Continued presence of Nestorian Christianity in Central Asia (early 14th century)

Timeline

1. 1301–1310Kashgar · Southern Tianshan routeIn the early 14th century, major Silk Road towns such as Kashgar still had Nestorian believers and churches. Nestorian merchants traveled along the northern and southern Tianshan routes, connecting church networks in East, Central, and West Asia, maintaining faith and commercial activity in the environment of religious tolerance under Mongol rule.
2. 1301–1320Chagatai Khanate court · Chagatai KhanateSome Nestorian clergy, fluent in Mongolian, Persian, and Chinese, served as interpreters, envoys, and advisors at the Chagatai and Golden Horde courts. Sources such as Rashid al-Din's Jami' al-Tawarikh record Nestorian monks participating in diplomacy and clerical work, reflecting Nestorian political embedding in the late Mongol Empire.
3. 1310–1350Central Asian khanates · Central AsiaIn the early 14th century, the Ilkhanate had already Islamified, the Golden Horde made Islam the state religion under Khan Özbeg, and the Chagatai Khanate was also gradually turning. Nestorian churches were closed or abandoned, believers converted to Islam or migrated away, and Nestorianism in Central Asia entered a period of decline, essentially dying out after the 15th century.