The Tarikh-I Ḥamidi - by Musa Sayrami (Hardcover)

About the Book

The Tarikh-i Ḥamidi is an epic and tragic history that chronicles a mass rebellion by the Muslims of Xinjiang against the China-based Qing empire from its beginnings in 1864 to the Qing reconquest of 1877 and its aftermath.

Book Synopsis

The Tarikh-i Ḥamidi is an epic and tragic history from the region of Xinjiang in northwest China, the homeland of the Muslim-majority Uyghur people. Written in the early twentieth century, it chronicles a mass rebellion by the Muslims of Xinjiang against the China-based Qing empire from its beginnings in 1864 to the Qing reconquest of 1877 and its aftermath. Its author, Musa Sayrami, was an eyewitness to and participant in the rebellion, and he later became a servant to the state that arose from it: an emirate led by the Central Asian military commander Yaʿqub Beg.

Sayrami documents the optimism of the rebellion's early days, when local Muslims rose up to demand justice, as well as the tragedies that resulted from its leaders' hubris. Yaʿqub Beg's state offered hope for Islamic rule, but he turned out to be a flawed ruler, and the Qing reconquered the region. The narrative alternates dramatic scenes of battles and intrigue with colorful legends and reflections on the nature of politics.

Sayrami wrote not only to record events being lost from memory three decades after the uprising but also to account for why the Islamic rebellion had failed. He draws on traditional Islamic scholarship to analyze the relationship between Qing and Islamic power, developing an incisive argument about politics and empire. Presenting a distinctly Uyghur perspective on China, Eurasia, and the world, the Tarikh-i Ḥamidi is at once an invaluable lens on a period of flux and a cornerstone of Uyghur writing.

Review Quotes

Schluessel's style is clear and readable. This translation is a major contribution not only to the history of Central Eurasia, but to Islamic political thought and cultural history more broadly.-- "Inner Asia"

This book is praiseworthy as it has been meticulously translated by an ideal translator with sound academic knowledge and linguistic proficiency. Schleussel successfully conveys the voice of an honest historian who resided in the hinterland of Asia at the beginning of the last century.-- "Journal of Asian Studies"

This is a book to read and cherish for its insights into Islamic history, Central Asian history, Qing history, and Chinese history.-- "Journal of Chinese History"

It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of Eric Schluessel's translation of the Tarikh-i Ḥamidi. In its ongoing efforts to erase Uyghur culture, the Chinese party-state has pulled this text from the shelves. To buy it, read it, and share it is a defiant act of cultural preservation.--James Millward, author of The Silk Road: A Very Short Introduction

Sayrami provides a gripping tale of political upheaval and military campaigns in mid-nineteenth-century East Turkestan: a firsthand account of shifting alliances and betrayal, bloody rebellions and massacres in a region where different empires collide. This brilliantly readable translation and insightful commentary is essential reading for those wishing to understand the region better.--Rachel Harris, SOAS

The Tarikh-i Ḥamidi is an irreplaceable history that has been completely inaccessible to general readers. Thanks to Schluessel's excellent translation, this important and fascinating text is available in plain English. Scholars and students can now gain insight into the experiences of the Uyghur people through the voice of one of their greatest writers.--Hodong Kim, Seoul National University

With flawless mastery of the Chaghatai language, Schluessel has offered a brilliant English translation of the Tarikh-i Ḥamidi. This translation, and his excellent introduction, will be of great interest for Central Asia scholars as a political and intellectual history of the Uyghur homeland and a local history of the Qing empire's Central Asian Muslim periphery.--Ablet Kamalov, Turan University, and president of Central Eurasian Studies Society

About the Author

Mullah Musa b. Mullah ʿIsa Khoja Sayrami (1836-1917) was an intellectual, writer, and political figure in the region known as Xinjiang or East Turkestan. His works of scholarship and poetry hold an esteemed place in the Uyghur canon.

Eric Schluessel is an associate professor of history and international affairs at the George Washington University. He is the author of Land of Strangers: The Civilizing Project in Qing Central Asia (Columbia, 2020).