and Zhenla (Cambodia) were locked in years of war. In 1145, Zhenla (Cambodia) captured Champa's capital, Vijaya. But in 1177, Champa's army counterattacked and took Angkor. Zhenla occupied Champa again in 1190 until 1220. During the wars between Champa and Zhenla, some Champa deserters fled to Hainan and were recruited into the Southern Song army.

The famous Southern Song Neo-Confucian scholar Zhen Dexiu (1178-1235) recorded in Volume 47 of his collected works, 'Zhen Wenzhong Gong Wenji,' in the 'Biography of Zhan Gong, Minister of Agriculture and Grand Commander of Huguang,' the deeds of another Southern Song Neo-Confucian scholar, Zhan Tiren (1143-1206). It mentions Champa soldiers fleeing to Hainan during the Champa-Zhenla wars and Zhan Tiren recruiting them. The record states: 'Champa and Zhenla attacked each other, and some soldiers escaped to Qiong and Guan. ' The official mobilized troops and pacified the coastal areas by recruitment.

However, these Champa soldiers were not necessarily all Muslims; they could have been followers of Brahmanism or Buddhism.

5. Champa people settled in Qiongzhou (now Haikou) during the Yuan Dynasty.

In 1279, Champa submitted to the Yuan Dynasty, which sent the Right Chancellor Suo Du to govern Champa. However, Champa rebelled against the Yuan Dynasty again in 1282. So, Suo Du led a large army to conquer the Champa capital and pursued the Champa army deep into the mountains. In 1283, the Yuan army shifted its attack from Champa to Annam (the Trần Dynasty of Vietnam). The King of Champa then pledged allegiance to the Yuan Dynasty, and the war finally ended.

The Ming Dynasty's Zhengde era gazetteer, Qiongtu Zhi, Volume 7, under

Customs, records that during the Yuan Dynasty's war with Champa, some Champa people surrendered and were settled in Haikou Port (now Haikou City) in Qiongzhou County, registered as Southern Fan soldiers, and lived in the Fanmin Suo (foreigners' settlement): "Champa customs. No elders or children were left behind; everyone was given a three-year supply of grain rations. A settlement for the foreign people was established, with the foreign chieftain Malin appointed as the administrator. This position was hereditary, and he was granted a fourth-rank seal and authority.

It's unclear if all these resettled Champa people were Muslims.

6. Champa Muslims who moved to Yazhou (present-day Sanya) between the Song and Yuan dynasties.

Starting in the 10th century, Champa engaged in wars with Dai Viet, Chenla (Cambodia), and the Yuan Dynasty. Many Champa refugees fled by boat to Yazhou in Hainan, which was across the sea. The Ming Dynasty's Zhengde-era "Qiongzhi" (Gazetteer of Qiongzhou), Volume 21, Section on Coastal Defense, records that the journey from Yazhou to Champa took two days by boat, making it very convenient: "Two days south of Yazhou connects to foreign lands of Champa."

According to the Qing Dynasty's Guangxu-era "Yazhouzhi" (Gazetteer of Yazhou), Volume 1, Section on Geography and Territory, Subsection on Customs, Champa Muslims once lived scattered along the coasts of Dadan Port and Suanmei Pu in Yazhou: "The foreign people were originally Hui Muslims from Champa." Between the Song and Yuan dynasties, they came by boat due to unrest and settled along the coasts of Dadan Port and Suanmei Pu.



1. Early Yuan Dynasty Cham Muslims who moved to Wanzhou (present-day Wanning).

Besides Yazhou at the southernmost tip of Hainan Island, Wanzhou in southeastern Hainan was also a place where Cham Muslims relocated to escape war. According to the "Fan Village" section in Volume 9 of the Daoguang Edition of the Wanzhou Gazetteer, Cham people once lived in Fan Village west of Wanzhou city: "The Fan were originally people from ancient Cham. In the early Yuan Dynasty, they encountered chaos and sailed to the coast of the prefecture. They later moved west of the city and called it Fan Village."

Wanzhou is located in Wanning Town, Wanning City, northeast of Sanya City.



The place name Fan Village still exists today, located southwest of Wanning Town.



After Kublai Khan died in the 14th century, Vietnam broke free from the Yuan Dynasty's control and resumed its attacks on Champa. In 1471, Vietnam's Later Lê Dynasty captured Champa's capital, Vijaya. Many Cham people scattered and fled to Cambodia, while the remaining Cham established three small kingdoms: Champa, Nam Phan, and Hoa Anh.

The last records of Cham people arriving in Hainan come from texts like the History of Ming and the Veritable Records of Emperor Chenghua of Ming. When the king of Champa died in 1484, the Later Lê Dynasty unilaterally appointed a Cham minister, Deva Dat, as king. The true heir to the throne, Prince Gu Lai, fled with his followers to Yazhou, Hainan, in 1486. The Chenghua Emperor of the Ming Dynasty sent envoys to Yazhou to recognize Gu Lai as the King of Champa. In 1487, he dispatched a strong military escort to help Gu Lai return to Champa and reclaim his throne with Ming intervention.

