Kingdom of Khotan

Infobox Former Country
native_name =
conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Khotan
common_name = Kingdom of Khotan|
continent = Asia
region = Central Asia
country = China
status = Empire
government_type = Monarchy|
year_start = 56
year_end = 1006 |
event_start =
date_start =
event_end =
date_end = |
event1 = Yarkand attacks and annexes Khotan. Yulin abdicates and becomes king of Ligui
date_event1 = 56
event2 = Tibet invades and conquers Khotan
date_event2 = 670
event3 = Khotan held by the Muslim Yūsuf Qadr Khān
date_event3 = 1006|
event_pre = Khotan established
date_pre = c.300 BCE
event_post = Khotan islamitised
date_post = |

p1 = Khotan
flag_p1 =
image_p1 =
s1 = China
flag_s1 =
image_s1 = |




flag_type = |


symbol =
symbol_type = |

---

image_map_caption = Coin of Gurgamoya, king of Khotan. Khotan, 1st century CE.
"Obv:" Kharoshthi legend "Of the great king of kings, king of Khotan, Gurgamoya.
"Rev:" Chinese
|
capital = Khotan|
national_motto =
national_anthem =
common_languages = Maybe an ancestor of theTocharian languages,after the 1-2nd century Prakrit in the Brahmi script. Gandhari language 3-4th century [cite web
url=http://www.silk-road.com/newsletter/vol2num2/oasis.html
title=Archaeological GIS and Oasis Geography in the Tarim Basin
publisher=The Silk Road Foundation Newsletter
accessdate=2007-07-21] .Khotanian indigenous in a variant of the Brāhmī script [cite web
url=http://linguistlist.org/forms/langs/LLDescription.cfm?code=xsk
title=The Sakan Language
publisher=The Linguist
accessdate=2007-08-02] .
religion = Buddhism|

leader1 = Yulin: Jianwu period (25-56 CE)
leader2 = Nanzongchang (last)
year_leader1 = c. 56
year_leader2 = 969
title_leader = |

stat_year1 =
stat_area1 =
stat_pop1 =
stat_year2 =
stat_area2 =
stat_pop2 =
stat_year3 =
stat_area3 =
stat_pop3 =
stat_year4 =
stat_area4 =
stat_pop4 =
stat_year5 =
stat_area5 =
stat_pop5 = The Kingdom of Khotan is an ancient Buddhist kingdom that was located on the branch of the Silk Road that ran along the southern edge of the Taklamakan Desert in the Tarim basin. (The area lies in present day Xinjiang, China).

Capital

The ancient city of Khotan was the capital, now known by its modern Chinese name Hotan or Hetian (zh-cp|c=和田|p=hétián) — also romanized "Hotan" or "Khotan"). From the Han Dynasty until at least the Tang Dynasty it was known in Chinese as Yutian 于窴.

Built on an oasis, its mulberry groves allowed the production and export of silk and silk rugs, in addition to the city's other major products such as its famous nephrite jade and pottery.

Culture

According to legend, the foundation of Khotan occurred when Kushtana, said to be a son of the Indian Buddhist emperor Ashoka, settled there in the early 3rd century BCE.

However, it is likely to have existed earlier than this as the Yuezhi (known later as the Kushans) had been trading the famous nephrite jade from the region to China for some centuries prior to this.

The kingdom became one of the major centers of Buddhism, and is primarily associated with the Mahayana branch. It differed in this respect to Kucha, a Shravakayana-dominated kingdom on the opposite side of the desert. Fa-Hsien account of the city states it had fourteen large and many small Buddhist monasteries [cite web
url=http://www.silk-road.com/artl/fahsien.shtml
title=Travels of Fa-Hsien -- Buddhist Pilgrim of Fifth CenturyBy Irma Marx
publisher=Silkroads foundation
accessdate=2007-08-02] . Many foreign languages, including Chinese, Sanskrit, Prakrit and Tibetan, were used in cultural exchange.

