Kashgar in the context of "Uyghur language"

Turkification, Turkization, or Turkicization (Turkish: Türkleştirme) describes a shift whereby populations or places receive or adopt Turkic attributes such as culture, language, history, or ethnicity. However, often this term is more narrowly applied to mean specifically Turkish rather than merely Turkic, meaning that it refers more frequently to the Ottoman Empire's policies or the Turkish nationalist policies of the Republic of Turkey toward ethnic minorities in Turkey. As the Turkic states developed and grew, there were many instances of this cultural shift.

The earliest instance of Turkification took place in Central Asia, when by the 6th century AD migration of Turkic tribes from Inner Asia caused a language shift among the Iranian peoples of the area. By the 8th century AD, the Turkification of Kashgar was completed by Qarluq Turks, who also Islamized the population.

Altishahr (Traditional Uyghur: آلتی شهر, Modern Uyghur: ئالتە شەھەر, romanized: Altä-şähär, cyrillized: Алтә-шәһәр, pronounced [ɑltʰǽ‿ɕæhǽɚ̯]), also known as Kashgaria or Yettishar, is a historical name for the Tarim Basin region used in the 18th and 19th centuries. The term means 'Six Cities' in Turkic languages, referring to oasis towns along the rim of the Tarim, including Kashgar, in what is now southern Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China.

Mahmud ibn Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Kashgari was an 11th-century Kara-Khanid scholar and lexicographer of the Turkic languages from Kashgar.

His father, Husayn, was the mayor of Barsgan, a town in the southeastern part of the lake of Issyk-Kul (nowadays village of Barskoon in Northern Kyrgyzstan's Issyk-Kul Region) and related to the ruling dynasty of Kara-Khanid Khanate. Around 1057 C.E., Mahmud al-Kashgari became a political refugee, before settling down in Baghdad.

Kashgar Prefecture, also known as Kashi Prefecture, is a prefecture located in southwestern Xinjiang, China, located in the Tarim Basin region (roughly the southern half of Xinjiang). It has an area of 112,057 km (43,265 sq mi) and 4,496,377 inhabitants at the 2020 census with a population density of 35.5 inhabitants/km. The capital of the prefecture is the city of Kashgar which has a population 506,640.

Kashgar Prefecture borders the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajikistan, Badakhshan Province of Afghanistan, Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan, and Ladakh of India in the far south.

Yettishar (Chagatai: یته شهر; Uyghur: يەتتەشەھەر; lit. 'Seven Cities' or 'Heptapolis'), also known as Kashgaria or the Kashgar Emirate, was a Turkic state in Xinjiang that existed from 1864 to 1877, during the Dungan Revolt against the Qing dynasty. It was an Islamic monarchy ruled by Yakub Beg, a Kokandi who secured power in Kashgar (later made Yettishar's capital) through a series of military and political manoeuvres. Yettishar's eponymous seven cities were Kashgar, Khotan, Yarkand, Yengisar, Aksu, Kucha, and Korla.

In 1873, the Ottoman Empire recognised Yettishar as a vassal state and Yakub Beg as its emir. The Ottoman flag flew over Kashgar from 1873 to 1877.

Shahidulla, also spelt Xaidulla, (altitude ca. 3,646 m or 11,962 ft), was a nomad camping ground and historical caravan halting place in the Karakash River valley, close to Khotan, in the southwestern part of Xinjiang Autonomous Region, China. The site contains the ruins of a historical fort which was demolished by the Chinese administration of Xinjiang between 1890 and 1892. The site lies next to the Chinese National Highway G219 between Kashgar and Tibet, 25 km east of Mazar and 115 km west of Dahongliutan.

The modern town of Saitula (Xeyidula) is located next to the old fort of Suget Karaul built by the Qing administration (of China) about 10 km (30 "Chinese miles") southeast of the original site. A modern People's Liberation Army barracks named Sanshili Yingfang or Sanshili Barracks (lit. '30 li barracks') is also located here. "Sanshili Barracks" is a more common name used by motorists along the G219 highway.

Tashkurgan, historically known as Sarikol and Shitoucheng, is a town in the far west of China, close to the country's border with Tajikistan. It is seat of Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County, in the autonomous region of Xinjiang. Tajiks – ethnic Pamiris who live in the Pamir Mountains of Xinjiang – make up a little over half of Tashkurgan's population.

Tashkurgan was a significant stop on the Silk Road, with roads leading to major centers of trade such as Kashgar. It also served as the capital of a number of ancient and pre-modern kingdoms.