Qarakhanid khanate splits into eastern and western halves

1036

Internal dynastic rivalries fractured the great Turkic khanate along the Syr Darya, with the eastern branch ruling from Kashgar and the western from Samarkand. The division weakened Qarakhanid resistance to both the Seljuk Turks pressing from the south and the Khitan Liao empire to the east, reshaping the political geography of Central Asia permanently.