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Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan, is a historical name for the part of Asia lying between the Caspian Sea to the west, Siberia to the north, the Gobi Desert to the east, and Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tibet to the south. Turkestan is primarily inhabited by Turkic peoples, as well as Russian and Tajik-Persian minorities. It is subdivided into West Turkestan, which from mid 19th century belonged to the Russian Empire, and East Turkistan or Xinjiang, which forms part of China.
Throughout history, the region has been exposed to the invasion of several different groups and kingdoms, including the Huns, Hephthalites, , Chinese Empire, Arab Caliphate, Hellenistic Macedonian Empire, Achaemenid Empire, as well as various Turkic states and the Mongol Empire. The Qara Khitai also briefly controlled a significant bulk of Turkestan.
Oghuz Turks (also known as Turkmens), Kyrgyzs, Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Khazars, Uyghurs, and Hazaras are some of the Turkic inhabitants of the region who, as history progressed, have spread further into Eurasia forming such Turkic nations as Turkey, and subnational regions like Tatarstan in Russia and Crimea in Ukraine. Tajiks and Russian people form sizable non-Turkic minorities.
It is subdivided into Afghan Turkestan and historical Russian Turkestan (the latter of which extended in the south to Qajar Iran, in the west to the Aral Sea and Caspian Sea Seas and in the northeast to Lake Balkhash and Lake Zaysan) in the west, and Chinese Turkestan or East Turkestan in the east.
On their way southward during the conquest of Central Asia in the 19th century, the Imperial Russia under took the city of Turkistan (in present-day Kazakhstan) in 1864. Mistaking its name for the entire region, they adopted the name of "Turkestan" () for their new territory.
In 1969, a Turpan document from 639 CE was found in the Astana district of Turpan, which recorded Sogdian language sale contract of a female slave from the period of the Gaochang kingdom under the rule of Qu clan and mentioned the Sogdian word "twrkstn", which may have referred to the lands to the east and north of Syr Darya in the realm of the First Turkic Khaganate.
In 2024, Turkish Ministry of Education changed the term 'Central Asia' () to 'Turkestan' () in history textbooks. Türkiye changes term ‘Central Asia’ to ‘Turkistan’ in education reforms Turkey Replaces “Central Asia” with “Turkestan” in New History Curriculum
Turkic sagas, such as the "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 conquered the area after they conquered Kashgaria in the early 2nd century BC. With the dissolution of the Huns' Empire, China rulers took over Eastern Central Asia, which was centuries later also called Turkestan. Arab forces captured it in the 8th century. The Persian Empire Samanid dynasty subsequently conquered it and the area experienced economic success. 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 and the area became the Chagatai Khanate. Timur took over the western portion of Turkestan in 1369, and the area became part of the Timurid Empire. The eastern portion of Turkestan was also called Moghulistan and continued to be ruled by descendants of Genghis Khan.
After the fall of the Tang dynasty, various dynasties of non-Han Chinese ethnic origins gained prestige by portraying themselves as the legitimate dynasty of China. Qara Khitai monarchs used the title of "Chinese emperor", and were also called the "Khan of Chīn". 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". 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. Despite the Chinese trappings, there were comparatively few Han Chinese among the population of the Qara Khitai. These Han Chinese had lived in during the Liao dynasty, and in 1124 migrated with the Khitans under Yelü Dashi along with other people of Kedun, such as the Balhae, Jurchen, and Mongol tribes, as well as other Khitans in addition to the Xiao consort clan.
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. Marwazī wrote that Transoxiana was a former part of China, while Fakhr al-Dīn Mubārak Shāh defined China as part of "Turkestan", and the cities of Balasagun and Kashgar were considered part of China.
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. However, the use of the name Khitai to mean "China" or "Chinese" by Turkic languages speakers within China, such as the Uyghurs, is considered pejorative by the Chinese authorities, who tried to ban it.
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