Key Facts
- Duration
- Mid-14th century – late 17th century
- Origin
- Breakaway khanate of the Chagatai Khanate
- Core region
- Ili River valley, north of Tengri Tagh
- Modern territories
- Parts of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, NW Xinjiang
- Successor states
- Turpan Khanate and Yarkent Khanate
Imperial Zenith Metrics
Historical Trajectory
Phase I: Rise
In the mid-14th century, amid the fragmentation of the Chagatai Khanate, a new nomadic tribal confederacy emerged around the Ili River valley under a Chagatayid prince. This entity, known as Moghulistan or the Moghul Khanate, positioned itself as a continuation of Chagatai authority in the eastern steppe regions bordering Central and East Asia, drawing together Turco-Mongol tribes north of the Tengri Tagh mountain range.
Phase II: Zenith
At its height, Moghulistan controlled trade routes connecting the Ming dynasty with western Eurasia, generating considerable wealth for its rulers. However, effective local power was exercised by the Dughlat Mongol clan and Naqshbandi Sufi leaders in their respective oases. The khanate nominally governed a broad arc of territory encompassing what is now southern Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and northwestern Xinjiang.
Phase III: Decline
Moghulistan was weakened by incessant internal civil wars and repeated invasions from the Timurid Empire to the west. It eventually fragmented into the Turpan Khanate centered on Turpan and the Yarkent Khanate centered on Yarkent. Both successor states persisted until the early 18th century, when the expanding Dzungar Khanate conquered the entire region, extinguishing the remnants of Chagatayid rule.
Notable Imperial Reigns
Selected rulers mapping the empire’s trajectory