Uighurs
The Uighurs seized control over Central Asia from the Türks in 745, establishing an empire that lasted until 840, when it fell into the hands of the Yenissei Kirghyz.
The Uighurs are identified as the "Din-lin" in early Chinese sources, dating from the 3rd century BCE, or as "Dili" and "Tele" from the 4th century CE. Although their precise origin is unclear, they are believed by some to be closely related to the Xünnü, and were undoubtedly a nomadic people of Turkic descent. The Uighurs occupied a territory to the south of Lake Baikal, including the Selenge and Orxon River valleys, and the Erchis River and Balkash Lake further to the west.
From the 5th and 6th centuries Uighur society came to be increasingly militarized. The Uighurs were described in a Tang dynasty chronicle as "skilled at plunder"; it is said that from a total population of 100-thousand, there were fifty-thousand soldiers. Until the 740s the Uighurs were controlled by the Türks, but finally overthrew the latter under the command of Peilo, who was declared king, establishing an empire extending from Lake Baikal to the Gobi. Peilo was succeeded by Moyonchur (747-759), who established the city of Balyklik in 751. The strength of Uighur-Chinese relations is evidenced by the fact that in the year 755, the Chinese requested assistance in putting down a rebellion, for which purpose the Uighurs supplied four thousand soldiers. Between 820 and 840 the Kirghyz mounted a series of attacks on the Uighurs, leading ultimately to the collapse of the Uighur state.
Although the Uighurs remained essentially a nomadic people, they were the first of the Central Asian nomads to establish large urban settlements. The city of Xar Balgas in Central Mongolia, for example, though originally merely the site of the king's palace, grew into the largest city of the steppes; but it was by no means the only permanent settlement of the Uighurs. The city of Baibalyk, in Eastern Mongolia, was established primarily as a religious centre, where Uighur and Sogdian lamas worked at translating Buddhist sutras. For this purpose the Uighurs adopted a new script, based on the Sogdian alphabet - unlike earlier Uighur monuments, such as the Süüjiin Bichees and Selengiin Chuluu, which were inscribed using the Türkic Orxon script.
 | In commemoration of the legacy and teachings of His Holiness Dulduit Danzanravzhaa Fifth Wrathful Noble Xutagt of the Great Gobi (1803-1856) I did not overbearingly sophize Nor preach with pride and arrogance But having found a sense in this world Spoke the truth of my dear heart. |   |