Uighurs Relations With China During The Tang Dynasty

Uighurs have had major relations with China’s shifting dynasties for centuries. But the first major basis of their impact on China is during the Tang Dynasty. During the fall of Sui, the general who would be emperor of Tang, Li Yuan, secured an alliance with the Khan of the Eastern Turks .This would be the beginning of formal relations between the Han and the peoples of Central Asia. This is also when territorial expansion into Central Asia would begin. They did this by stationing military garrisons along its frontier in hopes of defending itself from nomads. As a still rather fresh ruling power, it was within their best interest not to fight with any of the Central Asia peoples, especially the Turks. The Turkish Empire would eventually collapse, giving
The Tibetans would come to control the area . This gave rise to the Uighur Empire who the Tang had to rely on. Trade between Uighurs and Han was rocky at best. Uighurs gave Tang their much needed horses, but priced high and not in the least worth their price. The Tibetan and Uighur Empires eventually fell, as did the Tang . The Uighurs or Xinjiang don’t make much of an appearance until the Yuan dynasty, when the Mongols take control of China and much of Central Asia. Genghis Khan thus succeeded in uniting various nomadic peoples, including the Mongols, Tanguts, Uighurs, and Jurchens and much of the Western Asia. He also succeeded in taking over Xinjiang, a place necessary for trade . During this era, Muslim had a significant impact on China. When Kubilai took control of Yuan, Uighurs along with other West Asians, would be one ethnicity incorporated into the four hereditary categories dividing the various people under his rule. He had Muslim West Asians in key government positions, as well. With the added control of the Silk Road under Kubilai’s control, various knowledges entered into China, ranging from medicine to math and so on