History of civilizations of Central Asia, v. 6 ... - unesdoc - Unesco

ISBN 92-3-103985-7 The surrender of Merv and the Afghan question
patchwork of semi-independent principalities which constituted Afghan Turkistan and had
some 950,000 inhabitants at the end of the nineteenth century. 42 From east to west, there
was Wakhan, located at the eastern end of the Amu Darya basin; Badakhshan, 20,000 km 2
on either side of the Panj; Kunduz, of about 30,000 km 2 ; Khulm, which was the centre of
ancient Bactria; and Maimaneh. These principalities, peopled mostly by Uzbeks and Tajiks
(except for Wakhan), returned to Afghan domination in the third quarter of the nineteenth
century. Only the principality of Andkhoy (with about 60,000 inhabitants) remained semi-
independent in the 1880s.
The Russian Pamirs expedition ended with the signing of the Russo-British Pamirs bor-
der agreement of 27 February 1895, which stipulated that the territories on the left bank of
the Panj (part of Darwaz) belonged to Afghanistan and those on the right bank ( Roshan,
Shughnan and part of Wakhan) to the protectorate of Bukhara. The other part of Wakhan
was a narrow corridor attributed to Afghanistan in order to separate the Russian empire
from British India. On 18 August 1907 Russia recognized Afghanistan as being outside its
sphere of influence and, for many decades, desisted from a continuation of its expansionist
policy in Central Asia.
RUSSIAN EXPANSION IN XINJIANG
From the middle of the nineteenth century, Chinese policy was defensive, given the need to
counter the growing influence of Russia and Britain. Relations between the local authorities
in Xinjiang and Beijing were politicized and violent uprisings broke out, often backed by
the powers active in the region.
In the early 1860s Xinjiang was the scene of major rebellions. The Hui, also known as
the Dungans (Chinese Muslims), and the Taranchis rebelled against the Chinese authori-
ties, whom they expelled from Kuldja with the assistance of other indigenous peoples, the
Kyrgyz and the Sarts. An independent entity was formed under the auspices of the Khoja
dynasty. The Taranchis initially enjoyed a certain prosperity before becoming the target of
increasingly frequent military requisitions by the Manchus which kept pace with Muslim
insurrections in Xinjiang. These requisitions peaked in 1863, bringing them into conflict
not only with the Chinese authorities (in particular, General Tso Tsungtang, 1812–85) but
also with their Dungan neighbours. The political fortunes of the Taranchis crystallized for
a brief period in parallel with the venture of the Kokandi Yakub Beg in Kashghar. 43 Under
42 Badakhshan: 158,000 inhabitants; Wakhan: 3,000; Kunduz: 400,000; Andhkoy: 60,000; Balkh: 64,000;
Maimaneh: 270,000; Darzab: 5,000. Total: 960,000 inhabitants according to the Voenniy Sbornik (Military
Handbook) cited by Reclus, 1881, p. 490. See also Luzhetskaya, 1986.
43 Boulger, 1879.
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