Rise of the Karluk Confederation

Timeline

1. 840–842Western Mongolian steppe · MongoliaAfter the fall of the Uyghur Khaganate, a power vacuum emerged in the western Mongolian steppe and around the Altai; Turkic peoples such as the Karluks began to break from old suzerain ties and seek room for independent development.
2. 843–847Semirechye · SemirechyeThe Karluks gradually unified the Turkic tribes of Semirechye, established a confederal political structure, and controlled the strategic corridor from the Ili River basin to the northern foothills of the Tianshan.
3. 848–850Steppe–oasis frontier of Central Asia · Central AsiaThe Karluk Confederation replaced the Uyghurs as the dominant power of the northern Central Asian steppe, forming a new geopolitical pattern with oasis powers such as the Samanid dynasty and laying the foundation for the later Karakhanid dynasty.