8. Muslims Arriving by Land

Besides Muslims from Champa, another group of Muslims in Hainan migrated from the Western Regions by land. According to the Genealogy of the Pu Family of Nanhai Ganjiao, first compiled in 1619 (the 47th year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty), the ancestor of this Pu family was named Ma Qu'a, also known as Runi. He was originally a Uyghur from the Western Regions. After the Rooney family moved inland, they first settled in Shandong. Later, because their son Haida was appointed an official in Guangzhou, the whole family moved to Guangzhou's While living in Guangzhou, the Pu family helped rebuild the Lighthouse Tower of the Huaisheng Mosque.

The Lighthouse Tower of the Huaisheng Mosque was a landmark in Guangzhou's foreign quarter back then.



By the eighth generation of the Pu family in Guangzhou, Pu Qiutao moved to Nanhai County (now Nanhai District, Foshan City) and founded the Ganjiao branch. During the Ming Dynasty, the third-generation granduncle of the Ganjiao branch, Pu Jun, went to Hainan to do business. His son, Pu Yuye, came to Dengzhou in the northwest of Hainan and ran a salt business in Panbu Village, Xinying Town. Pu Yuye had two sons, Pu Xuanfu and Pu Xuanlu. After Pu Yuye passed away, his two sons moved to E'man Township in Dengzhou and founded the Pu family's E'man branch.



The place is now called Eman Town.

Customs of Hui Muslims in Hainan during the Ming and Qing Dynasties

The earliest detailed account of the customs of Cham Muslims in Hainan comes from the "Customs" chapter of the Zhengde Gazetteer of Qiongtái (Zhengde Qiongtái Zhi), compiled in 1521 during the Ming Dynasty. The descriptions are very rich and detailed. This passage states that during the Song and Yuan dynasties, due to warfare, entire families sailed to Hainan Island and settled in coastal areas called 'Fanfang' and 'Fanpu,' not mixing with local residents. Most were surnamed Pu and Fang. The Pu surname remains a major surname among the Hui Muslims of Sanya today, while the Fang surname no longer exists.

Customs, ... Those from other prefectures came with their families by boat during the Song and Yuan periods due to unrest, settling along the coast, referred to as Fanfang and Fanpu. They did not live intermingled with the local people. Most of these people were of the Pu and Fang surnames.

This is a wedding banquet for the Pu family that I encountered in Huixin Village (Fan Village) in Sanya.







This section introduces Islamic beliefs, including not eating pork and fasting during Ramadan. The term 'Buddha hall' (fotang) here refers to a mosque. This custom of calling mosques in Hainan 'Buddha halls' continued even after the Qing Dynasty.

They do not eat pork, and other livestock must be slaughtered while bleeding. They enjoy eating betel nuts. Families do not worship ancestors. Those who can read foreign scripts and are called 'teachers' are given a small stool to place an incense burner on. Each village has one Buddha hall (fotang), where they recite scriptures and pray morning and evening. Every year, they fast for one month. During the fast, they do not swallow saliva. They eat only after seeing the stars and moon. The third day of the month marks the beginning and end of the fast. On the day of breaking the fast, they gather at the Buddha hall (fotang). After reciting scriptures and praying, they visit each other's homes, which is like exchanging New Year's greetings.

The text mentions that 'they love to eat betel nut,' a habit that continues today. Now, Huihui Village is full of betel nut stalls. The first time I saw Huihui people with their mouths full of blood-red betel juice, I was startled.



The white cloth wrapped around the head mentioned below should be the 'dastar.' After death, wrapping the body in cloth and burying it facing west (towards Mecca) is also a typical Islamic burial custom. Finally, it says that the speech and appearance of these people are similar to the 'Huihui.' This is the first time these southern 'foreigners' are compared to the 'Huihui' on the mainland.

'If you often see a respected person, you kneel and let them touch your feet.' If you meet as equals, you each touch each other's hands, then withdraw your hands and touch your own faces. For large gatherings, they sit on the ground in rows. Rice is served on large blue plates, and they eat with their hands. Men do not drink alcohol. When a man turns twenty, he asks a teacher to cut his hair to eyebrow level, wrap his head with a white cloth, and tie a cloth around his waist. Women wear short buns, short tops, and long skirts. They enjoy drinking alcohol and tea.

Outsiders who interact and form relationships with them are called 'zuo qi'. Some even marry them. Depending on wealth, they use gold, silver, copper, or tin rings, piercing their earlobes so the rings hang down to their shoulders. They like to use incense with flowers. They keep their bodies clean, sometimes black and sometimes red. When they die, they do not use coffins. Their bodies are wrapped in cloth and buried facing west. Their language and appearance are similar to the Hui Muslims. Now, they are all incorporated into the territory and collect taxes from fishing.

