Overview
Shudja ad-Din Ahmad Khan, remembered as Khan Shahid, ruled the Yarkent Khanate from 1609 to 1618. The son of Muhammad Sultan, he tried to concentrate power in the hands of the Great Khan at the expense of the emirs and regional princes, and was killed in 1618 in an attack rooted in that rivalry.
Rise to Power
He succeeded his father around 1609. His elder son Temur Sultan governed Aksu and later Kashgar and Yangi Hisar until his death in a riding accident in 1615.
Rule and Achievements
- Sought to centralise authority and reduce the power of local emirs and sultans
- Favoured the Churas emirs, which turned other nobles against him
- Failed to make peace with his kinsman Abduraim Khan, who ruled the eastern part of the khanate, and the conflict continued until his death
Legacy
In 1618 his hunting camp in the mountains was attacked at night by about 600 men of Muhammad Kasim Shah, ruler of Sarikol, and he was killed. A rival, Kuraish Sultan, held the throne for nine days before forces loyal to the khan's family defeated his supporters; the khan's young son Abd al-Latif then took the throne. His reign shows the cost of centralising power without first securing the nobles it displaced.