Home > Categories > Social Sciences and the Law > Anthropology and Archaeology > Peoples (except New World) > Uigurs

Uigurs

From: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | Date: 2008

Uigurs Uighurs, or Uygurs , Turkic-speaking people of Asia who live mainly in W China. They were the Yue-che of ancient Chinese records and first rose to prominence in the 7th cent. when they supported the T'ang Chinese in central Asia. In 744 the Uigurs seized control of Mongolia and established their capital on the Orkhon River, near the site of later Karakorum . Ousted (840) from Mongolia by the Kyrgyz, they moved to Turpan , in Xinjiang, China, where they founded an empire that lasted until the Mongol onslaught of the 13th cent. Unlike other peoples of central Asia, the Uigurs were not exclusively nomadic but practiced some agriculture and trade. They were converted to Manichaeism but later became Sunni Muslims. The Uigurs transmitted their script to the Mongols. A movement promoting Uigur independence has existed for many years. From the time of the Chinese Communist victory (1948) to the end of the 20th cent. there were about two dozen antiseparatist crackdowns by the Chinese government. Today half of the population of Xinjiang (reorganized as the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 1955) is of Uigur descent; there they number about 8 million. Another 1 million live in Central Asia and elsewhere.

Bibliography: See C. Mackerras, ed., The Uighur Empire (1968, repr. 1973).

Author not available, UIGURS., The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition 2008

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press

For permission to reuse this article, contact Copyright Clearance Center.

Related articles from HighBeam Research:

