Qarakhanid Khanate Splits Into Eastern and Western Halves

1055

The Turkic Qarakhanid state, which had ruled Transoxiana and the Tarim Basin since conquering the Samanids, fractured along the line of the Tien Shan mountains. The Western Khanate held Samarkand and Bukhara; the Eastern kept Kashgar and Balasaghun. The split weakened both halves against the advancing Seljuks and ensured that Central Asia's Turkic dynasties would remain fragmented for the rest of the century.