Kara-Khanids

State · 850–1045 CE · at its largest around 1040 CE

A Turkic dynasty in Central Asia whose rulers converted to Islam. They took Bukhara from the Samanids in 999 and later split into eastern and western khanates.

On its lands while it lasted

Sogdians (c. 500 BCE – c. 900 CE): Iranian people of the Zeravshan valley around Samarkand and Bukhara whose merchants dominated trade along the Silk Roads, especially between the 4th and 8th centuries.
Silk Road (c. 130 BCE – c. 1450 CE): A network of overland caravan routes linking China with Central Asia, Persia and the Mediterranean, along which silk, spices, horses, religions, technologies and diseases travelled for more than 1,500 years.
Muhammad al-Bukhari (810 CE – 870 CE): Islamic scholar from Bukhara who compiled Sahih al-Bukhari, regarded by Sunni Muslims as the most authoritative collection of hadith.
Samanid Empire (819–999 CE): Persian dynasty ruling from Bukhara whose court fostered a revival of the Persian language and literature within the Islamic world.
Kara-Khanid Khanate (c. 840–1212 CE): Turkic dynasty that ruled Transoxiana and the Tian Shan region and was among the first Turkic states to adopt Islam.
Kashgar (c. 850 CE): Capital of Kara-Khanids (850–1045), Eastern Kara-Khanids (1046–1138), Western Karakhanid Khanate (1046–1084), and 4 more.
Balasagun (c. 850–1218 CE): Capital of Kara-Khanids (850–1045), Eastern Kara-Khanids (1046–1138), Western Karakhanid Khanate (1046–1084), and 1 more.
Rudaki (c. 858 CE – 941 CE): Poet at the Samanid court often regarded as the founder of classical Persian poetry.
Al-Farabi (c. 872 CE – 950 CE): Philosopher, probably born at Farab on the Syr Darya, known as the "Second Teacher" after Aristotle, who wrote on logic, political philosophy and music.
Hotan (c. 888 CE): Capital of Kingdom of Khotan (888–1006).
Samanid Mausoleum (c. 900 CE): Brick tomb in Bukhara built in the early 10th century for the Samanid dynasty, one of the finest surviving early Islamic monuments in Central Asia.