Karluk branch
Uyghurs
A Turk people of the Tarim and Turpan basins with a long urban, literary and musical heritage.
Uyghurlar / Uygurlar
Uyghurs have lived for centuries in the oasis cities of the Tarim and Turpan basins — such as Kashgar, Khotan and Turpan — on the historic Silk Roads. Their language belongs to the Karluk branch, closely related to Uzbek.
Uyghur heritage includes some of the earliest major works of Turk literature associated with the Kashgar region, and the muqam musical tradition. Since 2017 the human rights situation of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim communities in East Turkestan has been the subject of extensive international reporting and concern, including an assessment published by the UN Human Rights Office in 2022.
- Language
- Uyghur, a Karluk Turk language written in an Arabic-based script
- Branch
- Karluk
- Homeland
- East Turkestan, in north-western China
- Also living in
- Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, Europe and North America
Key dates
1069–1070
Yusuf Khass Hajib completes Kutadgu Bilig (“Wisdom of Royal Glory”) in Kashgar.
1070s
Mahmud al-Kashgari compiles the Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk, a dictionary of the Turk languages.
1955
China establishes an autonomous region in East Turkestan.
2022
The UN Human Rights Office publishes its assessment of human rights concerns in East Turkestan.
Heritage
- The Twelve Muqam, a large suite of classical music, song and dance
- Historic oasis cities including Kashgar and Turpan
- Classical works: Kutadgu Bilig and the Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk
Sources
- Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Assessment of human rights concerns in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, People’s Republic of China (31 August 2022)
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Uyghur”