ABSTRACT
Although this study is primarily concerned with contemporary developments in
Xinjiang, it is essential that some consideration be given to the history of the
region from the earliest times. This history has been used by Uyghur and
Chinese historians and writers to argue their very different cases for either the
legitimacy of the independence of Eastern Turkestan or its incorporation into
China. What follows is necessarily an incomplete outline of that history and does
not claim to consist of original research, especially for the earliest periods, but it
does indicate the major issues in the early history of the region as they affect
perceptions of Xinjiang today.
