Turkic settlement of the Tarim Basin

Turkic peoples began settling in the Tarim Basin in the 7th century. The area was later settled by the Turkic Uyghurs, who founded the Qocho Kingdom there in the 9th century.^[1] The historical area of what is modern-day Xinjiang in China consisted of the distinct areas of the Tarim Basin (also known as Altishahr) and Dzungaria. The area was first populated by the Tocharians and the Saka, who were Indo-Europeans and practiced Buddhism. The Tocharian and Saka peoples came under Xiongnu^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6] and then Chinese rule during the Han dynasty as the Protectorate of the Western Regions due to wars between the Han dynasty and the Xiongnu. The First Turkic Khaganate conquered this region in 560, and in 603, after a series of civil wars, the First Turkic Khaganate was separated into the Eastern Turkic Khaganate and the Western Turkic Khaganate, with Xinjiang coming under the latter.^[7]^{[page needed]} The region then became part of the Tang dynasty as the Protectorate General to Pacify the West after the Tang campaigns against the Western Turks. The Tang dynasty withdrew its control of the region in the Protectorate General to Pacify the West and the Four Garrisons of Anxi after the An Lushan Rebellion, after which the Turkic peoples and the other native inhabitants living in the area gradually converted to Islam following Arab incursions into Central Asia.

^ "The mystery of China's celtic mummies". The Independent. London. August 28, 2006. Archived from the original on April 3, 2008. Retrieved June 28, 2008.
^ Hartley, Charles W.; Yazicioğlu, G. Bike; Smith, Adam T. (November 19, 2012). The Archaeology of Power and Politics in Eurasia: Regimes and Revolutions. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-78938-7.
^ Bosch, Jeroen Fauve, Adrien De Cordier, B. J. Van Den (October 19, 2021). The European Handbook of Central Asian Studies. BoD – Books on Demand. ISBN 978-3-8382-1518-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ O'Brien, Patrick Karl; O'Brien, Patrick (2002). Atlas of World History. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-521921-0.
^ Coatsworth, John; Cole, Juan; Hanagan, Michael P.; Perdue, Peter C.; Tilly, Charles; Tilly, Louise (March 16, 2015). Global Connections: Volume 1, To 1500: Politics, Exchange, and Social Life in World History. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-316-29777-3.
^ Sima, Qian (1993). Records of the Grand Historian: Han dynasty. Renditions-Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-08166-5.
^ Millward (2007).