In the early 1860s, large-scale violence and rebellion spread through Shaanxi, Gansu, and Xinjiang during what is often called the Dungan Revolt. The Qing state diverted troops and money to multiple fronts, weakening its control in the far west. This crisis created openings for new local and outside powers to seize territory.
Amid the disorder in Xinjiang, Yaqub Beg, an officer from Kokand, moved into the region and built influence through alliances and force. He used the collapse of Qing authority in parts of the Tarim Basin to take control of key oasis towns. His rise set the stage for a decade-long, semi-independent regime centered on Kashgar.
By 1865, Yaqub Beg had established himself as the leading figure in Kashgaria (centered on Kashgar). His government—often referred to as Yettishar—combined military control with religious and political claims to legitimacy. This consolidation turned Xinjiang’s southern oases into a direct challenge to Qing sovereignty.
To restore order in the northwest, the Qing appointed the scholar-general Zuo Zongtang as governor-general in the region. He pursued a methodical campaign to defeat Muslim rebel forces while rebuilding supplies and local administration. This step was crucial because it created a secure base for any later push back into Xinjiang.
With Qing power weakened, Russia occupied the Ili region in July 1871, claiming it was protecting its subjects from unrest and raids. The occupation became a major international complication because Ili was strategically important for routes and border security. For the Qing, reconquering Xinjiang would now also require a solution to the Ili problem.
In the early 1870s, Yaqub Beg signed commercial agreements with Russia (1872) and Britain (1873). These treaties did not make Kashgaria fully independent in international law, but they did signal that major empires treated his regime as a serious regional actor. The agreements also sharpened Qing concerns about losing the northwest permanently.
After suppressing major rebel forces in Shaanxi and Gansu, Zuo began shifting attention and resources toward the reconquest of Xinjiang. This transition mattered because it freed troops and stabilized supply routes through the Gansu Corridor—the main land route into Xinjiang. The Qing leadership now aimed to restore direct control over the Tarim Basin and northern Xinjiang.
In 1875, the Qing formally tasked Zuo Zongtang with reconquering Xinjiang, beginning large-scale mobilization, transport, and logistics. Moving armies, grain, and equipment across long distances took time, but it reduced Yaqub Beg’s advantage of remoteness. The campaign’s success would depend on steady supply lines and defections from Yaqub’s allies.
In August 1876, Qing forces reached Ürümqi, which soon surrendered, restoring Qing control over a key city north of the Tianshan. Soon after, the Qing began the siege of Manas (starting 1876-09-02), a stronger defensive position. These victories secured northern Xinjiang as a staging area for the later advance into the southern oases.
Manas surrendered on 1876-11-06, ending one of the major remaining strongpoints opposing the Qing in northern Xinjiang. With Manas taken, Qing forces could consolidate positions, protect supply routes, and reorganize for a westward push. The campaign increasingly pressured Yaqub Beg’s regime by shrinking the territory from which it could recruit and collect taxes.
In May 1877, as Qing troops advanced into the eastern Tarim Basin, Yaqub Beg died in Korla; sources disagree on the exact cause, and accounts include illness, poisoning, and suicide. Around the same time, Qing forces took Turpan, a major oasis and strategic node. Yaqub’s death accelerated the collapse of coordinated resistance, leading to rapid Qing gains across the south.
By late 1877, Qing forces had painstakingly recovered the main oasis cities of Kashgaria, ending Yaqub Beg’s kingdom and restoring imperial rule across most of Xinjiang. This outcome re-established Qing authority in the far west after years of fragmentation. It also set up the next challenge: negotiating Russia’s withdrawal from Ili and deciding how Xinjiang would be governed long-term.
Yaqub Beg's Kashgaria and the Qing reconquest of Xinjiang (1865–1877)