Beg's father, Pur Muhhammad,[c] was born in Samarkand and completed his education in Khojent, later working as a qadi (a judge) at Piskent.

However, Beg quickly became bored and returned to Piskent where he obtained a minor job under the general Ghadai Bai.

When Aziz Bacha was appointed as the governor of Tashkent, Muhhammad Karim Khaska was transferred to the Khanate of Kokand along with Beg, but Kashka was soon assassinated by Musulman Quli.

Beg was subsequently recalled back to Tashkent where he was promoted to the rank of military officer with the title of Baturbashi.

[16] In late 1852, Muhammad Khudayar Khan, taking advantage of the disunity between the nomadic Qipchaqs and wishing to end their interference in the politics of the Khanate, attempted a coup.

The Kyrgyz, or Kazakh Sadic Beg, entered Kashgar but were unable to take the citadel and were sent to Tashkent as a Khoja to become ruler.

He joined Yakub Beg, left Kokand with 68 men, and crossed the border of China in January 1865.

[citation needed] The Tarim Basin was conquered by Beg, who was viewed as a Khoqandi foreigner and not as a local.

Yakub entered into relations and signed treaties with the Russian Empire and Great Britain, but failed in trying to get their support for his invasion.

[21][22] Korean historian Kim Hodong points out the fact that his disastrous and inexact commands failed the locals and they, in turn, welcomed the return of Chinese troops.

[23] Qing dynasty general Zuo Zongtang wrote that "The Andijanis are tyrannical to their people; government troops should comfort them with benevolence.

[25] However, in a letter to the Qing authorities, Niyaz denied any involvement in the death of Yakub, claiming that the Kashgarian ruler had committed suicide.

[26] While contemporaneous Muslim writers usually explained Yakub Beg's death by poisoning, and the suicide theory was the accepted truth among the Qing generals of the time, modern historians, according to Kim Hodong, think that natural death (of a stroke) is the most plausible explanation.

Although Sayrami claimed that he died on 28 April 1877, modern historians think that this is impossible, as Nikolay Przhevalsky met him on 9 May.

[41] Al-Qaeda ideologue Mustafa Setmariam Nasar praised Yakub and his establishment of educational institutions for Islam, and mosques called him "Attalik Ghazi" and a "good man" for his war against Buddhists and the Chinese.

[42] The Doğu Türkistan Haber Ajansı (East Turkestan News Agency) published an article from Al-Qaeda branch Al-Nusra Front's English language Al-Risalah magazine (مجلة الرسالة), second issue (العدد الثاني), translated from English into Turkish and titled Al Risale: "Türkistan Dağları" 2.

Bölüm (The Message: "Turkistan Mountains" Part 2), which praised the Sharia implemented by Yakub and cited him as an upholder of Jihad, attacking the Qing.