Biography
Abdurashid Khan was a descendant of the first Moghul Khan Tughluk Timur Khan (1347-1363) and was born in 1508. He came to power in 1533 when his father and predecessor Sultan Said Khan died of altitude sickness during a military expedition in the region of Kashmir.[1]
One of Abdul Rasid Khan's wives was Amannisa Khan. She is credited with collecting and thereby preserving the Twelve Muqam, which is today considered one traditional musical style of the Uyghur people of East Turkistan, Today’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The Muqam of Xinjiang has been designated by UNESCO as part of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
In 1538, Abdurashid Khan concluded a treaty with Uzbek Chief Ubaydullah Sultan, who ruled the Khanate of Bukhara at the time (1533–1539). He also completed a similar treaty with the Moghul Empire in India. During the negotiations with Ubaydullah Sultan, a Naqshbandi Sufi teacher Ahmad Kasani (1462–1542), known as Makhdum-i ' Azam (the Great Master) came to Kashgar from Samarkand and was granted land there. His descendants, known as Makhdum Zadas and bearing title "Khoja", played an important role in the history of Xinjiang during the 16th to 19th centuries.
The descendants of Makhdum's eldest son Muhammad Amin (died in 1598), or Ishan Kalan, the founder of the Ishkiyya branch of the Sufi order (tariqa) Naqshbandi khojagan, established themselves in Kashgar and became known as the Aq Taghliks, those of the Tian Shan (or "White Mountains"). The descendants of his second son, Ishaq Wali (died in 1599), founder of branch Ishakiyya of the Sufi order Naqshbandi khojagan, established themselves in Yarkand and became known as the Kara Taghliks, those of the "Black Mountains", i.e. the Pamirs, Karakorum and Kunlun.
Abdurashid Khan was known for the stature of his body and the strength of his hands. He had no equal in shooting with a bow and also was a talented musician. He wrote a music, Shirashangiz, which was very popular in the Yarkand Khanate. He also completely learned 12 Mukams, classical Uyghur music. He liked to change into ordinary clothes, following Khalif Harun al-Rashid, and wander among the population without being recognised. He made three trips to Khotan dressed in this way and he died there during his last trip.
After his death in 1560, Abdurashid Khan was succeeded in Yarkand by his second son Abdul Karim Khan (ruled 1560–1591).
Between 1541 and 1546, the historian and ruler of Kashmir on behalf of Babur's descendants, Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat, wrote a book "Tarih-i-Rashidi" (The History of Rashid). He devoted it to Abdurashid Khan, despite the fact that he had been expelled from Kashgaria by the Khan along with many of his relatives. Kashgaria had been under the rule of his ancestors, the Dughlat Amirs, for about 300 years (1219–1514), beginning with Dughlat Amir Babdaghan (Tarkhan), who was granted the country called "Mangalai Suyah" (Faced to Sun) by Chagatai Khan, second son of Chengiz Khan.
