by James Hickman
Schiff Sovereign
Over eight hundred years ago, in what is now northwestern China, the Uyghur people— long before they were carted off to internment camps by the Communist Party— ruled their own independent kingdom, known as Qocho.
Then, in the year 1209, Genghis Khan sent diplomatic emissaries to Qocho. The message was clear: the Great Khan wanted to avoid a bloody military campaign, and he proposed a peace offering instead.
Genghis Khan’s deal was simple: the Uyghur people would keep their rulers, their infrastructure, their religion, and their customs. Their soldiers would live. Their buildings would not burn. Their women would not be touched. They would even be granted a high degree of autonomy.
And in exchange, they would provide the Mongol Empire with administrative support, as the Uyghurs were famously adept in governance and literacy.