Khotan was the first place outside of China to begin cultivating silk. The story, repeated in many sources, and illustrated in murals discovered by archaeologists, is that a Chinese princess brought silkworm eggs in her hairdo when she was sent to marry the Khotanese king. This probably took place in the first half of the 1st century CE. [Hill, John E. 2003. "Annotated Translation of the Chapter on the Western Regions according to the "Hou Hanshu"." 2nd Edition. Appendix A. [http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/hhshu/hou_han_shu.html#a] ]

It came under Muslim control in the first decade of the 11th century. Marco Polo visited Khotan between 1271 and 1275 and remarked that the people were "all followers of Mahommet."

In his "Diwanu Lughat at-Turk", the 11th century Turkish scholar Mahmud al-Kashgari included a verse describing the Muslim conquest of Khotan:

:"Like river torrents":"We flooded their cities":"We destroyed their monasteries":"And shat on the statues of the Buddha." [Shuyun, Sun. "Ten Thousand Miles Without a Cloud", HarperPerennial, 2004]

History

Han Dynasty

Chapter 96A of the Hanshu or 'History of the Former Han' (which covers the period from 125 BCE to 23 CE) says that Yutian, or Khotan, had 3,300 households, 19,300 individuals and 2,400 people able to bear arms. [Hulsewé, A. F. P. and Loewe, M. A. N. 1979. "China in Central Asia: The Early Stage 125 BC – AD 23: an annotated translation of chapters 61 and 96 of the History of the Former Han Dynasty", p. 97. E. J. Brill, Leiden.]

The town obviously grew very quickly after China opened the Silk Routes to the West, for the population had more than quadrupled by the time of the Later Han. Here is the entry on Khotan from the Hou Hanshu:

