The Karakhanid State (999–1140)

Abstract

In the ninth and tenth centuries the descendants of the early Turkic empires began gathering strength again in the areas between Mongolia and Jetysuu. By the late ninth century they felt themselves strong enough to enter the political scene and to challenge the power of the Samanids at the prosperous Maveranahr oases. This tíme, however, the Turks entered Central Asia under very different circumstances and in a very different environment. By the tenth century, they had firmly established themselves on the eastern and northern borders of the Samanid Empire, including the areas around the Syr Darya river basin and the Aral Sea.