The Turkic-speaking Yugurs are considered to be the descendants of a group of Old Uyghurs who fled fromMongolia southwards to Gansu after the collapse of theUyghur Khaganate in 840, where they established the prosperousGanzhou Uyghur Kingdom (870-1036) with capital near presentZhangye at the base of theQilian Mountains in the valley of theEjin River.[5]
In 1037, the Yugurs came underTangut rule.[6] As a result ofKhizr Khoja’s invasion ofQumul, many residents who rejected conversion to Islam escaped to nearbyDunhuang andHunan in China proper. These were the ancestors of the Yugurs, who have remainedVajrayana Buddhists to the present day.[7]
The Yugurs adopted theGelug order of Tibetan Buddhism in the late 16th century, under the influence ofSonam Gyatso, the third Dalai Lama.[8]
In 1893, Russian explorerGrigory Potanin, the first Western scientist to study the Yugurs, published a small glossary of Yugur words, along with notes on their administration and geographical situation.[9]
1 Central Asian (i.e.Turkmeni,Afghani andIranian)Turkmens, distinct from Levantine (i.e.Iraqi andSyrian) Turkmen/Turkoman minorities, who mostly adhere to an Ottoman-Turkish heritage and identity.2 In traditional areas of Turkish settlement (i.e. formerOttoman territories).
1These are traditional areas of settlement; the Turkic group has been living in the listed country/region for centuries and should not be confused with modern diasporas. 2State with limited international recognition.