:"The main centre of the kingdom of Yutian (Khotan) is the town of Xicheng (‘Western Town’ = Yotkan). It is 5,300 li (2,204 km) from the residence of the Senior Clerk [in Lukchun] , and 11,700 li (4,865 km) from Luoyang. It controls 32,000 households, 83,000 individuals, and more than 30,000 men able to bear arms. :At the end of the Jianwu period (25-56 CE), Xian, the powerful and prosperous king of Suoju (Yarkand), attacked and annexed Yutian (Khotan). He transferred Yulin, its king, to become the king of Ligui. :During the Yongping period (58-76 CE), in the reign of Emperor Ming, Xiumo Ba, a Khotanese general, rebelled against Suoju (Yarkand), and made himself king of Yutian (in 60 CE). On the death of Xiumo Ba, Guangde, son of his elder brother, assumed power and then (in 61 CE) defeated Suoju (Yarkand). His kingdom became very prosperous after this. From Jingjue (Niya) northwest, as far as Shule (Kashgar), thirteen kingdoms submitted to him. Meanwhile, the king of Shanshan (the Lop Nor region, capital Charklik) had also begun to prosper. From then on, these two kingdoms were the only major ones on the Southern Route in the whole region to the east of the Congling (Pamirs). :In the sixth Yongjian year (131 CE), during the reign of Emperor Shun, Fangqian, the king of Yutian (Khotan), sent one of his sons to serve and offer tribute at the Imperial Palace. :In the first Yuanjia year (151 CE), the Chief Clerk Zhao Ping was in Yutian (Khotan) and died there from a carbuncle. (Zhao) Ping's son left to mourn for him. On his way, he passed through Jumi (Keriya). Now, Chengguo, the king of Jumi (Keriya), had had disagreements for some time with Jian, the king of Yutian (Khotan). He said to (Zhao) Ping’s son: “The king of Yutian (Khotan) ordered a Western (hu) doctor to put a poisonous drug in the wound, which caused [your father’s] death.” (Zhao) Ping's son believed this story. When he returned to the frontier region, he informed Ma Da, the Administrator of Dunhuang. :The following year (152 CE), Wang Jing was named Chief Clerk in place [of the late Zhao Ping] . (Ma) Da ordered (Wang) Jing to make a thorough secret investigation into the affair. (Wang) Jing first passed through Jumi. Chengguo again said: “The people of Yutian (Khotan) want to have me as king. Now, you should kill Jian because of the crime he is guilty of. Yutian (Khotan) will certainly agree.” :(Wang) Jing was eager to acquire merit and glory for himself and, besides, he believed what Chengguo had said to him. Before reaching Yutian (Khotan), he prepared everything to receive Jian, [then] invited him, meanwhile he developed a sinister plan. Someone had warned Jian of Wang Jing’s plot. He didn’t believe it and said: “I am innocent. Why would the Chief Clerk Wang (Jing) want to kill me?” The following morning Jian, with an escort of several tens of officials, came to pay a visit to (Wang) Jing. When they were seated, Jian got up to serve the wine. (Wang) Jing then ordered his retinue in a menacing tone to seize him but, as none of the officers and soldiers wanted to kill Jian, all the officials suddenly fled. :At this point, Qin Mu, Chengguo’s Secretary, following (Wang) Jing, drew his sword and said, “The main issue has already been decided. Why are we still hesitating?” He immediately advanced and beheaded Jian. Then the Khotanese Marquis-General, Shupo, and some others, joined up again with the soldiers and attacked (Wang) Jing who took Jian’s head, climbed a tower, and proclaimed: “The Son of Heaven ordered us to punish Jian.” :The Khotanese Marquis-General, Shupo, then set the camp buildings on fire killing the officials and soldiers. He climbed the tower and beheaded (Wang) Jing and hung his head in the marketplace. Shupo wanted to make himself king, but the people of the country killed him, and put Anguo, the son of Jian, on the throne. :When Ma Da was informed of what had happened, he wanted to put himself in charge of the troops of several commanderies, and head through the frontier regions to attack Yutian (Khotan), but Emperor Huan (147-167 CE) did not allow it. He recalled (Ma) Da and substituted Song Liang to be Administrator of Dunhuang. When (Song) Liang arrived, he appealed to the people of Yutian (Khotan), asking them to behead Shupo. By then, Shupo had already been dead for more than a month, so they sent the head of a dead man to Dunhuang without saying what had really happened. (Song) Liang was informed of this trickery later but, finally, he could not get the troops to go. Encouraged by this, Yutian (Khotan) became arrogant." [Hill, John E. 2003. "Annotated Translation of the Chapter on the Western Regions according to the "Hou Hanshu"." 2nd Edition. [http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/hhshu/hou_han_shu.html] ]

The 8th century Tibetan Buddhist history, "The Prophecy of the Li Country", claims that a Khotanese king helped the famous Kushan Emperor Kanishka to conquer the key town of Saketa in Middle India. If this is correct, and if modern dating of the beginning of Kanishka's era in 127 CE, this must have happened at about this date - just before Ban Yong reasserted Chinese influence over the region.

:"Afterwards king Vijaya Krīti, for whom a manifestation of the Ārya Mañjuśrī, the Arhat called Spyi-pri who was propagating the religion (dharma) in Kam-śeṅ [a district of Khotan] was acting as pious friend, through being inspired with faith, built the vihāra of Sru-ño. Originally, King Kanika and the king of Gu-zan [Kucha] and the Li [Khotanese] ruler, King Vijaya Krīti, and others led an army into India, and when they captured the city called So-ked [Saketa] , King Vijaya Krīti obtained many relics and put them in the stūpa of Sru-ño." [Emmerick, R. E. 1967. "Tibetan Texts Concerning Khotan". Oxford University Press, London, p. 47.] Heading on from Yutian (Khotan), you pass through Pishan (modern Pishan or Guma) reaching Xiye (Karghalik), Zihe (Shahidulla), and Dere. [Hill, John E. 2003. "Annotated Translation of the Chapter on the Western Regions according to the "Hou Hanshu"." 2nd Edition. [http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/hhshu/hou_han_shu.html] ]

