This book examines the beg alliance with the Qing within the broader context of the expansion of global trade in the sixteenth century and the emerging interconnections and coherence of the early modern world facilitated by it. 1 They became the lifelines of the Qing Empire in Central Asia (see Map I.1). Their families produced secular leaders called hākim (a governor or head of local civil administration) and religious leaders called akhūnds (spiritual leaders) and mullās (Muslim scholars) for the Islamic establishment. They developed land, moved goods, organized capital, and, most important, controlled human labor in the oases. As the major landlords in the Qing-controlled region, these individuals, called begs, wielded the political power that could dictate the fortunes of any empire or state seeking to establish itself in the region. The Qing were fortunate to acquire their alliance. To their surprise, the invading Qing army found a group of Muslim natives who were eager to offer their assistance to the “Chinese” ruler in the desert oasis terrain of Central Asia. In 1754, when the British entered into a fight with the French in the Ohio Valley that would become the Seven Year’s War (1754–63), halfway around the globe the Qing Empire launched an attack on its archrival, the Zunghar Mongols.
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