"The Tarikh-i ???Hamidi was written in the first decade of the twentieth century, when the region sat in the middle of Eurasia's tumultuous transformations. Its people were still grappling with the violence of a conflict (1864-1877) that had separated them from the Qing empire (1636-1912) and briefly held out the promise of an independent Islamic state. The subsequent Qing reconquest brought with it a more aggressive and assimilatory form of Chinese power. This drama of history lies near the heart of modern Uyghur identity. ...
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"The Tarikh-i ???Hamidi was written in the first decade of the twentieth century, when the region sat in the middle of Eurasia's tumultuous transformations. Its people were still grappling with the violence of a conflict (1864-1877) that had separated them from the Qing empire (1636-1912) and briefly held out the promise of an independent Islamic state. The subsequent Qing reconquest brought with it a more aggressive and assimilatory form of Chinese power. This drama of history lies near the heart of modern Uyghur identity. The author of the Tarikh-i ???Hamidi, Musa Sayrami, wrote it not only as a means to recover that conflict as it faded from memory but also to grapple with the question of Qing and Chinese power. He draws on the rich traditions of Perso-Islamic history writing, as well as his own experiences and oral histories, to present a critique of power from below"--
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