Ispah Rebellion

The Ispah Rebellion (Chinese: 亦思巴奚兵乱; Pinyin: Yìsībāxī Bīngluàn) was a series of civil wars in Fujian, China (then the Great Yuan Empire) occurring in the middle of 14th century. The term Ispah might derive from the Persian word "سپاه" (sepâh) meaning "army" or "Sepoy". Thus, the rebellion is also known as the Persian Sepoy Rebellion (波斯戍兵之乱; Bōsī Shùbīng zhī Luàn) in Chinese documents.

Under Mongolian rule, the number of Arabic and Persian Muslims residing in the Chinese seaport city Quanzhou was greatly boosted. In 1357, an army of predominantly Muslims led by two Quanzhou Persians, Saif ad-Din (赛甫丁) and Amir ad-Din (阿迷里丁), revolted against the Mongol Yuan Dynasty. In defiance of Imperial forces, the army seized hold of Quanzhou, Xinghua (today Putian) and even overreached themselves to the provincial capital Fuzhou. In 1362, the Ispah army collapsed into internal conflict and was eventually crushed in 1366 by the Yuan commander Chen Youding (陈友定).