page_title: Kingdom of Khotan
section_title: Historical timeline
hierarchical_section_title: Kingdom of Khotan / Historical timeline
caption_attribution_description: English: Gurgamoya_king_of_Khotan_obverse_in_Kharoshthi_Of_the_great_king_king_of_Khotan_Gurgamoya_Reverse_in_Chinese_6_grains_coin.
context_page_description: The Kingdom of Khotan was an ancient Iranian Saka Buddhist kingdom located on the branch of the Silk Road that ran along the southern edge of the Taklamakan Desert in the Tarim Basin. The ancient capital was originally sited to the west of modern-day Hotan at Yotkan. From the Han dynasty until at least the Tang dynasty it was known in Chinese as Yutian. This largely Buddhist kingdom existed for over a thousand years until it was conquered by the Muslim Kara-Khanid Khanate in 1006, during the Islamicisation and Turkicisation of Xinjiang.
  Built on an oasis, Khotan's mulberry groves allowed the production and export of silk and carpets, in addition to the city's other major products such as its famous nephrite jade and pottery. Despite being a significant city on the silk road as well as a notable source of jade for ancient China, Khotan itself is relatively small – the circumference of the ancient city of Khotan at Yōtkan was about 2.5 to 3.2 km. Much of the archaeological evidence of the ancient city of Khotan however had been obliterated due to centuries of treasure hunting by local people.
context_section_description: The first inhabitants of the region appear to have been Indians from the Maurya Empire according to its founding legends.
  The foundation of Khotan occurred when Kushtana, said to be a son of Ashoka, the Indian emperor belonging to the Maurya Empire settled there about 224 BC.
  c.84 BC: Buddhism is reportedly introduced to Khotan.
  c.56: Xian, the powerful and prosperous king of Yarkent, attacked and annexed Khotan. He transferred Yulin, its king, to become the king of Ligui, and set up his younger brother, Weishi, as king of Khotan.
  61: Khotan defeats Yarkand. Khotan becomes very powerful after this and 13 kingdoms submitted to Khotan, which now, with Shanshan, became the major power on the southern branch of the Silk Route.
  78: Ban Chao, a Chinese General, subdues the kingdom.
  105: The 'Western Regions' rebelled, and Khotan regained its independence.
  127: The Khotanese king Vijaya Krīti is said to have helped the Kushan Emperor Kanishka in his conquest of Saket in India.
  127: The Chinese general Ban Yong attacked and subdued Karasahr; and then Kucha, Kashgar, Khotan, Yarkand, and other kingdoms, seventeen altogether, who all came to submit to China.
  129: Fangqian, the king of Khotan, killed the king of Keriya, Xing. He installed his son as the king of Keriya. Then he sent an envoy to offer tribute to Han. The Emperor pardoned the crime of the king of Khotan, ordering him to hand back the kingdom of Keriya. Fangqian refused.
  131: Fangqian, the king of Khotan, sends one of his sons to serve and offer tribute at the Chinese Imperial Palace.
  132: The Chinese sent the king of Kashgar, Chenpan, who with 20,000 men, attacked and defeated Khotan. He beheaded several hundred people, and released his soldiers to plunder freely. He replaced the king [of Keriya] by installing Chengguo from the family of [the previous king] Xing, and then he returned.
  151: Jian, the king of Khotan, was killed by Han chief clerk Wang Jing, who was in turn killed by Khotanese.  Anguo, the son of Jian, was placed on the throne.
  175: Anguo, the king of Khotan, attacked Keriya, and defeated it soundly. He killed the king and many others.
  399 Chinese pilgrim monk, Faxian, visits and reports on the active Buddhist community there.
  632: Khotan pays homage to China, and becomes a vassal state.
  644: Chinese pilgrim monk, Xuanzang, stays 7–8 months in Khotan and writes a detailed account of the kingdom.
  670: Tibet invades and conquers Khotan (now known as one of the "four garrisons").
  c.670-673: Khotan governed by Tibetan Mgar minister.
  674: King Fudu Xiong (Vijaya Sangrāma IV), his family and followers flee to China after fighting the Tibetans. They are unable to return.
  c.680 - c.692: 'Amacha Khemeg rules as regent of Khotan.
  692: China under Wu Zetian reconquers the Kingdom from Tibet. Khotan is made a protectorate.
  725: Yuchi Tiao (Vijaya Dharma III) is beheaded by the Chinese for conspiring with the Turks. Yuchi Fushizhan (Vijaya Sambhava II) is placed on the throne by the Chinese.
  728: Yuchi Fushizhan (Vijaya Sambhava II) officially given the title "King of Khotan" by the Chinese emperor.
  736: Fudu Da (Vijaya Vāhana the Great) succeeds Yuchi Fushizhan and the Chinese emperor bestows a title on his wife.
  c. 740: King Yuchi Gui (Wylie: btsan bzang btsan la brtan) succeeds Fudu Da (Vijaya Vāhana) and begins persecution of Buddhists. Khotanese Buddhist monks flee to Tibet, where they are given refuge by the Chinese wife of King Mes ag tshoms. Soon after, the queen died in a smallpox epidemic and the monks had to flee to Gandhara.
  740: Chinese emperor bestows a title on wife of Yuchi Gui.
  746: The Prophecy of the Li Country is completed and later added to the Tibetan Tengyur.
  756: Yuchi Sheng hands over the government to his younger brother, Shihu (Jabgu) Yao.
  786 to 788: Yuchi Yao still ruling Khotan at the time of the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Wukong's visit to Khotan.
  969: The son of King Li Shengtian (Viśa' Saṃbhava) named Zongchang sends a tribute mission to China.
  971: A Buddhist priest (Jixiang) brings a letter from the king of Khotan to the Chinese emper
caption: Gurgamoya coin. Obverse in Kharosthi: "Of the great king king of Khotan Gurgamoya". Reverse in Chinese: "6 grains coin". British Museum.
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