# Maqsud Shah

Maqsud Shah (Shah Mexsut, pinyin: shā-mù-hú-suǒ-tè, Uyghur: مقصود شاه; c. 1864–1930), was the Uyghur Jasagh Prince (Qinwang) of the Kumul Khanate in China from 1882 to 1930, he was the final ruler from the Borjigid dynasty.

## Background

Maqsud Shah was the Khan of Kumul from 1882 to 1930, and served as the eleventh generational ruler of the Khanate.
Maqsud's family was descended from Chaghatai Khan and had ruled the area since the time of the Yuan dynasty, though by the 20th century all the other Khanates in Turkestan had disintegrated. His lineage to Chagatai Khan son of Genghis Khan is as follows: Qinwang Jasagh Shah Maqsud Khan son of Sehzade Ahmad Khan (brother of Maqsud's uncle Muhammad Shah) son of Hezhuo Qinwang Duolo Junwang Shah Bashir Khan son of Junwang Pinji Jasagh Duoluo Beile Shah Ardashir Khan son of Junwang Pinji Jasagh Duoluo Beile Shah Ishaq Khan son of Jasagh Zhenguo Gong Junwang Pinji Duoluo Beile Shah Yusuf Khan son of Jasagh Darhan Zhenguo Gong Gushan Beizi Shah Emin Khan son of Jasagh Darhan Shah Gapur Beg Khan son of Jasagh Darhan Shah Abdullah Beg Khan son of Emir Muhammad Shah-i-Beg Tarkhan son of Sultan Ahmad Pulat Khan son of Sultan Timur Khan son of Shah Shuja Al-Din Ahmad Khan son of Sultan Muhammad Khan son of Sultan Abdul Rashid Khan son of Sultan Said Khan son of Sultan Ahmad Alaq Khan son of Sultan Yunus Khan son of Sultan Uwais Khan son of Sher Ali Oglan Khan Khuu son of Muhammad Khan son of Khizr Khwaja Khan son of Tughlugh Timur Khan son of Esen Buqa Khan son of Duwa Khan son of Ghiyath Al-Din Baraq Khan son of Yesuntoa Khan Khuu son of Mutukan Khan Khuu son of Chagatai Khagan son of Temujin Chinggis Khagan.
Maqsud spoke Turkic in a Chinese accent and often wore Chinese clothing, and also spoke fluent Chinese. He reputedly drank copious amounts of alcohol and did not allow anyone to take pictures of him.

## Reign

Maqsud Shah succeeded his uncle Muhammad Shah in 1882 as ruler of the Kumul Khanate. The Khans were officially vassals of the Qing Dynasty, and every six years were required to visit Beijing to be a servant to the Emperor for a period of 40 days. Unlike the rest of Xinjiang which was subjected to state-encouraged settlement, the Kumul Khanate was not opened to settlement by Han Chinese. He sent melons as tribute to the Emperor.
Twenty one Begs administered Kumul under the Khan, and he received 1,200 taels in silver from the Xinjiang government after he sent tribute.
In 1912, the Qing Dynasty was overthrown in the Xinhai Revolution and replaced by the Republic of China, which promptly appointed Yang Zengxin as the new Governor of Xinjiang. Yang was a monarchist and supported the Khanate and as a result the Khanate's status as a vassal was undisturbed.
When Yang Zengxin was assassinated in 1928, the warlord governor Jin Shuren succeeded him as the governor of Xinjiang, whose period of rule was marked by strife, corruption, and ethnic intolerance.
Upon Maqsud Shah's death in 1930 Governor Jin Shuren replaced the Khanate with the three provincial administrative districts of Hami, Yihe, and Yiwu. Maqsud Shah's son and designated heir Nasir was not permitted to succeed him to the throne, and the succeeding events set off the Kumul Rebellion with the assistance of Yulbars Khan, who served as Maqsud's chancellor at court.