Editing Turkestan (section)

==History==
[[Image:Kashgari map.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Map from [[Mahmud al-Kashgari]]'s [[Dīwān ul-Lughat al-Turk|Dīwān Lughat al-Turk]], showing the 11th century distribution of Turkic tribes]]
{{Further|History of Central Asia}}
The history of the Central Asian region that was later called Turkestan dates back to at least the [[3rd millennium BC|third]] millennium BC. Many [[Artifact (archaeology)|artifacts]] were produced in that period, with much trade being conducted. The region was a focal point for [[cultural diffusion]], as the [[Silk Road]] traversed it.

Turkic sagas, such as the "[[Epic of Ergenekon|Ergenekon]]" legend, and written sources, such as the [[Orkhon Inscriptions]], in the 8th century AD, state that Turkic peoples originated in the nearby [[Altai Mountains]], and, through nomadic settlement, started their long journey westwards. 
Much earlier than the Gokturks or their Orkhon Inscriptions, other groups such as the [[Xiongnu|Huns]] conquered the area after they conquered [[Kashgaria]] in the early 2nd century BC. With the dissolution of the Huns' Empire, [[China|Chinese]] rulers took over Eastern Central Asia, which was centuries later also called Turkestan. [[Arab]] forces captured it in the 8th century. The [[Persian Empire|Persian]] [[Samanid]] dynasty subsequently conquered it and the area experienced economic success.<ref name="Turkistan_EB1911">{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle = Turkestan |last = Bealby |first = John Thomas |last2 = Kropotkin |first2 = Peter |author2-link = Peter Kropotkin |volume = 27 |pages = 419–426|short=1 }}</ref> The entire territory was held at various times by Turkic forces, such as the [[Göktürks]], until the conquest by [[Genghis Khan]] and the [[Mongols]] in 1220. Genghis Khan gave the territory to his son [[Chagatai Khan|Chagatai]] and the area became the [[Chagatai Khanate]].<ref name= "Turkistan_EB1911"/> [[Timur]] took over the western portion of Turkestan in 1369, and the area became part of the [[Timurid Empire]].<ref name= "Turkistan_EB1911"/> The eastern portion of Turkestan was also called [[Moghulistan]] and continued to be ruled by descendants of Genghis Khan.

===Chinese influence===
In [[Chinese historiography]], the [[Qara Khitai]] is most commonly called the "Western Liao" ({{lang|zh|西遼}}) and is considered to be a legitimate [[Dynasties in Chinese history|Chinese dynasty]], as is the case for the [[Liao dynasty]].{{sfn|Biran|2005|p=93}} The history of the Qara Khitai was included in the ''[[History of Liao]]'' (one of the ''[[Twenty-Four Histories]]''), which was compiled officially during the [[Yuan dynasty]] by [[Toqto'a (Yuan dynasty)|Toqto'a]] et al.

After the fall of the [[Tang dynasty]], various dynasties of non-[[Han Chinese|Han]] ethnic origins gained prestige by portraying themselves as the legitimate dynasty of China. Qara Khitai monarchs used the title of "[[Emperor of China|Chinese emperor]]",<ref name="Millward2007">{{cite book |first = James A. |last = Millward |title=Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=8FVsWq31MtMC&pg=PA42 |year=2007 |publisher = [[Columbia University Press]] |isbn = 978-0-231-13924-3 |pages = 42– }}</ref><ref name="biran 2001">{{cite journal |url = http://www.eacenter.huji.ac.il/uploaded/fck/21.%20like%20a%20mighty%20wall%281%29.pdf |page = 46 |volume = 25 |title = Like a Might Wall: The armies of the Qara Khitai |journal = Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam |first = Michal |last = Biran |year = 2001 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151210011401/http://www.eacenter.huji.ac.il/uploaded/fck/21.%20like%20a%20mighty%20wall(1).pdf |archive-date = 2015-12-10 }}</ref> and were also called the "Khan of Chīn".{{sfn|Biran|2005|p=34}} The Qara Khitai used the "image of China" to legitimize their rule to the Central Asians. The Chinese emperor, together with the rulers of the Turks, Arabs, India and the Byzantine Romans, were known to Islamic writers as the world's "five great kings".{{sfn|Biran|2005|p=97}} Qara Khitai kept the trappings of a Chinese state, such as Chinese coins, Chinese imperial titles, the Chinese writing system, tablets, seals, and used Chinese products like porcelain, mirrors, jade and other Chinese customs. The adherence to Liao Chinese traditions has been suggested as a reason why the Qara Khitai did not convert to [[Islam]].{{sfn|Biran|2005|p=102, 196–201}} Despite the Chinese trappings, there were comparatively few Han Chinese among the population of the Qara Khitai.{{sfn|Biran|2005|p= 96–}} These Han Chinese had lived in {{ill|Kedun|zh|镇州 (辽朝)}} during the Liao dynasty,{{sfn|Biran|2005|p=27–}} and in 1124 migrated with the Khitans under [[Yelü Dashi]] along with other people of Kedun, such as the [[Balhae|Bohai]], Jurchen, and Mongol tribes, as well as other Khitans in addition to the Xiao consort clan.{{sfn|Biran|2005|p=146}}

Qara Khitai's rule over the Muslim-majority [[Central Asia]] has the effect of reinforcing the view among some Muslim writers that Central Asia was linked to China even though the Tang dynasty had lost control of the region a few hundred years ago. [[Sharaf al-Zaman al-Marwazi|Marwazī]] wrote that [[Transoxiana]] was a former part of China,{{sfn|Biran|2005|p=98–99}} while Fakhr al-Dīn Mubārak Shāh defined China as part of "Turkestan", and the cities of [[Balasagun|Balāsāghūn]] and [[Kashgar|Kashghar]] were considered part of China.{{sfn|Biran|2005|p=99–101}}

The association of Khitai with China meant that the most enduring trace of the Khitan's power is names that are derived from it, such as [[Cathay]], which is the medieval Latin appellation for China. Names derived from Khitai are still current in modern usage, such as the Russian, Bulgarian, Uzbek and Mongolian names for China.<ref name="khitay">{{citation |last = Sinor |first = D. |contribution-url=https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/sites/silkroad/files/knowledge-bank-article/vol_IVa%20silk%20road_the%20kitan%20and%20the%20kara%20khitay.pdf |contribution= Chapter 11 – The Kitan and the Kara Kitay |year = 1998 |title = History of Civilisations of Central Asia |editor1-last = Asimov |editor1-first = M.S. |editor2-last = Bosworth |editor2-first = C.E.|volume = 4 part I |publisher = UNESCO Publishing |isbn = 978-92-3-103467-1 }}</ref> However, the use of the name Khitai to mean "China" or "Chinese" by [[Turkic languages|Turkic]] speakers within China, such as the [[Uyghurs]], is considered pejorative by the Chinese authorities, who tried to ban it.<ref>{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=XuvqBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA43 |editor=S.F.Starr |author1 = James A. Millward |author2= Peter C. Perdue |title=Xinjiang: China's Muslim Boarderland |year= 2004|page= 43 |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |isbn = 9781317451372}}</ref>