Overview
Abdullah Khan ruled the Yarkent Khanate from 1638 to 1669. The eldest of nine sons of Abduraim Khan, ruler of the eastern cities, and a grandson of Abdurashid Khan, he held the throne for three decades while the Dzungars took the lands north of the Tian Shan and the rival khoja factions divided his court. He was expelled in 1669 and died in India.
Rise to Power
Raised in Kucha, Abdullah became ruler of the eastern lands in 1634 on his father's death. In 1638 Khoja Yahiya invited him to take Kashgar and Yarkand; a council of begs forced out Sultan Ahmad Khan, and Abdullah was declared Great Khan at Yarkand.
Rule and Achievements
- Allowed Kyrgyz tribes to settle around Kashgar and hired mercenaries who became central to later power struggles
- Lost Baghistan in the Ili valley to the Dzungars in 1651, and later all of Moghulistan north of the Tian Shan
- Fought the Dzungar leader Sengge to a truce after a raid reached Keriya in 1657
- Ruled the six western cities directly, while his brothers governed Chalish, Turpan and Kumul largely on their own
- Was backed by the Kara Taghlik khojas, while his son Yulbars sided with the rival Ak Taghlik leader Afaq Khoja
Legacy
In 1669 the council of begs of Kashgar and Yarkand expelled him. He travelled through Kashmir to the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, who supported his pilgrimage to Mecca, and he died in India in 1675. His fall opened the civil war that brought the Dzungars into the Tarim Basin.