Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din Omar

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Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din Omar bigraphy, stories - Governor of Yunnan

Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din Omar : biography

1211 – 1279

Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din Omar al-Bukhari ( ) (1211–1279) was Yunnan’s first provincial governor in history, appointed by the Mongol Yuan Dynasty.

Life

Shams al-Din was of Persian origin, being a Muslim Khwarezmian from Bukhara (in present-day Uzbekistan). When Genghis Khan attacked the city during the war between the Khwarizmi shah and the Mongols, Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din Omar’s family surrendered to him. He served the court of the Mongol Empire. Later, he was in charge of Imperial finances in 1259,(Original from the University of California) sent to Yunnan by Kublai Khan after conquering the Kingdom of Dali in 1274.

The Yüan-shi gives many biographies of distinguished Muslims in the service of the Mongols. A number of them occupied high offices. In chap, cxxv, we find the biography of 赛典赤·赡思丁 Sai-dien-ch’i shan-sse-ding, called also 烏馬兒 Wu-ma-r. He was a Hui-hui and a descendant of the 别菴伯爾 Bie-an-bo-r. In his country Sai-dien-ch’i has the same meaning as 貴族 (noble family) in Chinese. There is a long biography of Sai-dien-ch’i.(Original from Harvard University)(Original from Harvard University ){ Jg IjJ Wvrma-r. He was a Hui-hui and a descendant of the JjlJ ^jj* f|a| f|J Bie-an-bo-r.73 In his country Sai-dien-ch’i has the same meaning as ^ (noble family) in Chinese. There is a long biography of Sai-dien-ch’i,

7 0 The Mohammedan authors also mention Chinghiz’ encamping tb-eTe’ but they speak of a river Baldjuna (D’Ohsson, tom, i, p. 72), The Baldjuna lake or river seems to have been somewhere near the Kerulun river. D’Ohsson locates it too far northw ard.

71 Alacush tikin curi of Rashid, chief of the tribe of the Onguts (D’Ohsson, tom, i, p. 84). See also above, 3.

"The river Argun, a tributary of the Amv/r. It comes out from the northern corner of the lake Kulon nor, into which the Kpruhm empties itself from the south.

s Pciglucmber in Persian means "prophet."|accessdate=December 20, 2011|}}(Original from the University of Michigan ){|] ^ fj=j |j$| Bie-an-bo-r.7 J In his country Sai-dien-ch’i has the same meaning as jlf jfe (noble family) in Chinese. There is a long biography of Sai-dien-ch’i,

»• The Mohammedan authors also mention Cliinghiz’ encamping there, but they speak of a river Baldjuna (D’Ohsson, torn, i, p. 72), The Baldjuna lake or river seems to have been somewhere near the Keruluu river. D’Ohsson locates it too far northward.

»> Alacush tikin curi of Rashid, chief of the tribe of tho Onguts (D’Ohsson, torn, i, p. 84). See also above, 3.

‘• The river Argun, a tributary of the Amur. It comes out from the northern corner of the lake Kulon nor, into which the Kerulun empties itself from the south.

"Peiijhaviber in Persian means "prophet."|accessdate=December 20, 2011|}}

In the thirteenth century the influence of individual Muslems was immense, especially that of the Seyyid Edjell Shams ed-Din Omar, who served the Mongol Khans till his death in Yunnan AD 1279. His family still exists in Yunnan, and has taken a prominent part in Muslem affairs in China.(Original from Harvard University)

He is identified as the ancestor of many Chinese Hui lineages in Yunnan’s Panthay Hui population as well as in Ningxia and Fujian provinces.

A Hui legend in Ningxia links four surnames common in the region – Na, Su, La, and Ding – with the descendants of Shams al-Din’s son named Nasruddin, who "divided" their ancestor’s name (Nasulading, in Chinese) among themselves. The Ding family of Chendai, Fujian claims descent from him. The Ding family has branches in Taiwan, the Philippines, and Malaysia among the diaspora Chinese communities there, no longer practicing Islam but still maintaining a Hui identity.

The deputy secretary-general of the Chinese Muslim Association on Taiwan, Ishag Ma (馬孝棋), has claimed "Sayyid is an honorable title given to descendants of the Prophet Mohammed, hence Sayyid Shamsuddin must be connected to Mohammed". The Ding (Ting) family in Taisi Township in Yunlin County of Taiwan, traces descent from him through the Ding of Quanzhou in Fujian.

Policy during Governorship.

The widespread presence of Islam is credited to Sayyid Ajjal’s work.

