Karakhanid Khanate

Kyrgyzstan, 840 CE–1212. Draft, not yet reviewed

The Kara-Khanid Khanate was a Karluk Turkic khanate that ruled Central Asia from the 9th to the early 13th century. The Khanate conquered Transoxiana in Central Asia and ruled it independently between 999 and 1089. The Khanate split into the Eastern and Western Khanates in the 1040s. The Eastern Khanate ended in 1211, and the Western Khanate was extinguished by the Khwarazmian Empire in 1212.

Seat of power: Balasagun

Rulers

Culture

• The capitals of the Kara-Khanid Khanate included Kashgar, Balasagun, Uzgen, and Samarkand.
• The tower, along with grave markers, some earthworks and the remnants of a castle and three mausoleums, is all that remains of the ancient city of Balasagun, which was established by the Karakhanids at the end of the 9th century.
• The tower was built in the 11th century and was used as a template for other minarets.
• Their arrival in Transoxiana signaled a definitive shift from Iranic to Turkic predominance in Central Asia, yet the Kara-khanids gradually assimilated the Perso-Arab Muslim culture, while retaining some of their native Turkic culture.

Picture

The Burana Tower is a large minaret in the Chüy Valley in northern Kyrgyzstan.

Image: Bernard Gagnon, CC0, file

Sources

• Kara-Khanid Khanate (Wikipedia)
• Karakhanid Khanate (Wikidata)
• About the picture (Wikipedia)

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.