Tashkurgan, often identified with the Stone Tower of the old geographers, is a fort in a high valley on the road from Kashgar over the Pamirs to Wakhan, Badakhshan and the Indus.
Its valleys grow barley and little else; the fort exists to tax and shelter those who pass. No source names its lord in 1200. The people are presumably Iranian-speaking highlanders, forebears of the Sarikoli, who govern themselves under a local chief; the khan of Kashgar's claim to the tolls is plausible and unrecorded. Eighteen years on, a fugitive Kuchlug goes this way and is seized by hunters in the mountains beyond.
Who he is
- Title
- Local chief (mir) of the Sarikol valleys; no name or title is recorded for 1200
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not known
- Family
- Not known. The people are presumably Iranian-speaking mountain folk, forebears of the Sarikoli and Wakhi.
- Confidence
- low
Persia map (Tashkurgan and Sariqol 'not pinned'); Wikipedia 'Kuchlug' and Chinese Wikipedia 'Qu Chuli' (Kuchlug is taken by hunters in the Pamirs on the Badakhshan-Wakhan border in 1218). No ruler of Tashkurgan for the 12th century.
Overlord
The khan of Kashgar or the gurkhan, by claim only; not pinned.
What it holds
- The fort of Tashkurgan and the Tashkurgan valley
- The tolls on the road to Wakhan and the passes to Hunza
How it was acquired
By long local rule.
Allies and rivals
Kashgar to the north; Wakhan and Badakhshan to the west (Persia sheet); Hunza beyond the passes to the south.
How things stand that morning
Not recorded.
Wealth
Barley, herds, tolls.
Military
Local men at the fort; nothing recorded.
Threats
- Winter and the passes closing
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1218Kuchlug flees south across the Pamirs and is taken by hunters near the Badakhshan border; the Mongols behead him.Depends on: Jebe's pursuit. Stopped by: Kuchlug escaping.
Places of note
- Tashkurgan: Stone fort on the valley floor.
Where the sources disagree
- The campaign board entry tashkurgan-sarikol gives the Eastern Qarakhanids. No source; shown as a self-governing mountain people with a Kashgar claim.
Evidence: Geography and later events only.
"The campaign board" is OMNIA's working map. These notes record where its earlier claims were checked against the sources.
On the map: The polygon takes the Tashkurgan valley and the high ground round it.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.