Darughachi or Basqaq which originally designated officials in the Mongol Empire in charge of taxes and administration in a certain province, is the plural form of the Mongolian word darugha. They were sometimes referred to as governors. The term corresponds to the Persian داروغه dārugheh and the Turkicbasqaq and to ta lu hua ch'ih in Chinese.
History
This title was established under the rule of Genghis Khan from 1211. When the khaganÖgödei defeats Jin Dynasty , he places alginči, tammačin and darugačin in Nanging and Jungdu. The Secret History of the Mongols tells us that after the invasion and conquest of the kiptchaks and Rus' countries between 1237 and 1240, Ögödei places daruγačin and tammačin for to govern the peoples whose cities are Ornas, Saḳsīn, Bolghar and Kiev. Under the Yuan Dynasty, it is replaced by the title of Zhangguan and there was one for each administrative subdivision, where he combined the functions of governor and chief of the armies. This title was also given to a person at the head of a central government office. This charge usually fell to a Mongol, probably to a Semu, thus guaranteeing the preservation of power within the Mongols. Some other populations, however, could have an administrative title with close functions. Under the Golden Horde, there was also an official named The texts of Yanghe, in the Uighur dialect of Tourfan say that he should be paid a large sum of gold and silver when the Darugha Turfan was replaced. The Turkic term basqaq does not appear in Mongolian sources. In Russian sources, the darughachi were almost always referred to as baskak. They appear in the thirteenth-century soon after the Mongol Conquest but were withdrawn by 1328 and the Grand Prince of Vladimir became the khan's tax collector and imperial son in law, entrusted with gathering the dan' or tribute from the Rus' principalities for the Golden Horde. In the 13th century, chiefs of Mongol darughas were stationed in Vladimir and Baghdad. The Mongol Empire attempted to send darughachi to Goryeo of Korea in 1231, after the first invasions. According to some records, 72 darughachi were sent and Mongol military garrisons withdrawn. However, repeated rebellions and continued Goryeo resistance to Mongol dominion made the stationing of darughachi difficult. While there are questions regarding the actual number of darughachi stationed, most reliable sources indicate that at least some darughachi were stationed in Goryeo for the duration of its vassaldom to the Mongol Empire. While further mention of the darughachi in Korea is scarce in extant sources, after peace was secured between Goryeo and the Mongol Empire in 1259 establishing Korea as a vassal to the Empire, the stationing of darughachi in Korea was likely a more stable proposition. After 1921 the worddarga replaced the aristocratic noyan as the term for high-level officials in Mongolia.
