ABSTRACT
From their origins in southern Siberia in the third to fourth century CE Nomadic Turk peoples began developing into a power in Central Eurasia when they migrated into Mongolia. In the fifth century, Turk nomads continued toward China and then westward into what is present-day Uzbekistan. (These Turk groups continued their westward migration, so that today Turk-speaking peoples have settled from Siberia to Turkey, including Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Turkmen, Azeri and Turks.) By the sixth century, the Turk nomads united under the rule of the Göktürk confederation (“Blue” or “Celestial” Turk). As Turks continued their move westward, they controlled the Silk Road trade and became a major power in Central Eurasia. Originally Shamanistic, Turks added Buddhism, Manicheanism and Nestorian Christianity to their religious beliefs before settling on Islam.