The 'Gujin Tushu Jicheng: Zhifang Dian' (Collected Works of Past and Present, Treatise on Geography), compiled in 1728, largely continues the records from the 'Qiongtai Zhi' of the Ming Dynasty's Zhengde period. However, by this time, only the Pu surname remained, and the Fang surname had disappeared:

“Most people here have the surname Pu. They do not eat pork. Their homes do not have ancestral shrines. They set up a Buddhist hall together, recite scriptures, and perform prayers.” Their language and appearance are similar to the Hui Muslims. Today, based on local customs, we include maps and information about fishing, education, and property. Marriage is not forbidden between people of the same surname, but it is forbidden between people of the same clan. Fishing customs are part of marriage, and no one else has their own marriage customs.

This volume also describes that houses at that time were mainly thatched huts:

"Dwellings were located near the sea, and we sometimes feared typhoons. Public and private rooms were not very tall or beautiful. Most folk houses used thatched roofs, and official buildings followed this simple style. Those near the sea were often submerged by wind and waves. Those who lived near the Li people also imitated the nests and tree houses of the mountain tribes. Even the homes of gentry were not ornate, prioritizing only completeness and sturdiness."

III. The settlement and assimilation of Hainan's Muslims

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Hainan's Muslims lived scattered along the coast in Danzhou, Qiongshan, Yazhou, Lingshui, and Wanzhou, with the largest population in Yazhou. These areas experienced Sinicization, Li assimilation, and Tanka assimilation during the Ming and Qing dynasties, respectively, until only one Muslim community remained in Fan Village in Sanya.



Base map from "Historical Atlas of China," Qiongzhou Prefecture in 1511.

1. Tanka assimilation of Muslims in Qiongshan County

The Champa people, who were settled in Haikoupu by the Yuan Dynasty and recorded in Volume 7, "Customs," of the Zhengde-era "Qiongtu Zhi" from the Ming Dynasty, were few in number by the end of the Yuan Dynasty due to warfare.

Customs, records that during the Yuan Dynasty's war with Champa, some Champa people surrendered and were settled in Haikou Port (now Haikou City) in Qiongzhou County, registered as Southern Fan soldiers, and lived in the Fanmin Suo (foreigners' settlement): "Champa customs. No elders or children were left behind; everyone was given a three-year supply of grain rations. A settlement for the foreign people was established, with the foreign chieftain Malin appointed as the administrator. This position was hereditary, and he was granted a fourth-rank seal and authority. During the chaos of war at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, few remain today.

The Ming Dynasty's "Qiongtai Annals" from the Zhengtong era, Volume 27, also records that these people had all become Dan people, a group living on the water in Hainan who make their living from fishing:

"In Haikou Port, where the foreign people lived, their leaders were established by soldiers from Southern Fan during the Yuan Dynasty. Their chief, Ma Lin, held a hereditary fourth-rank official seal and managed their foreign soldiers. Today, any descendants who still exist have all become Dan people."

The Sinicization of Wanzhou Muslims

The Kangxi-era Wanzhou Gazetteer, compiled in 1679, records in Volume 3, under 'Local Customs,' that the Champa Muslims of Wanzhou lived in Fan Village, west of the city. The gazetteer's description of Islamic customs largely comes from the Zhengde-era Qiongtu Gazetteer of the Ming Dynasty:

‘The Fan people were originally from Champa. During the chaos of the early Yuan Dynasty, they sailed their boats to the coast of the prefecture and later moved to the west of the city, establishing Fan Village. In the early Ming Dynasty, they were under the jurisdiction of the garrison and worked alongside other residents. Many had the surname Pu and spoke the Fan language. They did not eat pork. When slaughtering animals, they only ate the meat after it had bled. They did not worship ancestors. Those who can read the foreign script are called foreign chiefs. They set up temples to worship foreign gods, chanting scriptures on the first and fifteenth of the month, and bowing with clasped hands. Each month they take turns fasting. Those who are fasting do not let saliva go down their throats, and only eat when they see the stars and moon. Men wrap their heads with plain silk and do not drink alcohol. Women wear their hair in a bun at the back, with short tops and long skirts, and make a living by dyeing indigo with ash. When a daughter is about to marry, relatives and neighbors visit to offer gifts and congratulations, and comfort her by touching her face. There are no coffins in burials. The body is simply wrapped in cloth and buried on its side.

However, the Daoguang edition of the "Wan County Gazetteer" from 1828, in Volume 9, "Ancient Sites," adds a sentence to the "Foreign Village" section, which already quotes the full text from the Kangxi edition:

By this time, their customs had long since become Chinese, matching those of the Central Plains in dress and ceremony.

This shows that as late as the early 19th century, the Champa Muslims in Wanzhou had already assimilated into Han Chinese culture.

A 1951 survey of the Li, Miao, and Hui Muslims of Hainan, compiled by the Guangdong Provincial People's Government Committee for Ethnic Affairs, recorded that Wanzhou's Taiyangpo had a mosque in the 10th year of the Republic of China (1921). It also noted Arabic tombstones still existed there in the 1950s:

The Hui Muslims of Taiyangpo and E'man had completely assimilated into Han Chinese culture by the Guangxu reign (1875-1908). It's said that in the 10th year of the Republic of China (1921), Taiyangpo still had a mosque, and the graves in Taiyangpo and E'man still bear tombstones inscribed with Arabic script.

