The Muslim Hui (Russian Dungan), and Taranchi…

The Muslim Hui (Russian Dungan), and Taranchi tribes had staged a rebellion and evicted the Chinese authorities from the Ili River region in in 1864.

Huiyuan, located near the Ili River, some thirty kilometers to the west of Yining, had suffered severe damage during the Muslim Rebellion of the 1860s, with the besieged Qing Governor Genera of Ili, Mingsioi, blowing himself up in his palace in March 1866 , together with his family, staff, treasury, and tea, rather than surrendering to the rebels.

As the Chinese imperial authority in Xinjiang has collapsed due to the Muslim Rebellion, the Russian government, which controls the territory adjacent to Kashgaria, fears the revolt will spread to their lands and with this pretext send Russian troops to occupy the northern areas of Turkistan around Kuldja on the Ili River, including the Taranchi sultanate, in 1871.