Loulan KingdomLoulan, also called Krorän or Kroraina ( < Eastern Han Chinese lo-lɑn < Old Chinese rô-rân; Kroran, USY: Кроран), was an ancient kingdom based around an important oasis city along the Silk Road already known in the 2nd century BCE on the northeastern edge of the Lop Desert. The term Loulan is the Chinese transcription of the native name Krorän and is used to refer to the city near Lop Nur as well as the kingdom.
AltishahrAltishahr (, , ; romanized: Altä-şähär or Alti-şähär), also known as Kashgaria, is a historical name for the Tarim Basin region used in the 18th and 19th centuries. The term means 'Six Cities' in Turkic languages, referring to oasis towns along the rim of the Tarim, including Kashgar, in what is now southern Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. The name Altishahr is derived from the Turkic word alti ('six') and Persian word shahr ('city').
Northern Silk RoadThe Northern Silk Road is an ancient trackway in northern China originating in the early capital of Xi'an and extending north of the Taklamakan Desert to reach the ancient kingdoms of Parthia, Bactria and eventually Persia and Rome. It is the northernmost branch of several Silk Roads providing trade, military movements and cultural exchange between China and the west. The use of this route was expanded pursuant to actions by the Han dynasty in the latter part of the first millennium BC to push back northern tribes and control the safe passage of Chinese troops and merchants.
Four Garrisons of AnxiThe Four Garrisons of Anxi were Chinese military garrisons installed by the Tang dynasty between 648 and 658. They were stationed at the Indo-European city-states of Qiuci (Kucha), Yutian (Hotan), Shule (Kashgar) and Yanqi (Karashahr). The Protectorate General to Pacify the West was headquartered in Qiuci. The Anxi Protectorate was created in Xi Prefecture (Gaochang) after the Tang dynasty successfully annexed the oasis kingdom in 640. The protectorate was moved to Qiuci in 648 after the Tang dynasty defeated Kucha.
Dunhuang manuscriptsDunhuang manuscripts refer to a wide variety of religious and secular documents (mostly manuscripts, but also including some woodblock-printed texts) in Chinese and other languages that were discovered at the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, China, during the 20th century. The majority of the surviving texts come from a large cache of documents produced between the late 4th and early 11th centuries which had been sealed in the so-called 'Library Cave' (Cave 17) at some point in the early 11th century.
Flaming MountainsThe Flaming Mountains () or Huoyan Mountains, are barren, eroded, red sandstone hills in the Tian Shan of Xinjiang. They lie near the northern rim of the Taklamakan Desert and east of the city of Turpan. Their striking gullies and trenches caused by erosion of the red sandstone bedrock give the mountains a flaming appearance at certain times of the day. The mountains are approximately long and wide, crossing the Turpan Depression from east to west. The average height of the Flaming Mountains is , with some peaks reaching over .
DughlatsThe Dughlat clan (Дулат, Dulat; Mongolian: Dolood/sevens, Doloo/seven; Middle Mongolian: Doluga, Dolugad; Dulğat; ) was a Mongol (later Turko-Mongol) clan that served the Chagatai khans as hereditary vassal rulers of several cities in western Tarim Basin, in modern Xinjiang, from the 14th century until the 16th century. The most famous member of the clan, Mirza Muhammad Haidar, was a military adventurer, historian, and the ruler of Kashmir (1541–1551). His historical work, the Tarikh-i Rashidi, provides much of the information known about the family.
