International relations on the great silk road in the era of amir timur and temurids

KEYWORDS: Kublai, Tayzu, Hizrhoja, Otrar, Turkestan, Mevlana Hafizi, Ambassadors, Huangdi, Sikhai, Tianzi, Kumul, International Trade, Min Khanate.

From the middle of the XIII century, a complex political situation has arisen in Central Asia. In particular, the khan of the Yuan dynasty founded in China, Kublai, considered himself the heir to the throne of Genghis Khan and demanded that the rulers of this region obey him. But he tried to use force after receiving a rejection response to his request. But his military efforts did not yield results. There was serious resistance to the Kublai. After Kublai's death in 1294, his grandson Timur Changzung ascended the throne (1295-1308) and followed in his grandfather's footsteps. But his efforts were in vain. As a result, trade between China and the West through the Great Silk Road has become more difficult. In the 14th century, on the one hand, the conflicts between the Chigatay dynasties intensified, and on the other hand, the conflicts between them and the Mongol khans escalated. In addition, actions against the Mongol rulers among the peoples of Central Asia began. In China, too, the Mongols were opposed by the local people. Taking advantage of the situation in 1368, Chinese officials and landowners overthrew the Yuan dynasty and established a khanate called Min (1368-1644). From the middle of the 13th century, the political situation in Central Asia was complicated. In particular, the khan of the Yuan dynasty in China, Kublai, considered himself the heir to the throne of Genghis Khan and demanded obedience to the rulers of the region. However, he refused and tried to use force. But his military efforts did not yield results. He is active in opposing Kublai. After Kublai's death in 1294, his grandson Timur Changzung ascended the throne (1295-1308) and followed in his grandfather's footsteps. But his efforts were in vain. As a result, trade between China and the West through the Great Silk Road has become more difficult. In the 14th century, on the one hand, the conflicts between the Chigatay dynasties intensified, and on the other hand, the conflicts between them and the Mongol khans escalated. In addition, the peoples of Central Asia began to take action against the Mongol rulers. In China, too, the Mongols are opposed by the local people. Taking advantage of the situation in 1368, Chinese officials and landowners overthrew the Yuan dynasty and established a khanate called Min (1368-1644). These events disrupted the peace on the Great Silk Road and severely weakened international trade through Turkestan. As a result, the importance of the Great Silk Road declined sharply. In 1370, the state of Amir Temur (1336-1405) was established in Movarounnahr, which centered the city of Samarkand. For nearly 35 years, the state's control of a vast territory and the security of the Great Silk Road paved the way for the resumption of international trade. Amir Temur himself paid great attention to the development of this road. Amir Temur himself paid great attention to the development of this road. He was well aware that not only domestic trade within his country, but also the development of international trade relations was necessary for the economic development of the country. As soon as he came to power, he began to focus on domestic and foreign trade affairs. First of all, he paid special attention to the safety of caravan routes and the construction of caravanserais on them. In the letter of Amir Temur to the Chinese Khan Tyszou, it was noted that: "the roads between the caravanserais were opened, the pirates on the roads were eliminated, and those who traveled to distant lands felt at ease." At the same time, Amir Temur established economic relations with European countries such as Byzantium, Venice, Spain, France and England. According to Chinese scholars, Amir Temur sent ambassadors to Beijing, the capital of the Ming Dynasty, eight times, developing diplomatic and trade ties with China. For example, in the autumn of 1387 and 1389 Mawlana Hafizi, in 1388 Taj ad-Din (Tamuding), in 1391 Shohalil (Shahali), in 1392 Nigmat ad-Din (Nimaopuding), in 1394 and 1395 Darwish (Diyelibeyshi), in 1396 Alomat ad-Din (from Alama) visited Beijing as an ambassador on behalf of Amir Temur. Through these ambassadors, the sakhibkiran sent horses, camels, and other things to the Chinese khan. The Chinese khan returned silver and silk fabrics in return. In 1396, Amir Temur sent a letter to the Chinese khan through Alomat ad-Din, stating that he was pleased with what he had sent. During this period, it was possible to travel from Samarkand to Beijing in 6 months. The caravan, which set out in the fall, reached its destination in late spring or early summer of the following year. In the nearly 100 years after the death of Amir Temur, a group of ambassadors came to China from Turkestan 107 times, including 22 times on behalf of Ulugbek Mirzo in 1415-1440. According to Chinese sources, Samarkand merchants also came to other Chinese cities at that time to sell horses in the markets. For example, in the early spring of 1390, Shojorali (Shachiyer Alini) from Samarkand sold 670 horses in Liangzhou. The local governor reported the matter to Taisau and asked him to send the merchant to Beijing. Along with the ambassadors sent from Samarkand to China, large groups of traders also joined. A letter from Tayzu to Amir Temur states that some Samarkand merchants did not return to their homeland after arriving in China, and some bought houses and had children. During the March of the Min dynasty troops against the Tatars living in the north of China, it was found that there were several hundred Samarkand merchants among those who were captured. These examples show that the Amir Timur merchants were engaged in commercial works not only in the territory of China, but also in the steppes of its North. The min Dynasty also sent ambassadors and merchants to Samarkand several times. For example, in 1395 a group of 1,500 ambassadors and traders led by