By the 1980s, when cultural relics workers Pan Xian'e and Li Juli from Sanya Lingshui County investigated Fan Village west of Wancheng, the area was entirely Han Chinese who had migrated from Fujian. Only the Pu Guangmao brothers' family remained of the 'Fan people.' They had been eating pork since their great-grandfather's time and had intermarried with local Han Chinese. The mosque built in earlier years had long since collapsed, and their religious beliefs were the same as the local Han Chinese.

3. The Sinicization of Muslims in Danzhou

The Ming Dynasty's Gazetteer of Danzhou, written in 1618, describes Islamic customs. Its account largely comes from the Zhengde Gazetteer of Qiongtan from the same dynasty, but it also notes that by that time, people were eating pork, except during Ramadan.

The text states: 'These foreigners do not live mixed with the local people, and do not eat pork. For other livestock, they do not need to slaughter it themselves to see the blood.' 'Families do not worship ancestors. Each village shares one prayer hall, where they recite scriptures morning and evening. Each year, they observe a month of fasting in rotation.' 'During the fast, they do not swallow saliva. They only eat after seeing the stars and moon. The fast begins and ends on the third day of the lunar month.' 'On the day of breaking the fast, they gather at the prayer hall for worship and recitation.' 'When someone dies, they do not use a coffin. The body is wrapped in cloth and buried facing west. This is generally similar to the beliefs of the Hui Muslims, referred to as 'Fan' people.' 'Nowadays, they are all registered with the local administration, eat fish and pork, and no longer hold fasting gatherings.'

It is unknown whether the Pu clan of Ouman village in Danzhou still practiced Islam during the Ming Dynasty. A 1951 survey by the Guangdong Provincial People's Government Committee for Ethnic Affairs, titled 'Investigation of the Li, Miao, and Hui Peoples of Hainan, Guangdong,' recorded that by the Guangxu era, Ouman village in Danzhou had been completely sinicized, but still preserved Arabic tombstones.

By the Guangxu Emperor's reign in the Qing Dynasty, the Hui Muslims of Taiyangpo and E'man had been completely sinicized. Tombstones in Taiyangpo and E'man still bear inscriptions in the Hui script.

A small number of the Pu family from E'man also moved into the Huihui village of Suosanya during the Qing Dynasty, becoming part of the present-day Huihui people.

In 1989, Ma Jianzhao from the Guangdong Provincial Institute of Ethnic Minorities and Darrell Du Riel, a visiting scholar from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, went to Dan County to investigate the Pu family of E'man. They published an article titled 'A Survey of the Customs and Culture of the Pu Clan in Dan County, Hainan Island'. The article stated that in 1989, there were 1,461 people in the Pu clan in Dan County. Except for wrapping the deceased in white cloth before burial, they had basically no remaining Islamic beliefs or customs. At that time, there were three ancestral halls in Pucun village in E'man Town. One was the 'Pu Clan Ancestral Hall,' dedicated to the spirit tablet of the first ancestor, Pu Yuanye. The other two were branch ancestral halls: 'Chongqing Tang,' for the descendants of Pu Xuanfu, and 'Longfu Fang,' for the descendants of Pu Xuanlu. Inside, besides ancestral tablets, there were also statues of deities such as 'Tiangang Marshal,' 'Bawang Marshal,' 'Yizhuang Marshal,' and 'Zhuizhu Marshal,' serving as guardians of the ancestors.

The current Shangpu Village was formerly known as Shangpu Village.



In early 1983, a doctor from the Pu family of E'man, who worked in Jiangmen City, Guangdong, obtained a copy of the 'Pu Family Genealogy of Nanhai Ganjiao.' This allowed the Pu clan in Danzhou to rediscover their ancestral origins. In late 1983, the Ouman Pu clan applied to the Guangdong Provincial Ethnic Affairs Commission to change their ethnic status to Hui Muslim. However, because the Ouman Pu clan had completely assimilated into Han Chinese culture, the authorities did not approve the request.

Starting in 1984, over 30 households and more than 100 villagers surnamed Pu from Ouman voluntarily moved to Huihui Village in Sanya. The local Huihui people helped them build homes and provided land for them to farm. However, after arriving in Huihui Village, the Ouman Pu clan could not adapt to the Huihui custom of not drinking alcohol or eating pork. After more than a month, some of them went to nearby Han Chinese villages to drink alcohol and eat pork. A year later, all of them left Huihui Village and returned to Danzhou.

4. Muslim Ancient Tombs in Tufu Bay, Lingshui

In 1976, Li Juli, a cultural relics worker from Lingshui County, discovered 53 ancient tombs on a sandy beach stretching 2.5 kilometers long and 40-60 meters wide, from Fanling Slope in Tengqiao Township, Sanya, to Tufu Bay Village in Lingshui. This discovery marked the beginning of the large-scale uncovering of ancient Muslim tombs in Sanya.

