On Turfan In Ming Dynasty

For the central dynasties, Turfan is a political and military significance. During the Ming Dynasty, Turfan is in the final stage of Islamization and Turkization for the Central Asia. At that time, the Turfan tribute to the Ming Dynasty on the Silk Road always flocked.In the early time of Ming Dynasty, envoys from the Central Empire and Turfan have been frequent, from the Xiyu (Western Region) to Ming Dynasty or from Ming Dynasty to the Western Region. The frequency reflected that the political relationship ties between the Ming Dynasty and Turfan was very closer.Ming Dynasty had about seven garrisons in the Western Region, the most important one is Hami(Qamul). But, in fact, Turfan is not one of those garrisons of the Ming Dynasty. From the mid-15th century, Turfan captured Hami and the other garrisons many times. The Turfan's occupation caused a lot of troubles on the northwestern frontier to the Ming Dynasty.Loss of Hami was a disaster to Ming Dynasty. It not only meant the loss of the Ming Dynasty's ruling authority in the Western Region, but also raised a political earthquake in the court of Ming Dynasty. This earthquake, furthermore, made a far-reaching implications to Ming Dynasty. At the same time, the rise of Turfan, had changed the political situation in the Western Regions. During 15～16 centuries, Turfan had established the rule from the Turfan Basin to the Tarim Basin, and then implemented the strict Sharia law.After the mid-16th century, however, Turfan declined and it's rule in the Western Region was progressively snatched by Yarkand and Junggar.