Turkestan

<p>Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan, is a <a href="/facts/Historical_region/v5j2ltV8">historical region</a> in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of <a href="/facts/Transoxiana/6eCqls7K">Transoxiana</a> and <a href="/facts/East_Turkestan/RxR4GDJ3">East Turkestan</a> (<a href="/facts/Xinjiang/f3jxW5Sq">Xinjiang</a>). The region is located in the northwest of modern day China and to the northwest of its borders, and extends directly to the east of the <a href="/facts/Caspian_Sea/Ymc08gkR">Caspian Sea</a>. Turkestan is primarily inhabited by <a href="/facts/Turkic_peoples/ocd7rpI3">Turkic peoples</a>, as well as Russian and Tajik-Persian minorities. Turkestan is subdivided into <a href="/facts/Afghan_Turkestan/q2l46ltS">Afghan Turkestan</a>, <a href="/facts/Russian_Turkestan/6VCunIzp">Russian Turkestan</a>, and <a href="/facts/East_Turkistan/RxR4GDJ3">East Turkistan</a> (the <a href="/facts/Xinjiang_Uyghur_Autonomous_Region/f3jxW5Sq">Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region</a> in China). 
</p><p>Throughout history, the region has been exposed to the invasion of several different groups and kingdoms, including the <a href="/facts/Huns/djwwoCXj">Huns</a>, the <a href="/facts/Chinese_Empire/TNqRSvQ4">Imperial China</a>, <a href="/facts/Umayyad_Caliphate/gdW8JwoK">Arab Caliphate</a>, the Hellenistic <a href="/facts/Macedonia_(ancient_kingdom)/g0F1DEgc">Macedonian Empire</a>, the <a href="/facts/Achaemenid_Empire/avlzWxF0">Achaemenid Empire</a>, various Turkic forces and the <a href="/facts/Mongol_Empire/cfddtfIK">Mongol Empire</a>. The <a href="/facts/Qara_Khitai/o6Yw8DlE">Qara Khitai</a> also briefly controlled the majority of Turkestan's land.
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Turkestan open-in-new

Turkestan