In 1978, archaeologists from the Guangdong Provincial Museum and the Hainan Island Cultural Management Committee excavated three Muslim tombstones carved with Arabic script on a beach called "Songlu" at the eastern foot of Fanling. Two of these are now in the Lingshui County Museum, and the other is in the Guangdong Provincial Museum.

In 1982, a joint archaeological team from the Guangdong Provincial Museum and the Hainan Island Cultural Management Office unearthed three more Arabic tombstones on Songlu Beach. At the same time, another ancient cemetery at Gan Jiaopo, 1 kilometer west of Tufuwan Village, was discovered. Seven tombs were excavated, each with an Arabic tombstone. The archaeological team left the tombstones in place and took rubbings of the inscriptions.

In December 1983, a joint investigation team from the Guangdong Provincial Political Consultative Conference's Ethnic and Religious Group and the Guangdong Provincial Ethnic Research Society rediscovered six Arabic tombstones and two tombstones with floral patterns on Songlu Beach.

By this time, three ancient Muslim cemeteries had been found in the Tufuwan area, bordering Sanya and Lingshui: Fanlingpo, Gan Jiaopo, and Tufuwan.

Approximate location of the ancient cemetery at Fanlingpo, Tengqiao Township:



On December 30, 2017, I traveled by car from Sanya to Fanlingpo in Tufuwan. First, I took a car to the Sanya International Duty-Free Shopping Complex, then took a taxi to the Renaissance Sanya Resort. I walked through the hotel to the beach and then walked southwest along the beach.



In March 1986, cultural relics workers Pan Xian'e and Li Juri from Lingshui County, Sanya, along with Yin Caike, an official from the Yingzhou Town Cultural Station, discovered two sites on a sandy dune cliff on the south side of Fanling Slope. These sites, located about 30 meters from the sea and 20 meters above it, were identified by Wang Hengjie, an associate professor in the History Department at the Central Institute for Nationalities. Local fishermen had long spoken of them, and Wang Hengjie confirmed they were the remains of "Fan people's" fortresses and living areas. Excavations yielded green bricks, roof tiles, and numerous ceramic shards from the Han, Tang, and Song dynasties. Sanya cultural relics workers also found Song dynasty copper coins and pottery fragments on the barren slopes near Fanling.



Sandy dune cliff:







Walk a short distance west along the beach, and you'll find a hidden entrance leading to a forest path.





Follow the path north to its end, and you'll see a sign marking the cultural relics.





Continue west, and you'll spot the 2016 marker for the Tengqiao Cemetery, a nationally protected key cultural heritage site.



Go further west, and you'll reach the only well-preserved ancient Muslim cemetery in the Tengqiao Fanling Slope area of Tufu Bay.









These graves are all vertical pit graves, with no side panels, cover boards, or any burial objects. The graves face north to south, with the deceased lying on their side in a flexed position, facing the holy city of Mecca to the west. In front of and behind each tomb, a coral stone tombstone was erected. The inscriptions were written in Arabic or Persian. However, most of the inscriptions on the tombstones currently at the original sites have weathered away and are no longer visible. Tombstones with clear inscriptions have been moved to museums at various levels in Hainan Province.











These tombs differ quite a bit from the Song and Yuan Dynasty Muslim tombs found in places like Guangzhou, Quanzhou, Hangzhou, and Yangzhou. The tombs in the aforementioned areas all have side panels and cover boards. Most of these cover boards have multiple layers of tomb lids, and they all have single tombstones, with no double tombstones. The Muslim ancient tombstones in Quanzhou are mostly made of diabase and granite. Those in Yangzhou often use shale, and those in Guangzhou use granite and shale. Only Hainan uses locally produced coral stone. This is because the Sanya and Lingshui areas are rich in coral stone. About 5 to 6 kilometers east of Fanling, at Juntunpo, there are over 100 Tang Dynasty coral stone sarcophagus tomb clusters. In the area of Houchangpo Daogangmen in Lingshui County, there are also many ancient Li ethnic group tombstones made of coral stone.













Wild watermelon vines on the ground.



In 1987, Li Juli and Wang Kerong published an article titled "Muslim Tombs Discovered in Lingshui and Sanya: Reflections on the Activities of Ancient Muslims on Hainan Island" in the inaugural issue of the "Journal of the Ethnography Museum of Hainan Autonomous Prefecture." The article documented the styles of some of the tombstones. The years these tombstones were unearthed come from the article "A Study of Muslim Cemeteries on Hainan Island" by Chen Dasheng and Claudine S. Sulmon, published in "Hui Studies" in 1993.

The tombstones facing northwest in the double tomb settings mostly have a raised top with five or more peaks. The center of the tombstone's header features a full moon, with Arabic script inside, mostly the Quranic verse 55:26: 'Everything on earth will perish.'

Below the full moon is an indented frame, with a flower carved at each end. Inside the frame are inscriptions in Arabic and Persian. Most of these inscriptions are weathered and hard to make out. The dates only show the month and day, with no tombstone recording the year. Tomb owners' names identified from the inscriptions include Atw, Haatuun, Naamu Hasan, and Samaa ibn Isma'ill. Among these, Atw (meaning 'majestic'), Haatuun (meaning 'lady'), and Naamu (meaning 'famous') all come from Persian. Additionally, some tombstones have Quranic verses 55:26 and 55:27 carved inside the indented frame: 'Everything on earth will perish.' But the face of your Lord, full of majesty and bounty, will endure.' Below the frame, a serrated band or cloud patterns are carved.

