06/04/2026
📢📜 Commemorating the 512th Anniversary of the Yarkent Khanate (1514–1705)
The East Turkistan Government in Exile solemnly commemorates the 512th anniversary of the founding of the Yarkent Khanate by Sultan Said Khan in late May 1514.
For nearly two centuries, the Yarkent Khanate stood as a sovereign Turkic state governing the overwhelming majority of East Turkistan. From its political capital in Yarkent, the Khanate administered a flourishing civilization whose major cultural, economic, and intellectual centers included Kashgar, Khotan, Keriya, Aksu, Kucha, Turpan, Qarasheher, Qumul, Dukhan, and Uzgen. These historic cities formed a vibrant network of trade, scholarship, governance, and Islamic civilization along the Silk Road.
The eastern frontier of the Khanate extended to the historic Jiayu Pass (Jiayuguan), long recognized as the traditional boundary separating East Turkistan from China, underscoring the Yarkent Khanate’s geopolitical independence and distinct civilizational identity.
The Yarkent Khanate represented one chapter in East Turkistan’s more than 3,000-year history of statehood and its ancient civilization stretching back thousands of years. Throughout history, East Turkistan has been home to numerous sovereign Indo-European and Turkic civilizations and states, including the Tocharian city-states, the Xiongnu (Hun) Empire, the Kushan Empire, the Hephthalites, the Kök Türk Khaganate, the Uyghur Khaganate, the Kara-Khanid Khanate, the Idiqut Uyghur State, the Chagatai Khanates, and the Yarkent Khanate.
In the modern era, this enduring tradition of sovereignty continued through the State of Yette Sheher (1864–1877), the First East Turkistan Republic (1933–1934), and the Second East Turkistan Republic (1944–1949). Together, these states reflected the enduring aspirations of the East Turkistani people for independence, national dignity, and self-rule.
Like every nation throughout history, East Turkistan’s sovereignty has periodically been disrupted by foreign occupation and colonial domination, including rule by the Dzungar Khanate (1705–1759), the Manchu Qing Empire (1759–1863; 1877–1912), Chinese warlords (1912–1933), KMT-aligned Chinese warlords (1934–1943), and the Chinese Communist occupation (1949–present).
Despite these occupations, the political will of the East Turkistani people to reclaim their national sovereignty and independence has never been extinguished. That struggle continues today through the work of the East Turkistan Government in Exile and the collective efforts of East Turkistanis worldwide.
The Yarkent Khanate maintained diplomatic, cultural, and commercial relations with neighboring powers, including the Mughal Empire, Ming China, the Kazakh Khanate, and the Khanate of Bukhara, affirming its recognized place within the regional and international order of its time.
On this solemn anniversary, the East Turkistan Government in Exile honors the enduring legacy of the Yarkent Khanate as a pillar of our national history and identity. We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to the restoration of East Turkistan’s independence and national sovereignty in accordance with international law, historical continuity, and the inalienable right of all peoples to self-determination.
