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Rh the garrisons in the towns. The region is divided into the administrative districts of Kashgar, Yarkand, Ak-su and Urumchi. The capital is the town of Urumchi.

History.—It appears very probable that at the dawn of history East Turkestan was inhabited by an Aryan population, the ancestors of the present Slav and Teutonic races, and that a civilization not inferior to that of Bactria had already developed at that time in the region of the Tarim. Our knowledge, however, of the history of the region is very fragmentary until about the beginning of the Christian era. When the Huns (Hiung-nu) occupied west and east Mongolia in 177-165, they drove before them the Yue-chi (Yutes, Yetes or Ghetes), who divided into two hordes, one of which invaded the valley of the Indus, while the other met the Sacae in East Turkestan and drove them over the Tian-shan into the valley of the Ili. Thus by the beginning

of our era the Tarim region had a mixed population of Aryans and Ural-Altaians, some being settled agriculturists and others nomads. There were also several independent cities, of which Khotan was the most important. One portion of the Aryans emigrated and settled in what is now Wakhhan (on the Pamir plateau), the present language of which seems very old, dating anterior to the separation of the Vedic and Zend languages. Between 120 and 101 the Chinese extended their rule westwards over East Turkestan as far as Kashgar. But their dominion seems to have been merely nominal, for it was soon shaken off. By the end of the 5th century the western parts fell under the sway of the “White Huns” (Ephthalites, or Tochari), while the eastern parts were under Tangut (Thygun) dominion. The Chinese, however, still retained the region about Lop-Nor. Buddhism penetrated into the country at an early date, and possessed famous monasteries there in the 5th and 7th centuries. There were also at the same time followers of Zoroastrianism, of Nestorian Christianity, and even of Manichaeism. An active trade was carried on by means of caravans, corn and silk especially being mentioned at a very early date. The civilization and political organization of the country were dominated by the Chinese, but were also influenced to some extent by Graeco-Bactrian civilization, which had probably secured a footing in the country as early as the 3rd century Our information as to the history of this region from the 2nd century to the first half of the 7th is slight, and is derived chiefly from the Journeys of the Chinese pilgrims, Fa-hien in 399-415, Song-yun and Hwei-seng in 518-521, and Hsüan-Tsang in 629-645. By this time Buddhism had reached its culminating point: in Khotan there were 100 monasteries and 5000 monks, and the Indian sacred literature was widely diffused. But already there were tokens of its decay; even then the eastern parts of the Tarim basin seem to have been growing less and less populous. To the east of Khotan, cities which were prosperous when visited by Song-yun had a century later fallen into ruins.

Little is known about these regions during the 7th, 8th and 9th centuries. In the 7th century the Tibetan king, Srong-btsan, with the help of the western Turks, subjugated the western part of the Tarim basin. During the following century the Mahommedans under Kotaiba ibn Moslim, after several excursions into West Turkestan, invaded (712-13) East Turkestan, penetrating as far as Turfan and even China. The Chinese supremacy was not shaken by these invasions. But, on the outbreak of internal disturbances in China, the Tibetans took possession of the western provinces of China, and intercepted the communications of the Chinese with Kashgaria, so that they had to send their troops through the lands of the Hui-khe (Hoei-ke, or Hoei-hu). In 790 the Tibetans were masters of East Turkestan; but their rule was never strong, and towards the 9th century we find the country under the Hoi-he. Who these people were is somewhat uncertain. According to Chinese documents they came from the Selenga; but most Orientalists identify them with the Uighurs. In the opinion of M. Grigoriev, the Turks who succeeded the Chinese in the western parts of East Turkestan were the Karlyk Turks, who extended farther south-west up to Kashmir, while the north-eastern parts of the Tarim region were subdued by the Uighurs. Soon Mongol hordes, the Kara-Kitais, entered East Turkestan (11th century), and then penetrated into West Turkestan. During the following century the Mongol conqueror Jenghiz Khan overran China, and Turkestan and Kashgaria fell under his rule in 1220, though not without strenuous resistance followed by massacres. The Mongol rule was, however, not very heavy, the Mongols merely exacting tribute. In fact, Kashgaria flourished under them, and the fanaticism of Islam was considerably abated. Women again acquired greater independence, and the religious toleration then established permitted Christianity and Buddhism to spread freely. This state of affairs lasted until the 14th century, when Tughlak Timur, who extended his dominions to the Kuen-lun, accepted Islam. He transferred his capital from Ak-su to Kashgar, and had a summer residence on the banks