In their article 'A Study of Muslim Cemeteries on Hainan Island,' Chen Dasheng and Claudine Salmon interpret the floral patterns as star shapes.

The stele in the photo below was found in 1983 at the Fanlingpo ancient cemetery. A full moon is carved in the center of the stele head. Inside it is Qur’an 55:26: Everything on earth will perish. Below the moon is a relief carving of curling cloud patterns. Under that is a recessed frame with a flower carved at each end, and inside the frame is an Arabic and Persian inscription: This is the grave of the elder Atwa, written in Persian, who died on an auspicious day in Ramadan.



From Hainan Islamic Culture.

This stele is now kept at the Hainan Provincial Ethnic Museum in Wuzhishan City. The photo comes from Ma Mingjun’s blog Hui Muslims as One of Hainan Province’s Three Long-Established Ethnic Groups: Tang-Dynasty Islamic Scripture Coral Gravestones Unearthed in Fenghuang Town, Sanya!



The stele in the photo below was found in 1983 at the Fanlingpo ancient cemetery. A full moon is carved in the center of the stele head. Inside it is Qur’an 55:26: Everything on earth will perish. Below the moon is a recessed frame with one flower carved at each end. Inside the frame is an Arabic inscription: This is the grave of... son, Saman Heni... during Ramadan. A band of zigzag patterns is carved below the frame.

In Chen Dasheng and Claudine Salmon’s Study of Muslim Cemeteries on Hainan Island, the name of the deceased is translated as the famous Hasan.



From Hainan Islamic Culture.

The stele in the photo below was found in 1982 at the Fanlingpo ancient cemetery. A full moon is carved in the center of the stele head, but the inscription inside it has weathered away. Below the moon is a recessed frame with one flower carved at each end. Inside the frame are fragments from Qur’an 55:26 and 55:27: Everything on earth will perish. Only the Face of your Lord, full of majesty and honor, will remain.



From Hainan Islamic Culture.

The stele in the photo below was found in 1983 at the Fanlingpo ancient cemetery. A full moon is carved in the center of the stele head. Inside it is Qur’an 55:26: Everything on earth will perish. Below the moon is a recessed frame with one flower carved at each end. Inside the frame is an Arabic inscription:... Aismar... died on an auspicious day in Ramadan. A band of zigzag patterns is carved below the frame.



From Hainan Islamic Culture.

The stele in the photo below was found in 1978 at the Fanlingpo ancient cemetery. A full moon is carved in the center of the stele head. Inside it is Qur’an 55:26: Everything on earth will perish. Below the moon is a recessed frame with one flower carved at each end. Arabic is carved inside the frame, but it has already weathered away. Cloud patterns are carved below the frame.



From Hainan Islamic Culture.

The stele in the photo below was found in 1983 at the Fanlingpo ancient cemetery. There is a full moon in the center of the stele head, but the inscription inside it has weathered away. Below the moon is a recessed frame with one flower carved at each end. Arabic is carved inside the frame, but it is now hard to read.

In Chen Dasheng and Claudine Salmon’s Study of Muslim Cemeteries on Hainan Island, the lower inscription is translated as Qur’an 55:26: Everything on earth will perish.



From Hainan Islamic Culture.

The stele in the photo below was found in 1982 at the Fanlingpo ancient cemetery. A full moon is carved in the center of the stele head. Inside it is Qur’an 55:26: Everything on earth will perish.



From Hainan Islamic Culture.

The stele in the photo below was found in 1978 at the Fanlingpo ancient cemetery. A full moon is carved in the center of the stele head. Inside it is the shahada: There is no deity but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Below it, a three-branched tree of life is carved on each side, with flowers blooming on the branches. Below that is a recessed frame. Inside it are Qur’an 55:26 and 55:27: Everything on earth will perish. Only the Face of your Lord, full of majesty and honor, will remain.





From Hainan Islamic Culture.

The stele in the photo below was unearthed in 1978 at the Fanlingpo ancient cemetery. A full moon is carved in the center of the stele head. Arabic is carved inside it, but it is hard to read. Trees of life are carved on both sides of the moon. Below it is a recessed frame, with one flower on the right side. Arabic is carved inside the frame, but the inscription is hard to read.



From Hainan Islamic Culture.

The stele in the photo below was found in 1983 at the Fanlingpo ancient cemetery. A mountain-shaped panel is carved in the center of the stele head, with Arabic inside it. Below it is a recessed frame with one flower carved at each end, and Arabic inside the frame has already weathered away.



From Hainan Islamic Culture.

The stele in the photo below was found in 1978 at the Fanlingpo ancient cemetery. The upper part of the stele head shows a full moon set off by curved radiating lines. Inside it is Qur’an 55:26: Everything on earth will perish. Below the moon is a recessed frame, with a flower carved on the left end. Inside the frame is an Arabic inscription: This is the grave of... during a fasting day.



