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Abstract

The long Mongolian tradition of statehood was an essential factor in the Inner- Asia state-making processes in the first half of the 20th century. From the Indian idea of the Chakravartin (Universal Emperor) to the worship of the Great Khubilai Khan’s concept of Two Orders, the Mongolian ideas about power and charisma constituted a cultural base of new protectorate states. The strong and powerful anti-Communist uprising initiated by Transbaikalian Ataman Semenov was deeply connected with Inner Mongolian Pan-Mongolists (Babuujab’s circle) and their ideas of rejoining Buryat-Mongolia and Barga. The proclamation of the Great Mongolian Federal State in February 1919 with its provisional government on the Dauria station was perceived as the first step to unification of Mongol tribes. The new government consisted of people with different political and social experience: Russian academics, Buddhist monks, warlords, Transbaikalian Cossacks and Inner Mongolian nobility. This paper aims at showing – using the example of the Great Mongolia Federal State – the connection between the Mongolian political imagination and frontier protectorate building practices. The paper is based on new approaches towards political anthropology of frontier state-making and new sources on the Great Mongolian Federal State.

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This paper examines the 1832 Qing-Khoqand peace settlement to explore the concept and practice of Qing sovereignty prior to its encounter with the West in the 1840s. This event constitutes a critical turning point in the diplomatic history of nineteenth-century China, as the Qing court conceded extraterritoriality and tax exemption privileges to Khoqand. Joseph Fletcher famously characterized this agreement as China's "first unequal treaty" and a precursor to the Western imperialist system. Conversely, scholars such as Laura Newby and Pär Cassel have argued that these concessions were rooted in established Qing frontier governance conventions, including legal pluralism and personal jurisdiction.

Through a systematic analysis of Manchu and Chaghatay documents from the First Historical Archives of China, dating from the mid-eighteenth to the early nineteenth century, this paper proposes a revision to these prevailing perspectives. The research yields three central findings. First, Qing tax exemptions for Khoqandi goods were strictly confined to the state-to-state tributary framework; private commercial goods remained subject to taxation. Second, the administrative practices, such as judicial adjudications, central-local correspondence, and travel pass management, demonstrate that the Qing court exercised territorial jurisdiction based on a principle of impartiality, balanced with the diplomatic ideal of "cherishing men from afar." Third, the Qing state maintained strict territorial jurisdiction over foreign merchants within its borders, mandating their adjudication under Qing law by local officials.

Ultimately, I argue that while the 1832 Qing-Khoqand peace settlement bears formal similarities to the unequal treaties signed with Western powers after 1842, it was neither a passive reflection of traditional Qing legal practices nor an inertial extension of its Central Asian governance logic. Rather, it was a conscious "strategic retraction" undertaken by the Qing court in response to internal financial crises and the military ascendance of Khoqand. Therefore, this settlement cannot be regarded as a natural continuation of consistent Qing frontier strategies, nor can it be simply subsumed under the traditional framework of Qing legal pluralism. Instead, it was a distinct, pragmatic geopolitical adaptation.

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This paper examines the emergence and development of the fortress system in the Kokand Khanate, with particular attention to its political, military, and administrative functions. It argues that fortresses were not merely defensive structures, but key instruments of state consolidation, territorial control, and economic management. Located across strategic zones such as the Fergana Valley, the Syr Darya basin, and the Talas and Chu regions, these fortified centers formed an interconnected network that supported the Khanate’s authority in both frontier and internal spaces.

The study focuses especially on the reigns of Umar Khan and Madali Khan, when fortress construction intensified in response to growing regional insecurity. External pressures from the Bukhara Emirate, Kazakh forces, Qing-era border tensions, and later Russian imperial expansion made the strengthening of border defenses a political necessity. In this context, major fortresses such as Akmasjid, Pishpek, Merka, Suzak, and others became essential nodes in a wider defense strategy. At the same time, these sites served administrative and economic purposes: they housed governors and military commanders, regulated caravan routes, collected taxes, and ensured communication between different parts of the Khanate.

Using historical sources and secondary scholarship, the paper analyzes the hierarchical organization of these fortresses, their geographic distribution, and their multiple functions in maintaining state stability. It also shows that the fortress system reflected a broader political logic in which military architecture was closely linked to governance and regional integration. The paper concludes that the fortresses of the Kokand Khanate should be understood as multifunctional institutions that played a decisive role in preserving political order, protecting trade networks, and reinforcing sovereignty in a contested Central Asian environment.

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Abstract

Pilgrims departing for the hajj from Central Asia, particularly, from the Khwārazm region under the Qongrat dynasty (1770–1920), made use of tekkes located in major cities of the Ottoman Empire as temporary lodging. These tekkes typically functioned as Sufi institutions where the head of a Sufi order (shaykh), his disciples, and adherents gathered for ritual practices and religious instruction.

Among such institutions, the Uzbek tekke of Sultantepe in Istanbul and the zāwiya known as “Uzbekiyya,” established in Jerusalem, primarily served travelers from Central Asia. Notably, archival registers associated with these tekkes have survived to the present day, enabling the reconstruction of their socio-cultural and everyday functioning. These records also contain references to pilgrims arriving from Khwārazm.

Throughout the nineteenth century, pilgrims from Khwārazm benefited from various privileges as members of a broader Islamic polity. However, by the early twentieth century, the Russian Empire introduced a passport system in order to regulate and control the hajj pilgrimage of its Muslim subjects. At the same time, it sought to systematize this process through its consular network operating within the Ottoman Empire.

As a result, these developments significantly affected the legal status of Central Asian pilgrims, including those from Khwārazm, within the Ottoman domains. In particular, they were gradually deprived of a number of previously enjoyed privileges. The factors underlying these transformations are analyzed in this study on the basis of archival materials preserved in the collections of Uzbekistan and Turkey.