CORC 3206 Sherilyne, Vivian Wu, Vince Fiorilli CHAPTER 7 Khotan: 3rd Century BCE - confluence of two major

rivers which are famous for jade (nephrite) o Yurungkash white jade o Karakash black jade - lots of irrigation and occasional floods prevent paper and wood from surviving - documents and artifacts from Khotan preserved in surrounding areas: Shanpula, Niya, Rawak, Endere, Melikawat, Yotkan, Dandan Uiliq, Domoko, Dunhuang o Shanpula earliest findings (3rd century BCE) Surrounding area east of Khotan Cemetery contains materials dating from 3rd century BCE to 4th century Skulls, wooden tools, bright red scraps of wool Ancient graves next to modern Muslim burial ground No one excavated until early 1980s 69 human graves & 2 pits for horses mass graves: 200 people one pit evidence of exchanges with peoples living to the west leg of mans trousers cut from piece of tapestry centaur images o possibly from Rome but more probable from Parthia in northern Iran four mirrors of Chinese manufacture and date to when Chinese first stationed garrisons in Khotan at end of 1st century 19,300 people in 3300 households 300 mass burials die out indicator of cultural change single individuals buried in rectangular pits o resemble those at Niya and Yinpan o related population moved to Khotan by 3rd and 4th centuries CE and displaces earlier residents - With weakening of Kushan Empire, Indian migrants who crossed Pamirs introduce Buddhist teachings to Khotan o written Sanskrit sutra first written mention of Buddhism in Khotan o Rawak Most imposing Buddhist ruin 39 miles north of Khotan in desert east of Yurungash River central monument site surrounded by sections of wall central stupa, monument designed to hold relics of Buddha 22.5 feet tall shape of cross with stairs on each side huge rectangular interior wall southwestern corner of exterior wall statues on both sides of walkway: buddhas, smaller figures have to make stylistic comparison to other Buddhist statuary larger and more magnificent than other stupas along the southern route

2 CORC 3206 o Khotan had 14 large monasteries and many smaller ones & new monastery built to west of oasis o With support from king, Khotanese Buddhists could devote themselves full-time to study and performance of rituals & Khotan became center of Buddhist learning - first documents in Khotanese language surface in antiquities market in 1895 o Merchants claimed they were from Kucha o sent to Augustus Frederick Rudolf Hoernle to be translated o Khotanese is Iranian language, contemporary with Middle Persian and Sogdian with extensive vocabulary borrowed from Sanskrit - Prods Skjaervo, Aga Khan Professor of Iranian at Harvard 3 phases in history of language o Old Khotanese (5 to 6th Century) Exclusively translations of Buddhist texts of unknown provenance Book of Zambasta is an anthology of Buddhist writings Not translation of Buddhist text from Sanskrit Most important work of literature in Khontanese Paraphrases certain Buddhist narratives, many associated with Mahayana teachings before each chapter Several different museums have papers from the book Place as central node for monk traveling among all the countries of the region, because it anthologizes and paraphrases texts from Sanskrit, Chinese, Tibetan, and Uighur o Middle Khotnese, from 7 to 8th century, include texts at Dandan Uiliq o Late Khotanese, from 9 to 10th century, include texts from Cave 17 at Dunhuang o Dunhuang library cave with findings dating before Islamic Conquest Contains two thousand Khotanese-language documents Khotanese adept at learning languages Sheets from phrase books in Khotanese and Chinese preserved likely that Khotanese from different walks of life (envoys, monks, merchants) benefited from basic instruction in Chinese Sanskirt easy for Khotanese speakers to learn because written in same Brahmi script; spoken in monasteries Documents reveal nature of trade on Silk Road, especially the difficult conditions of the 10th century About 15 Khotanese-language documents about a mission of 7 princes and entourage who left Khotan around mid-tenth century Focus almost entirely on Khotans relations with its neighbors east: Dunhuan, the Uigher kaghanates, the Tang dynasty and its successors in China Kirghiz defeat Uighurs in 840 and Uighur Kaghanates form o Migration out of Mongolia to Turfan and Ganzhou Formation of tribal confederacy called khans or kaghans; modern scholars call them the Karakhanids Turkish peoples o Satug Bughra Khan - leader of Karakhanids who converted to Islam o All (Karakhanid rulers) convert to Islam in order to associate themselves with great prestige of Islamic powers o Destroy all non-Muslim religious structures including Buddhist temples

3 CORC 3206 o Khotanese initially defeat Karakhanid army in 970 and win control of Kashgar, but Karakhanid forces just outside of Kashgar o Yusuf Qadir Khan is leader of Karakhanids in 1006 Launch major military campaign toward west & conquered Khotan before 1006 - Islamic conquest of the Buddhist kingdom in 1006 Impact of Islam on new Karakhanid Subjects - Apparently Khotan stopped being Buddhist overnight; little is known but by 1100 State had implemented rudiments of Islamic law - Officials are able to draft documents in Arabic and translate into Uighur o Some documents say translated into language known to participants and read to them Other sites - Kucha and Turfan support Manichaeism and Buddhism in different periods - Xixia, controlling Ganzhous, Dunhuang and southern Silk Route east of Khotan were Buddhist Mongol conquests - Kuchluk, Naiman leader, who took over Western Liao, bans Islam, but later is defeated by Chinggis Khan, who by 1241, he conquered much of Eurasia; largest contiguous empire in world history - Religious tolerance: support to all holy men while privileging their own shamanistic traditions - Pax Mongolica- unification period o Possible to travel from Europe to China on easternmost edge of Mongol Empire o Most travelers began at Crimean Peninsula and crossed grasslands from Eurasia to modern Mongolia and did not use Silk Road routes around the Taklamakan - Partnership with merchants o Businessmen knew how to convert vast holdings of gold, silver and other plundered goods taken in battle and find creative ways to exchange these assets for things Mongols really wanted o Mongols lend them vast sums of silver o Most merchants were Central Asian Muslims, some Syrians, Armenians, Jews - Influence of Islam increased in Central Asia during reign of Timur the Lame - Manchu armies of Qing dynasty gain control of Western Regions o Province of Xinjiang created People living here subject to different laws than those living in central China: Manchus required Chinese subjects to shave foreheads and tie hair in queues and Muslims permitted to keep own hairstyles Has de facto independence with collapse of Qing dynasty, but later comes under influence of Russia and Nationalists - Khotan Today o Islam is principal religion in region o People basically give up speaking Khotanese and speak Uighur o about 98% of population is Uighur o Xinjiang today: modern Muslims gather at mazar shrines where they pray, read Quran, offer sacrifices, perform rituals o Khotan and Kashgar have mazars dedicated to lexicographer Mahmud of Kashgar, the Khoja rulers of Xinjian and female relatives