From Hainan Islamic Culture.

The stele in the photo below was found in 1982 at the Fanlingpo ancient cemetery. A full moon is carved in the center of the stele head. Arabic is carved inside it, but it is hard to read. A recessed frame is carved below it, with Arabic inside: This is the grave of a martyr. His name was Ibn Sayyid Wanersheng. He died in December. May Allah have mercy on this lonely man.

In Chen Dasheng and Claudine Salmon’s Study of Muslim Cemeteries on Hainan Island, the deceased is translated as Ding Sama ibn Ismail.



From Hainan Islamic Culture.

The stele in the photo below was found in 1983 at the Fanlingpo ancient cemetery. The stele is badly weathered and unclear. Only a recessed frame remains, with Arabic carved inside: This grave is only his final resting place.

In Chen Dasheng and Claudine Salmon’s Study of Muslim Cemeteries on Hainan Island, the inscription is translated as: This is the grave of... Khatun...



From Hainan Islamic Culture.

The stele in the photo below was found in 1983 at the Fanlingpo ancient cemetery. Only a recessed frame and the flower on the right remain. Arabic is carved inside the frame:... died on a certain day of a certain month.

In Chen Dasheng and Claudine Salmon’s Study of Muslim Cemeteries on Hainan Island, the flower is interpreted as a seven-pointed star.



From Hainan Islamic Culture.

Among the paired steles, the one facing southeast has a tree of life carved on its head.

The stele in the photo below was found in 1983 at the Fanlingpo ancient cemetery and belongs to the same grave as the first stele mentioned above. Its head is carved with a tree of life full of branches, with curling cloud shapes at the branch tips and a zigzag band below.



From Hainan Islamic Culture.

This stele is now kept at the Hainan Provincial Ethnic Museum in Wuzhishan City. The photo comes from Ma Mingjun’s blog Hui Muslims as One of Hainan Province’s Three Long-Established Ethnic Groups: Tang-Dynasty Islamic Scripture Coral Gravestones Unearthed in Fenghuang Town, Sanya!



The stele in the photo below was found in 1983 at the Fanlingpo ancient cemetery. It faces southeast, and its surface has a relief carving of a tree of life with full branches and five flowers.



From Hainan Islamic Culture.

Besides the steles found at the Fanlingpo ancient cemetery, another stele was found in 1982 at the Ganjiaopo ancient cemetery. This northwest-facing stele is quite different in form from the earlier ones and is less weathered, so it should be later than the steles above. The stele head has a mountain-shaped top, with straight sides and a flat bottom. The face of the stele has a rectangular frame bordered by zigzag patterns. Inside the frame are five lines of Arabic, of which only parts can be read:... Islam... Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah... prophet... Paradise. Three Arabic letters are carved separately below, and their meaning is unclear.

In Chen Dasheng and Claudine Salmon’s Study of Muslim Cemeteries on Hainan Island, the inscription is translated as:... Islam is our religion... Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah... Paradise... Madajia.



From Hainan Islamic Culture.

According to Li Juli and Wang Kerong in their 1987 article Ancient Muslim Activity on Hainan Island Seen Through Muslim Tombs Found in Lingshui and Sanya, Muslim tombs of this form had only been found at the ruins of the ancient city of Dhofar on the southern coast of Oman.

the sultan royal cemetery beside the Old Friday Mosque, or Hukuru Miskiiy Mosque, built in 1656 in Male, the capital of the Maldives, also has coral-stone graves with paired steles.



From the Tripadvisor user MarcoJust_Do_It.



From the Tripadvisor user KurniawanAdhi.

Five-peaked stele heads are often seen on Song and Yuan Muslim gravestones in Quanzhou. Below are Song and Yuan Muslim gravestones I photographed at the Quanzhou Maritime Museum.





Qur’an 55:26, the verse most often found on Sanya Muslim gravestones, says: Everything on earth will perish. Qur’an 55:27 says: Only the Face of your Lord, full of majesty and honor, will remain. These verses can also be seen in Song and Yuan Muslim tombs in Quanzhou.

The photo below shows a Yuan Dynasty Muslim gravestone I photographed at the Quanzhou Maritime Museum. It was unearthed in 1959 at Xiawei Village, Jintoupu, outside Tonghuai Gate in Quanzhou, and its inscription includes these two verses.



The diabase Sumeru-base-style tombstone at the upper right of the photo below was dug up in the late Qing period from the garden of a Pu family in Quanzhou. After it was moved into Qingjing Mosque, it was built into the north wall of the Mingshan Hall, and it was removed during the halls 1983 renovation. The inscription contains an excerpt from Qur’an 29:57 and the full text of Qur’an 55:26:

Every soul shall taste death.

Everything on earth will perish.



5. The Li Assimilation of Lingshui Muslims

In the 1980s, cultural heritage workers Pan Xiane and Li Juli from Lingshui County, Sanya, went to Jiabu Village in Yingzhou Town, Lingshui County, to investigate. Jiabu Village originally had 31 Pu-surname households. Later, because of an internal dispute, 17 of them changed their surname to Fu, a major Li surname.

