For a century, the Āfāqī Khojas waged a relentless holy war against Qing rule.
After the Qing dynasty conquered the Altishahr region in 1759, the displaced Āfāqī Khojas launched a hundred-year campaign to reclaim their territory. From guerilla raids to full-scale military invasions, these Sufi leaders repeatedly challenged Chinese authority, ultimately reshaping the political landscape of what is now modern Xinjiang.
The Āfāqī Khojas were a Naqshbandī Sufi lineage tracing their roots to the 15th-century master Ahmad Kāsānī. By the mid-18th century, they had become fierce rivals of the Ishāqi Khojas, both factions having governed Altishahr under the Dzungar Khanate. When the Qing dynasty defeated the Dzungars and occupied Altishahr in 1759, the Āfāqī Khojas were stripped of power, triggering a century of persistent, often brutal, resistance against the new imperial administration.
The conflict frequently spilled across borders into Khoqand, which served as a refuge for exiled rebels. While early revolts were localized, the 1820s saw a significant escalation under Jāhangīr Khoja. His 1826 campaign, supported by the Khoqandian ruler Madali Khan, successfully captured major cities like Kashghar and Yarkand. However, the Qing responded with overwhelming force, recapturing the territory in 1827 and executing Jāhangīr by slicing. Subsequent attempts, such as the 1847 'Holy War of the Seven Khojas' and Wālī Khān’s brief 1857 rule, were marked by internal cruelty and a lack of sustained local support, leading to their eventual collapse.
The final shift occurred in 1864, when the Dungan Revolt in central China weakened Qing defenses in the west. This ignited a widespread Muslim rebellion in Altishahr, which the military commander Ya‘qūb Beg exploited to establish an independent state. By 1866, Ya‘qūb Beg had sidelined the remaining Āfāqī Khoja claimants, effectively ending their century-long holy war. His rule lasted until 1877, when Qing General Zuo Zongtang finally reasserted control, permanently integrating the region into the Chinese empire and setting the stage for the modern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Source: Afaqi Khoja revolts
