Han Khan

Chapter 112, Samanids
In the Jinhan camp, in the huge golden tent, the lights were brightly on. Zhang Sheng sat high on the main throne on the north side covered with snow leopard skin. In front of him sat the cardinal Zhang Zhongxian, the captain of the guard Zhang Xibao and Koza. On his right sat the Karakhanid Sara and his brother Ilhan.

"Why are those Ubili people chasing you?" Zhang Sheng asked Sarah and Ilhan in a gentle tone, holding his chin with one hand.

"Your Excellency, those are the Ubili people who were bribed by my cousin with gold and silver. My cousin sent them to hunt us down."

At the age of thirteen or fourteen, Ilhan was already a strong man on the grassland.

But after experiencing so many changes, he became somewhat taciturn. Now facing Zhang Sheng, who had no intention of hurting them, he finally plucked up the courage to speak, his voice full of anger and helplessness.

"Oh, who is your cousin? Why is he killing his brothers and hunting you down?"

Speaking of fratricide, Zhang Sheng thought of the infighting between his grandfather, Zhang Huaiding, and his great-uncle, Zhang Huaishen.

"Your Highness Teqin, my grandfather was the founder of the Karakhanid Khanate. He was the nephew of the Uighur Khan of Mobei. More than seventy years ago, after the fall of the Uighur Khanate, he led a group of Uighurs to migrate westward to Qiuci and the Seven Rivers Grassland and joined the Karluk Alliance.

Later, he was supported by all tribes and was crowned Khan, with the honorific title of Quebijia Qadir Khan..."

At this time, Zhang Sheng interrupted Yilhan and asked:
"Is your grandfather called Pang Teqin?"

Sarah and Ilhan looked at each other and responded to Zhang Sheng: "Yes, Your Highness, my grandfather is Pang Teqin."

Hearing this, Zhang Sheng immediately understood, and he continued:
"Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty once conferred upon your grandfather the title of Huaijian Khan of the Nine-Surname Uighurs, the first Khan after the fall of the Uighur Khanate!"

The two were shocked, and Sarah said quickly:
"My grandfather never received any imperial edict of enthronement from the Tang Emperor, nor any news of enthronement!

It seems that the Tang Dynasty has never forgotten us, the Uighurs who are living abroad."

Zhang Sheng was speechless after hearing this. The Tang Dynasty was afraid of Zhang's Guiyi Army that recovered the towns in Hexi at that time, so it conferred the title of Khan on your grandfather in order to win over the Guiyi Army and Pugu Jun of the Gaochang Uighurs. However, Zhang Sheng did not say these words directly.

Sarah asked quickly:
"Your Highness, how do you know this?"

Zhang Sheng knew they would ask, so he said:
"Pugjun, the leader of the Uighurs in Beiting, blocked the Tang envoys who came to confer the title, and the envoys returned to Luoyang without success.

Pugu Jun was originally a vassal of my Zhang family. He betrayed my Zhang family, established the Western Region Uighurs with Beiting and Gaochang, and attacked Yanqi, Anxi and other places. "

After hearing this, the two were furious. But when they thought about their current situation, they suddenly felt helpless. The glory of the past has become history. Now the descendants of Pang Teqin only want to survive.

Zhang Sheng continued:
"Go on, why did your cousin want to hunt you down?"

At this time, Sarah took over her brother's words and said to Zhang Sheng:
"Your Highness, distinguished warriors and priests!

The first Khan of the Karakhanid Khanate, Qadir Khan, also known as Huaijian Khan Pang Teqin, had two sons. After his death, the Khanate began to implement a family-based divide-and-rule system of rule.

His eldest son Basil, my uncle, succeeded to the throne in Balasagun and was called Arsalan Khan;

The second son, Ogurchak, who is the father of my brother and sister, ruled the surrounding tribes and towns with Talas (Taraz) as the center and was called Bogra Khan. "At this time, Zhang Zhongxian said:
"Your Highness, that's true. The Grand Chancellor has received a caravan from the Karakhanid Khanate before. They have two khans, the chief khan and the deputy khan. The chief khan rules over Balasagun, which is near the east of Suiye City, and the deputy khan rules over Talas City."

Zhang Sheng nodded after hearing this and continued:
"What happened next? Why did your cousin chase you?"

"Your Highness, the Karakhanid Dynasty's initial rule was limited to the grasslands south of Lake Balkhash. Because the Khan, my uncle Basil, died of illness, the Khanate was under the command of my father and gradually expanded to the vicinity of the Yasha River Basin.

From then on, the Chu River basin north of the Yaosha River, the area south of Rehai Lake, the Naryn River basin and the area east of Bukhara became the nomadic areas of the Karakhanid tribes.

But from then on, the Khanate began to conflict with the Samanid Persians in Transoxiana, which eventually evolved into a war.

21 years ago, in the Year of the Ox (893), in the spring of that year, the Samanid leader Ismail, in the name of "holy war", led his troops from Kangju (Samarkand) and passed through Baishui City to the city of Taraz where my father Khan was stationed.

Then tens of thousands of my father Khan's soldiers were killed, more than 20,000 of his tribesmen were captured, and my mother was also captured by the Persians of the Arab Cult.

After the fall of Taraz, the Samanid Persians and the Arab Crusaders looted all the wealth in the city and built forts and strongholds in various oases and rivers between Baishui City and Taraz.

They also converted many temples used by Nestorians, Buddhists and Manicheans to worship into mosques.

At this point, Ilhan clenched his fists, expressing his hatred for the Samanids.

But in fact, this was also the reason why the newly established Karakhanids were unable to restrain the tribes under their command who plundered the Sogdians and Persians in the Transoxiana region.

At this point, Sarah continued:
"After being defeated by the Samanids, my father led his people across the Tianshan Mountains and into the Tarim Basin, where they rested in Kashgar. After ten years of recuperation, he gradually restored his rule and the army.

When I was 5 years old, which was the Year of the Rat and Ilhan was just born (904), my father Khan assembled an army of Uighur, Karluk, Yangma, Chishi, Duxi tribes, as well as many Sai people and Tocharians in Kashgar, and launched a large-scale revenge war against the Samanid Persians who believed in the Arab religion in Transoxiana, and won the victory.

But the Khanate never recovered Taraz and Baishui in the Yasha River Basin, and they were still in the hands of the Samanids. "

Everyone in the tent was listening attentively to the affectionate story told by the Karakhanid Uighur girl.

A magnificent picture of Eastern nomads migrating westwards and struggling to survive locally slowly unfolded in everyone's minds.

“After defeating the Samanid leader Is-Imael Emir, there were no more major battles between the two sides, but many tribes under the Khanate kept plundering Samanid villages and towns for wealth.

My father Khan also took in a Samanid Persian named Nasser bin Mansur.

He was the emir of the Samanids, the brother of Is-i-Ma'il, and a prince of the Samanids.

He fled to Kashgar because he failed in the battle for power with his brother. It was with his help and guidance that his father Khan defeated Is-Imael...

(End of this chapter)