The Pu families in Jiabu Village are divided into two branches. The first branch says its ancestors were seven brothers who crossed the sea from Champa to Hainan for trade and met a typhoon. One brother settled in present-day Wenchang City, one settled at Luobidong in Sanya City, and the other five settled in Yazhou. Later, among the seven brothers, some became rich and some became poor. One brother in Yazhou ran to Jiabu Village because of debt and worked as a long-term laborer for a landlord. The landlord arranged for him to marry a Li woman, and they had descendants. The second branch first lived at Luobidong in Sanya, later moved to Qingtian Village in Linwang Town, and finally settled in Jiabu Village.

Today, both the Pu and Fu families in Jiabu Village call themselves Lao Li, the same self-name used by Li-assimilated Han people nearby.

Jiabu Village is the settlement of Champa descendants closest to the Fanlingpo Muslim ancient cemetery.



6. The Distribution of Muslim Communities in Yazhou

In December 1983, a joint investigation team formed by the ethnic and religious group of the Guangdong Provincial CPPCC and the Guangdong Society for Ethnic Studies, guided by Lingshui County official Sun Bolin, found a Muslim ancient cemetery on a beach near Suanmei Village in Yacheng. Local people called the place Fanfangyuan, also known as Barenjiaopo. The Guangxu-period Yazhou Gazetteer records that Cham Muslims who migrated during the Song and Yuan periods once lived here.



The Barenjiaopo ancient cemetery was still called foreigner graves in the 1950s. It once had hundreds of coral-stone Muslim gravestones, but after the 1950s most were burned into lime or used by villagers as building material. The investigation team found only one Arabic-inscribed gravestone in the retaining wall of a new grave.

The top of this stele rises into five peaks. The upper half has a carved border, and inside it curling cloud patterns set off a full moon. An inscription is carved inside the frame, but only Allah... Allah... can be read. On both sides of the moon are symmetrical long-life bird patterns made from Arabic script. The pattern on the right contains the shahada: There is no deity but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. The script in the pattern on the left is hard to read. Below the curling cloud pattern is a recessed frame divided into three sections. Arabic is carved inside, but only the word Allah can be read.



This stele is now kept at the Hainan Museum. The museum website includes a photo.



Compared with the Muslim gravestones at Tufuwan in Lingshui, this stele is less weathered, so it should be later. Its patterns are also quite different from the Lingshui Muslim gravestones. The absence of flower motifs in the inscription is similar to Song and Yuan Muslim gravestones in Quanzhou.

Between 1983 and 1987, another ancient cemetery site was found on the beach one kilometer east of Dadan Port. Local residents called it Fanduifen. Volume 27 of the Ming Zhengde-period Qiongtai Gazetteer, completed in 1521, records a mosque in Fan Village three li south of Yacheng. This Fan Village was near Dadan Port: Fotang Mosque is in Fan Village, three li south of Yazhou. Its hall system, ritual recitation, and prayers are the same as those of a mosque.

According to volume 6 of the Ming Zhengde-period Qiongtai Gazetteer, Dadan Port had long been an important trade pier: It is three li southwest of the prefecture seat and leads into Dadan Liyong Ward. Merchants moored their boats here.



Huangliu Village, 120 li west of Yazhou, had a place called Fanrentang. The Ming Wanli-period Qiongzhou Prefecture Gazetteer records: Fanrentang is in Huangliu Village, 120 li west of Yazhou.

The 1951 Survey of the Li, Miao, and Hui Peoples of Hainan, Guangdong, compiled by the Ethnic Affairs Committee of the Guangdong Provincial Peoples Government, records that the Muslims of Huangliu later moved to Taizao in Yazhou: One branch at Huangliu was neither near the sea nor had farmland, so it moved again to Taizao in Ya County.



Volume 1 of the Guangxu-period Yazhou Gazetteer gives a very detailed record of Yazhou Muslims in its customs section. It mentions building mosques, wearing white clothes and white caps, reciting scripture and praying, going to Mecca for Hajj, fasting in Ramadan, and celebrating the end of the fast, all typical Islamic customs.

They were originally surnamed Pu, but many have since changed their surnames. They do not eat pork, do not make offerings to ancestors, and do not worship spirits. They only build mosques. They wear white clothes and white caps, recite scripture and pray, and keep their faith until death without changing. For weddings, funerals, illness, and other major events, they gather people to recite scripture. Those who can travel west to Tianfang and visit the mosque and tomb of the founder of the religion are admired by everyone when they return. At the beginning of the year, every three years they move back by one month. When they see the new moon at the start of this month, they begin fasting. On the day after seeing the new moon at the start of the next month, they end the fast and treat it as New Year. They fish and farm widely for their livelihood. In marriage, they do not avoid the same surname, but they do avoid the same clan. They do not marry Han people, and others do not marry them either.

Four: Hainan Muslims Registered Under Suo Sanyali — The Formation of the Huihui People view all