John Thomas Bealby

“ In 1220 Khotan was destroyed by the Mongols under Jenghiz Khan. Marco Polo, who passed through the town in 1274, says that “Everything is to be had there [at Cotan, i.e. Khotan] in plenty, including abundance of cotton, with flax, hemp, wheat, wine, and the like. The people have vineyards and gardens and estates. They live by commerce and manufactures, and are no soldiers.” ”

“ For centuries Khotan was famous for jade or nephrite, a semi-precious stone greatly esteemed by the Chinese for making small fancy boxes, bottles and cups, mouthpieces for pipes, bracelets, &c. The stone is still exported to China. Other local products are carpets (silk and felt) , silk goods, hides, grapes, rice and other cereals, fruits, tobacco, opium and cotton. There is an active trade in these goods and in wool with India, West Turkestan and China. The oasis contains two small towns, Kara-kash and Yurun-kash, and over 300 villages, its total population being about 150,000. ”

“ About the year A.D. 400 it was a city of some magnificence, and the seat of a flourishing cult of Buddha, with temples rich in paintings and ornaments of the precious metals; but from the 5th century it seems to have declined. In the 8th century it was conquered, after a struggle of 25 years, by the Arab chieftain Kotaiba ibn Moslim, from West Turkestan, who imposed Islam upon the people. ”