ABSTRACT

The strategically important: Ili valley straddled a major communication route between Russian and Chinese Turkestan. It also possessed fertile land and abundant minerals. In 1863, a Muslim force, probably inspired by the successful efforts of their coreligionists in Shanxi and Gansu, attacked the Qing garrisons. Unrest in Ili continued until 1871. Then, in response to a serious effort by Ya'qub Beg, a Muslim officer and statesman, to control Chinese Turkestan, including the Ili valley, the Russians sent a force to Ili and occupied it. They acted to prevent unrest from spreading into their territories and to seize strategic territories. Although the Russians professed to be aiding the Qing government by the occupation, the czarist government believed the valley to be lost forever by the Chinese. The Russians signed a trade treaty with Ya'qub Beg and thereby officially recognized him.