	Funeral practices and animal sacrifices in Mongolia at the Uigur period: archaeological and ethno-historical study of a 'kurgan' in the Egyin Gol valley (Baikal region). Antiquity; 12/1/1996; Crubezy, E. Martin, H. Giscard, P.-H. Batsaikhan, Z. Erdenebaatar, S. Verdier, J.P. Maureille, B.; 3705 words; Funeral practices in central Eurasia Our knowledge of funeral practices among the ancient peoples of central Eurasia comes mainly from written documents (Roux 1963), and also from archaeological findings (Gravilova 1965: Konovalo 1976), including the famous excavations of S.I. Rudenko and M.P.
	Crouching dragon, hungry tigers: China and Central Asia Contemporary Economic Policy; 4/1/2003; Spechler, Martin C; 6352 words; ... not necessarily hold for the titular minority, the Uigurs, nor for the million Kazaks or four dozen other ... republic. A traditionally nomadic Turkic people, the Uigurs are closely related to the Kazakhs. These larger ... higher incomes. On the other hand, quite a few urban Uigurs have assimilated to ...
	U.S. Holding Talks on Return of Detainees; Administration Close to Reaching Agreements With 10 Muslim Governments The Washington Post; 8/9/2005; Robin Wright and Josh White; 857 words; ... country to accept at least 15 Chinese Uigurs and two Uzbeks ready to be released, but ... request, a Swedish envoy said yesterday. Uigurs are a Muslim ethnic group with a large ... They are doing the right thing with the Uigurs and the Uzbeks, but they should do the ...
	A Journey Along the Silk Road Winnipeg Free Press; 9/15/2007; Sanders, Carol; 1599 words; ... bound for Europe, and excited monks came back from India with news about the teachings of someone called Buddha. Rocky gobi plains ... air-conditioned van on a paved highway across the desert that the Uigurs called Taklamakan, or "sea of death," it's hard to fathom how ...
	China keen to see India, Pakistan avoid war India Abroad; 5/31/2002; Chan, S.C.; 642 words; ... particular. The latter could have a knock-on effect on China's Xinjiang region. This huge western hinterland is home to the Muslim Uigurs, some of whom want independence from China. There was a spate of bus bombings in Beijing and Urumqi in 1997 and reports of riots ...
	WAR FILE.(Features) Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland); 11/10/2001; 517 words; ... Harold II (King of Anglo Saxons) 1095-1272 The Crusades Christians v Turks 1190-1227 Conquests of Genghis Khan Mongols v Naimans, Uigurs, Kara-Khitai empire, plus early Russia and Hungary 1297-1305 Revolt of William Wallace Scots v English 1314 Battle of Bannockburn ...
	(book reviews) The Journal of the American Oriental Society; 10/1/1997; Kara, G.; 1977 words; In a snake year, 1305-6, the Sa-skya monk Chos-kyi 'od-zer translated the seventh-century Indian Santideva's long poem, the Bodhicaryavatara (A Guide to the Path to Enlightenment), from its Tibetan translation into Mongolian prose, and this was one of the very first Buddhist works the Mongols could
	Turkish delights exhibited for the first time; ROYAL ACADEMY BLOCKBUSTER TO FEATURE TREASURES UNSEEN IN BRITAIN. The Evening Standard (London, England); 9/2/2004; 366 words; ... progressive march of empires that rose and fell in Turkey, the Middle East and central Asia between 600 and 1600, including the Uigurs, Seljuks, Timurids and Ottomans. A huge array of fearsome weaponry - including the steel, crystal and turquoise dagger of Sultan ...
	Russia, China move closer on oil pipeline. (International Highlights).(Brief Article) Pipeline & Gas Journal; 6/1/2002; 117 words; Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko recently led a delegation of Russian officials and oil executives to Beijing where they held discussions with their Chinese counterparts on the projected 2,400-km Russia-China oil pipeline. The pipeline, which is estimated to cost some $2 billion, will be
	Inhumation and cremation in medieval Mongolia: analysis and analogy. Antiquity; 12/1/2006; Crubezy, E. Ricaut, F.X. Martin, H. Erdenebaatar, S. Coqueugnot, H. Maureille, B. Giscard, P.H.; 4853 words; Introduction The sites presented in this paper are located in northern Mongolia, and specifically in the Egyin Gol valley near the Egyin Gol river, (Figure 1), some 20km upstream from its confluence with the Selenge, which flows into Lake Baikal. The valley has a continental climate with an average
	AIDS Has Arrived in India and China.(speculation on an AIDS pandemic)(Statistical Data Included) World Watch; 1/1/2001; Hwang, Ann; 5154 words; ... black market in blood is unknown. China's news media are banned from reporting on the ... according to Xinhua, the official Chinese news agency. According to Zeng Yi, an AIDS researcher ... level has passed 40 percent. And the worst news of all is that the infection level among ...
	Establishing China's environmental justice study models Georgetown International Environmental Law Review; 4/1/2002; Quan, Ruixue; 8959 words; I. INTRODUCTION Most contemporary American environmental justice studies focus on the adverse environmental disparities received by minority communities and lowincome populations. Numerous studies tracing these two populations over the past twenty years have empirically proven that minority and
	Roaring trade New Straits Times; 11/15/2006; 796 words; ... 59 per cent), Russians (29 per cent), Ukrainians (three per cent), Tatars (1.5 per cent), Germans (1.5 per cent), Koreans, Uigurs, Poles, Greeks, and Turks. There are 46 religious confessions, including Muslims (65 per cent), Russian Orthodox (33 per cent ...
	Turkish delights exhibited for the first time ROYAL ACADEMY BLOCKBUSTER TO FEATURE TREASURES UNSEEN IN BRITAIN Evening Standard - London; 9/2/2004; LUKE LEITCH; 363 words; ... progressive march of empires that rose and fell in Turkey, the Middle East and central Asia between 600 and 1600, including the Uigurs, Seljuks, Timurids and Ottomans. A huge array of fearsome weaponry - including the steel, crystal and turquoise dagger of Sultan ...
	1,000 years of delights from Turkey; ROYAL ACADEMY EXHIBITS DAZZLING ARTEFACTS OF GREAT EMPIRES. The Evening Standard (London, England); 1/18/2005; 309 words; ... opens on Saturday, is structured around the rise and fall of empires in Turkey, the Middle East and central Asia, including the Uigurs, Seljuks, Timurids and Ottomans. The Seljuk, nomads from central Asia, were followed by the Ottomans, led by Mehmed the Conqueror ...