ABSTRACT
YAKUB BEG (1820-1877) Uyghur leader from Khokand who rose against the Chinese in 1862 and founded an independent khanate which controlled the area around Kashghar and part of what is now northern Xinjiang. He was supported by the British as his nation provided a buffer between Russia and India which suited their perception of the Great Game of nineteenth century Asia. Russia occupied Yining in 1871, concerned that Yakub Beg would invade first. Yakub Beg’s khanate was destroyed by Zuo Zongtang in 1877 and he committed suicide on May 29 of that year. See also Xinjiang.
