Turkestan

Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan (land of the Turks), is a region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and Xinjiang. Turkestan is primarily inhabited by Turkic peoples, including Uzbeks, Oghuz Turks, Kazakhs, Khazars, Kyrgyz, and Uyghurs. The region also hosts Russian and Tajik Persian minorities. Turkestan is subdivided into Russian Turkestan, Afghan Turkestan, and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Red China. Today, Turkestan mainly refers to Xinjiang, where Turkic peoples constitute about half of the population.