History of Xinjiang

The recorded history of Xinjiang dates to the 2nd millennium BC. There have been many empires, primarily Han, Turkic, and Mongolic, that have ruled over the region, including the Yuezhi, Xiongnu Empire, Han Dynasty, Sixteen Kingdoms of the Jin Dynasty (Former Liang, Former Qin, Later Liang, and Western Liáng), Tang Dynasty, Uyghur Khaganate, Kara-Khanid Khanate, Mongol Empire (Yuan Dynasty), Mongolic Dzungar Khanate, and Manchu Qing Dynasty. Xinjiang was previously known as "Xiyu" (西域), under the Han Dynasty, which drove the Xiongnu empire out of the region in 60 BCE in an effort to secure the profitable Silk Road, but was renamed Xinjiang (新疆, meaning "new frontier") when the region was conquered by the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty in 1759. Xinjiang is now a part of the People's Republic of China, having been so since its founding year of 1949.

The name

In ancient China, the area was known as "Xiyu" or "Western Regions", a name that became prevalent in Chinese record after the Han Dynasty took control of the region.Whitfield, Susan. The Silk Road: Trade, Travel, War and Faith. Serindia Publications Inc. 2004. p. 27. ISBN 1-932476-12-1.Fairbank, K. John. The Cambridge History of China. Cambridge University Press. 1978. p. 269. ISBN 0-521-24327-0 For the Uyghurs, the region is "Sharqi Turkistan" (literally "Eastern Land of the Turks" in...
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