Sayyid Ajjal was first to bring Islam to Yunnan. He promoted Confucianism and Islam by ordering construction of mosques and temples of Confucianism.(Original from the University of Virginia) Sayyid Ajjal also introduced Confucian education into Yunnan. He was described as making ‘the orangutans and butcherbirds became unicorns and phonixes and their felts and furs were exchanged for gowns and caps’, and praised by the Regional Superintendent of Confucian studies, He Hongzuo.( )

Shams al-Din constructed numerous Confucian temples in Yunnan, and promoted Confucian education. He is best known among Chinese for helping sinicize Yunnan province. He also built multiple mosques in Yunnan as well.

Both Marco Polo and Rashid al-Din recorded that Yunnan was heavily populated by Muslims during the Yuan Dynasty, with Rashid naming a city with all Muslim inhabitants as the ‘great city of Yachi’.(Original from the University of Virginia) It has been suggested that Yachi was Dali City (Ta-li). Dali had many Hui people.(Original from the University of Virginia)

His son Nasir al-Din became Governor of Yunnan in 1279 after sayyid Ajjal died.( )(Original from the University of Virginia)

Footnotes

Family

He submitted to Chinghiz (Genghis Khan) when the latter waged war in western Asia, and entered his life-guard. Under Ogotai and Mangu khans he was governor, and held other offices. Kublai khan appointed him minister (see also the list of the ministers, in the Yuan shi, chap. cxii). He died in Yunnan, where he had been governor. Five sons of Sai-dien-ch’i are mentioned, viz. 納速剌丁 Na-su-la-ding (Nasr-uddin), 哈散 Hasan (Hassan), 忽辛 Hu-sin (Hussein), 剌丁 兀默里 Shan-su-ding wu-mo-li and 馬速忽 Ma-su-hu. All these held high offices.

Na-su-la-ding has a separate biography in the same chapter. He was governor in Yunnan, and distinguished himself in the war with the southern tribes of 交趾 Kiao-chi (Cochin-china) and 緬 Mien (Burma). He died in 1292, the father of twelve sons^ the names of five of which are given in the biography, viz. 伯顏察兒 Bo-yen ch’a-r, who had a high office, 烏馬兒 Wu-ma-r, 答法兒 Dje-fa-r (Djafar), 忽先 Hu-sien (Hussein) and 沙的 Sha-di (Saadi).

The Sai-dien-ch’i of the Chinese authors is without doubt the same personage spoken of by Rashid (D’Ohsson, torn, ii, p. 467) under the name of Sayid Edjell. According to the Persian historian, he was a native of Bokhara, and governor of Karadjang (Yunnan) when Kubilai entered the country, under the reign of Mangu. Subsequently he was appointed vizier, and in the beginning of Kubilai’s reign he had charge of the finances. His son Nasruddin was appointed governor in Karadjang, and retained his position in Yunnan till his death, which Rashid, writing about A. D. 1300, says occurred five or six years before (according to the Yüan shi, Na-su-la ding died in 1292). Nasr-uddin’s son Abubeker, who had the surname Bayan Fenchan (evidently the Boyen ch’a-r of the Yüan shi), was governor in Zaitun at the time Rashid wrote. He bore also his grandfather’s title of Sayid Edjell, and was minister of Finance under Kubilai’s successor (D’Ohsson, torn, ii, pp. 476, 507, 508). Nasr-uddin is mentioned by M. Polo, who styles him Nescradin (vol. ii, p. 66).(Original from Harvard University)(Original from Harvard University )(Original from the University of Michigan )

Sayyid Ajall’s oldest son was Nasir al-Din.( )

Sayyid Ajall was a 26th generation descendant of the Prophet Muhammad and fifth generation descendant of Su fei-erh. In total, had had five sons. He had two tombs, one in Wo-erh-to in Yunnan and another memorial which contained his clothes in Xi’an in Shaanxi province. The author of "The Magnetic Needle of Islam", Ma Chu (1630-1710), was a descendant of Sayyid Ajjal. The d’Ollone expedition during the Qing dynasty recorded that Imam Na Wa-Ch’ing was the leader of the family of descendants of Sayyid Ajall.( )( ) Ma repaired Sayyid Ajjal’s tomb. Another romanization of Ma Chu is "Ma Zhu".( )

Sayyid Ajjall is the ancestor of many Muslims in areas all across China. Yunnan contained the greatest number of his descendants.( )

One of his most prominent descendants was Zheng He.Shih-Shan Henry Tsai: Perpetual Happiness: The Ming Emperor Yongle. Washington Press 2002, p. 38 ()