History Timeline

*c.56: Xian, the powerful and prosperous king of Yarkand, attacked and annexed Khotan. He transferred Yulin, its king, to become the king of Ligui, and set up his younger brother, Weishi, as king of Khotan.
*61: Khotan defeats Yarkand. Khotan becomes very powerful after this and 13 kingdoms submitted to Khotan, which now, with Shanshan, became the major power on the southern branch of the Silk Route.
*78: Ban Chao a Chinese General subdues the kingdom.
*105: The 'Western Regions' rebelled, and Khotan regained its independence.
*127: The Khotanese king Vijaya Krīti is said to have helped the Kushan Emperor Kanishka in his conquest of Saketa in India.
*127: The Chinese general Ban Yong attacked and subdued Karashahr; and then Kucha, Kashgar, Khotan, Yarkand, and other kingdoms, seventeen altogether, who all came to submit to China.
*129: Fangqian, the king of Khotan, killed the king of Keriya, Xing. He installed his son as the king of Keriya. Then he sent an envoy to offer tribute to Han. The Emperor pardoned the crime of the king of Khotan), ordering him to hand back the kingdom of Keriya. Fangqian refused.
*131: Fangqian, the king of Khotan sends one of his sons to serve and offer tribute at the Chinese Imperial Palace.
*132: The Chinese sent the king of Kashgar, Chenpan, who with 20,000 men, attacked and defeated Khotan. He beheaded several hundred people, and released his soldiers to plunder freely. He replaced the king [of Keriya] by installing Chengguo from the family of [the previous king] Xing, and then he returned.
*175: Anguo, the king of Khotan, attacked Keriya, and defeated it soundly. He killed the king and many others. [Hill, John E. 2003. "Annotated Translation of the Chapter on the Western Regions according to the "Hou Hanshu"." 2nd Edition. [http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/hhshu/hou_han_shu.html] ]
*399 Chinese pilgrim monk, Faxian, visits and reports on the active Buddhist community there. [Legge, James. Trans. and ed. 1886. "A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms: being an account by the Chinese monk Fâ-hsien of his travels in India and Ceylon (A.D. 399-414) in search of the Buddhist Books of Discipline". Reprint: Dover Publications, New York. 1965, pp. 16-20.]
*632: Khotan pays homage to China, and becomes a vassal state.
*644: Chinese pilgrim monk, Xuanzang, stays 7-8 months in Khotan and writes a detailed account of the kingdom.
*670: Tibet invades and conquers Khotan (now know as one of the "four garrisons").
*c. 670-673: Khotan governed by Tibetan Mgar minister.
*674: King Fudu Xiong (Vijaya Sangrāma IV), his family and followers flee to China after fighting the Tibetans. They are unable to return.
*c. 680 - c. 692: 'Amacha Khemeg rules as regent of Khotan.
*692: China under Wu Zetian reconquers the Kingdom from Tibet. Khotan is made a protectorate.
*725: Yuchi Tiao (Vijaya Dharma III) is beheaded by the Chinese for conspiring with the Turks. Yuchi Fushizhan (Vijaya Sambhava II) is placed on the throne by the Chinese.
*728: Yuchi Fushizhan (Vijaya Sambhava II) officially given the title "King of Khotan" by the Chinese emperor.
*736: Fudu Da (Vijaya Vāhana the Great) succeeds Yuchi Fushizhan and the Chinese emperor bestows a title on his wife.
*c. 740: King Yuchi Gui (Btsan-bzang Btsan-la Brtan) succeeds Fudu Da (Vijaya Vāhana) and begins persecution of Buddhists. Khotanese Buddhist Monks flee to Tibet were they are given refuge by the Chinese wife of King Mes-ag-tshoms. Soon after, the Queen died in a smallpox epidemic and the monks had to flee again to Gandhara.
*740: Chinese emperor bestows a title on wife of Yuchi Gui.
*746: The "Prophecy of the Li Country" is completed and later added to the Tibetan Tanjur.
*756: Yuchi Sheng hands over the government to his younger brother, Shihu (Jabgu) Yao.
*786 to 788: Yuchi Yao still ruling Khotan at the time of the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Wukong's visit to Khotan. [Hill, John E. July, 1988. "Notes on the Dating of Khotanese History." "Indo-Iranian Journal", Vol. 31, No. 3, p. 185.]
*969: King Nanzongchang sends a tribute mission to China.
*971: A Buddhist priest (Jixiang) brings a letter from the king of Khotan to the Chinese emperor offering to send a dancing elephant which he had captured from Kashgar.
*1006: Khotan held by the Muslim Yūsuf Qadr Khān, a brother or cousin of the Muslim ruler of Kāshgar and Balāsāghūn. [Stein, Aurel M. 1907. "Ancient Khotan: Detailed report of archaeological explorations in Chinese Turkestan", 2 vols., p. 180. Clarendon Press. Oxford. [http://dsr.nii.ac.jp/toyobunko/] ]
*Between 1271 and 1275: Marco Polo visits Khotan. [Stein, Aurel M. 1907. "Ancient Khotan: Detailed report of archaeological explorations in Chinese Turkestan", 2 vols., p. 183. Clarendon Press. Oxford. [http://dsr.nii.ac.jp/toyobunko/] ]