Bo An arrived in Samarkand from Beijing, and in 1397 Chinese ambassadors and traders led by Chan Deven arrived. According to reports, Turkestan-China diplomatic and trade relations, which had been suspended for a long time, were restored during the reign of Amir Temur and the Great Silk Road was reopened. However, a new ideological problem arose between the state of Amir Temur and the Ming Khanate due to differences in the views of the parties. It is known that according to the traditional notion of the Chinese rulers, the Haqqan was called "Xuandi" (emperor), and he was the son of God on earth ("Tianzi"). All countries and khans had to obey him. Therefore, Amir Temur's ambassadors were considered "gungshi" by the Ming dynasty, and their gifts were considered "gungfu", meaning the taxes paid by citizens to the ruler. It should be noted here that, According to Chinese dictionaries, including the Dictionary of Chinese Writing, the word "gung" in ancient times refers to the child of God (Tianzi), that is, the things given to the emperor by his subjects and the part of the crops given to the government by the peasants. According to the dictionaries "Sea of Words" ("Sixhai") and "Origin of Words" ("Siyuan"), the word "gungfu" was the name of a tax imposed on citizens by the ruler. The influence of the Chinese emperors' tradition of claiming ownership of the earth is also reflected in the works of Chinese scholars. For example, Wang Chilay wrote in his book that “After the military campaigns around the Victory ended, Timur became stronger. After that, he refused to obey the Ming dynasty and collect taxes (gungfu) for China (Chungtuo), but at the same time he took the Chinese ambassadors and did not allow them to return.” Elsewhere, the historian writes: “As mentioned above, Timur often sent tax ambassadors (gungshi) to the Ming palace. Some of them were limited to tax collection and trade, while others were engaged in studying the situation in China and gathering information. " Of course, such accusations against Amir Temur were baseless. The fact that the Ming dynasty considered the ruler of an independent state and who had played a great role in the unification of Turkestan as his subordinate was nothing but greatness and disregard for others. Such an approach to the issue rightly offended Amir Temur. Chju Yuanjang, who overthrew the Mongol rule in China and restored the Chinese rule (1368-1398 years he ascended throne under the name of Tayzu), armed with the traditional philosophy of the former Khans, considered himself the supreme ruler, controlling over all countries of the world, which was an incomprehensible situation for other peoples, states and Khans. When Mevlana Hafiz, who was the first ambassador from Amir Temur to China (in 1387 year), arrived, Tayzu, on the basis of this understanding, accepted his gifts as a sign of subordination to himself. His such attitude was also preserved in relation to the ambassadors and gifts sent in the years after Amir Temur. The Chinese Khan described the gifts he sent to Amir Temur in response as a sign of the generosity shown for his "acceptance of his subordination". On this basis, in a letter to Amir Temur, Tayzu described him as an obedient khan to the Chinese khan. The Chinese khan did not take into account the position of the sokhibkiran. After reading his letter, Amir Temur became very angry and detained the Chinese ambassadors led by Bo An, Chen Deven, who came to Samarkand in 1395 and 1397. They returned to their homeland after the death of Amir Temur. There were two other reasons for keeping the ambassadors in Samarkand. The first was when Amir Temur suspected that Bo An was planning to go to Herat with 1,500 men, and the second was when the news reached Amir Temur that Khan of China had ordered the execution of 100,000 Muslims. It is possible that the number of Muslims executed in China is less than 100,000. It is possible that the number of Muslims executed in China is less than 100,000. However, it is a historical fact that, the Ming dynasty punished many of the Turkestan Muslims because of their high status in society and the involvement of their representatives in high-ranking government positions during the Mongol rule. Unfortunately, these historical events were not correctly described in Chinese sources. Palace historians under the control of the Ming dynasty approached the issue not from a practical point of view, but from the traditional philosophy of the Chinese rulers. In fact, Amir Temur intended to restore equal trade relations between the two countries by sending gifts to the Chinese khan through ambassadors in return for the import of Chinese goods. There is a lot of information about this in local sources. Unfortunately, some historians, including Chinese historians, who have not been able to conduct scientific research on the basis of comparing Chinese sources with Central Asian sources, have not been able to accurately state this wish of Amir Temur. They accepted the contradictory statements in the Chinese khan's label and in the sources written by palace historians as "true." In addition, the fact that Turkestan traders were not allowed to trade freely in China and the execution of Turanian Muslims angered Amir Temur. In the available literature, including the works of Chinese historians, it is mentioned that he was offended by the attitude of the khan of the Ming dynasty. In the available literature, including the works of Chinese historians, it is mentioned that he was offended by the attitude of the khan of the Ming dynasty. When Amir Temur planned a military campaign against him, the Ming dynasty became alarmed and began to prepare for war. However, with the death of Amir Temur in Otrar in 1405, his wish did not come true. However, with the death of Amir Temur in Otrar in 1405, his wish did not come true. It is clear from these historical events that the imbalance in the relations between Amir Temur and the Chinese khans did not allow Turkestan and China to understand the basics and rights of international relations and the regular development of trade relations.