Altishahr (Traditional Uyghur:آلتی شهر,Modern Uyghur:ئالتە شەھەر,romanized:Altä-şähär,cyrillized:Алтә-шәһәр,pronounced[ɑltʰǽ‿ɕæhǽɚ̯]),^[1] also known asKashgaria^[2][3] orYettishar, is a historical name for theTarim Basin region used in the 18th and 19th centuries. The term means 'Six Cities' inTurkic languages, referring to oasis towns along the rim of the Tarim, includingKashgar, in what is now southernXinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region ofChina.^{[4][5][6][7][8][9]}

The name Altishahr is derived from the Turkic word Alti ('Six') and Persian wordshahr ('city').^[10] TheAltishahr term was used by Turkic-speaking inhabitants of the Tarim Basin in the 18th and 19th century,^[10][11] and adopted by some Western sources in the 19th century.^[10]

Other local words for the region includedDorben Shahr ('Four Cities') andYeti Shahr ('Seven Cities').^[10][11] Another Western term for the same region isKashgaria.^[10]Qing sources refer to the region primarily asNanlu, or the 'Southern Circuit'.^[10] Other Qing terms for the region includeHuijiang (回疆, the 'Muslim Frontier'),Huibu (回部, the 'Muslim Region'),Bacheng (the 'Eight Cities'),^[10] orNanjiang ('Southern Frontier').^[12]

In the 18th century, prior to theQing conquest of Xinjiang in 1759, the oasis towns around theTarim did not have a single political structure governing them, and Altishahr referred to the region in general rather than any cities in particular.^[13] Foreign visitors to the region would attempt to identify the cities, offering various lists.^[13]

According toAlbert von Le Coq, the 'Six Cities' (Altishahr) referred to (1)Kashgar; (2)Maralbexi (Maralbashi, Bachu); (3)Aksu (Aqsu), alternativelyKargilik (Yecheng); (4)Yengisar (Yengi Hisar); (5)Yarkant (Yarkand, Shache); and (6)Khotan.^[13]W. Barthold later replaced Yengisar withKucha (Kuqa).^[13] According toAurel Stein, in the early 20th century, Qing administrators used the term to describe the oasis towns around Khotan, including Khotan itself, along with (2) Yurungqash, (3)Karakax (Qaraqash, Moyu), (4)Qira (Chira, Cele), (5)Keriya (Yutian), and a sixth undocumented place.^[13]

The term 'Seven Cities' may have been used afterYaqub Beg capturedTurpan (Turfan), and referred to (1) Kashgar; (2) Yarkant; (3) Khotan; (4)Uqturpan (Uch Turfan); (5) Aksu; (6) Kucha; and (7) Turpan.^[13]

The term 'Eight Cities' (Uyghur Cyrillic:Шәкиз Шәһәр,Şäkiz Şähār) may have been a Turkic translation of theQing Chinese termNanlu Bajiang (literally 'Eight Cities of the Southern Circuit'), referring to (1) Kashgar, (2) Yengisar (3) Yarkant and (4) Khotan in the west and (5) Uqturpan, (6) Aksu, (7)Karasahr (Qarashahr, Yanqi), and (8) Turpan in the east.^[13]

Altishahr refers to theTarim Basin ofSouthern Xinjiang, which was historically, geographically, and ethnically distinct from theJunggar Basin ofDzungaria. At the time of the Qing conquest in 1759, Dzungaria was inhabited byOirats,steppe-dwelling, nomadicMongols who practicedTibetan Buddhism. In contrast, the Tarim Basin was inhabited bysedentary, oasis-dwelling, Turkic-speaking Muslim farmers, now known as theUyghurs. The two regions were governed as separate circuits before the region became independent.Xinjiang was made into a single province in 1884.

Until the 8th century AD, much of the Tarim Basin was inhabited byTocharians who spoke anIndo-Europeanlanguage and built city states in the oases along the rim of theTaklamakan Desert. The collapse of theUyghur Khanate in modernMongolia and settlement of Uyghur diaspora in the Tarim led to the prevalence of theTurkic languages. During the reign of theKarakhanids much of the regionconverted toIslam. From the 13th to the 16th centuries, the western Tarim was part of the larger MuslimTurkic-MongolChaghatay,Timurid andEastern Chagatai Empires.

In the 17th century, the localYarkent Khanate ruled Altishahr until itsconquest by theBuddhistDzungars from the Dzungarian Basin to the north. In the 1750s, the region was acquired by theQing dynasty in its conquest of theDzungar Khanate. The Qing initially administered the Dzungaria and Altishahar separately as the Northern and Southern Circuits ofTian Shan, respectively,^{[14][15][16][17]} although both were under control of theGeneral of Ili. The Southern Circuit (Tianshan Nanlu) was also known asHuibu (回部, 'Muslim Region'),Huijiang (回疆, 'Muslim Frontier'),Chinese Turkestan, Kashgaria, Little Bukharia, andEast Turkestan. After quelling theDungan Revolt in the late 19th century, the Qing combined the two circuits into the newly createdXinjiang Province in 1884. Xinjiang has since been used by theRepublic of China andPeople's Republic of China and Southern Xinjiang replaced Altishahr as place name for the region.

• Xinjiang
• Dzungaria
• East Turkestan
• Chinese Turkestan
• Southern Xinjiang
• Taklamakan Desert
• Yettishar
• Oasis of Bukhara

• Bellér-Hann, Ildikó, ed. (2007).Situating the Uyghurs Between China and Central Asia (illustrated ed.). Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.ISBN 978-0754670414.ISSN 1759-5290. Retrieved10 March 2014.
• Bellér-Hann, Ildikó (2008).Community Matters in Xinjiang, 1880-1949: Towards a Historical Anthropology of the Uyghur.Brill.ISBN 978-9004166752.
• Dani, Ahmad Hasan; Masson, Vadim Mikhaĭlovich; Unesco, eds. (2003).History of Civilizations of Central Asia: Development in contrast : from the sixteenth to the mid-nineteenth century. Multiple history series. Vol. 5 of History of Civilizations of Central Asia (illustrated ed.). UNESCO.ISBN 9231038761. Retrieved22 April 2014.
• Kim, Kwangmin (2008).Saintly Brokers: Uyghur Muslims, Trade, and the Making of Qing Central Asia, 1696--1814. University of California, Berkeley.ISBN 978-1109101263. Archived fromthe original on 4 December 2016. Retrieved10 March 2014.
• Edme Mentelle; Malte Conrad Brun; Pierre-Etienne Herbin de Halle (1804).Géographie mathématique, physique & politique de toutes les parties du monde, Volume 12. H. Tardieu. Retrieved10 March 2014.
• Millward, James A. (1998).Beyond the Pass: Economy, Ethnicity, and Empire in Qing Central Asia, 1759-1864 (illustrated ed.). Stanford University Press.ISBN 0804729336. Retrieved10 March 2014.
• Millward, James A. (2007).Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang (illustrated ed.). Columbia University Press.ISBN 978-0231139243. Retrieved10 March 2014.
• Newby, L. J. (1998). "The Begs of Xinjiang: Between Two Worlds".Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.61 (2). Cambridge University Press on behalf of School of Oriental and African Studies:278–297.doi:10.1017/s0041977x00013811.JSTOR 3107653.
• Newby, L.J. (2005).The Empire And the Khanate: A Political History of Qing Relations With Khoqand C1760-1860.Brill.ISBN 9004145508.
• Starr, S. Frederick, ed. (2004).Xinjiang: China's Muslim Borderland (illustrated ed.). M.E. Sharpe.ISBN 0765613182. Retrieved10 March 2014.

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