Neighbours

*Yarkand
*Kashgar
*Hanmo
*Karashahr — One of the four garrisons
*Kucha — One of the four garrisons
*Lop Nur
*Taklamakan Desert
*Tarim Basin
*China
*Tibet
*Xiongnu

Footnotes

References

*Beal, Samuel. 1884. "Si-Yu-Ki: Buddhist Records of the Western World, by Hiuen Tsiang." 2 vols. Trans. by Samuel Beal. London. Reprint: Delhi. Oriental Books Reprint Corporation. 1969.
*Beal, Samuel. 1911. "The Life of Hiuen-Tsiang by the Shaman Hwui Li, with an Introduction containing an account of the Works of I-Tsing". Trans. by Samuel Beal. London. 1911. Reprint: Munshiram Manoharlal, New Delhi. 1973.
*Emmerick, R. E. 1967. "Tibetan Texts Concerning Khotan". Oxford University Press, London.
* Hill, John E. 2004. "The Peoples of the West from the Weilüe" 魏略 "by Yu Huan" 魚豢": A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 CE." Draft annotated English translation. [http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html]
*Legge, James. Trans. and ed. 1886. A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms: being an account by the Chinese monk Fâ-hsien of his travels in India and Ceylon (A.D. 399-414) in search of the Buddhist Books of Discipline. Reprint: Dover Publications, New York. 1965.
*Watters, Thomas (1904-1905). "On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India". London. Royal Asiatic Society. Reprint: 1973.

Further reading

*Hill, John E. (2003). "The Western Regions according to the "Hou Hanshu". 2nd Edition." "Appendix A: The Introduction of Silk Cultivation to Khotan in the 1st Century CE." [http://depts.washington.edu/uwch/silkroad/texts/hhshu/appendices.html#a]

ee also

*Khotan

External links

* [http://ignca.nic.in/pb0013.htm THE SPREAD OF INDIAN ART AND CULTURE TO CENTRAL ASIA AND CHINA]
* [http://www.zeno.ru/showgallery.php?cat=1086 ZENO coins page on Khotan]
* [http://vajaratnayana.sulekha.xcom/blog/post/2004/09/end-of-the-indic-kingdom-of-khotan.htm Discussion on Sulekha.com]
* [http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=4,1888,0,0,1,0 Smallest ancient temple discovered]