Surrounded by high mountain ranges, the western Himalayan states of Gilgit, Nager, Hunza, Chitral, and Baltistan have historically been determined by the geographical layout of the region, which makes any unity or coordination between these areas very difficult to achieve. Originally inhabited by Turkic tribes, these states developed independently in the Middle Ages, each with their own ruling dynasty, language and culture.

When Timur (also known as Tamerlane) died in 1405, the great Timurid Empire he had constructed began to disintegrate. Without his force of personality and uncontested leadership, the unity of the empire was impossible to maintain, and internecine strife broke out within a year. The dynasties that Timur had defeated were quick to take advantage of this situation, with revolts breaking out in western Persia, as well as Khwarazm, Khurasan, Tashkent, and in the steppe territories.

The balance of power between the tribes of northern Central Asia was continually shifting, and throughout the Middle Ages, the movement of various peoples can be seen to have far-reaching political effects. The Oghuz was a Turkic tribe, migrating west in the eighth century, and occupying the steppes of the Aral Sea in alliance with other tribes. They became a powerful force in this region in the tenth and eleventh centuries. The Kimek tribe became prominent in the tenth and eleventh centuries, based in what is now Kazakhstan.

The Seljuqs were in origin a Turkic tribe, expanding in the tenth century under the tribal leader Seljuq and moving into Transoxania, where they were converted to Islam.  After military conquests over the Ghaznavids, Seljuq’s successors began to establish a more solid basis of power, with one ruler, Toghrïl, declaring himself emir of Khurasan in 1040. In this way, the Seljuqs came to rule as sovereigns over large areas of land, ultimately creating a sultanate in Iran, Iraq and Mesopotamia over the course of the eleventh century.

The Seljuqs were in origin a Turkic tribe, expanding in the tenth century under the tribal leader Seljuq and moving into Transoxania, where they were converted to Islam.  After military conquests over the Ghaznavids, Seljuq’s successors began to establish a more solid basis of power, with one ruler, Toghrïl, declaring himself emir of Khurasan in 1040. In this way, the Seljuqs came to rule as sovereigns over large areas of land, ultimately creating a sultanate in Iran, Iraq and Mesopotamia over the course of the eleventh century.

The Samanid state emerged in Transoxania in the ninth and tenth centuries as a regional successor to the Abbasid caliphate, based around the growing strength and independence of cities such as Nishapur, Merv, Bukhara, Samarkand, Hulbuk, and many more.

The Middle Ages was a time of political turbulence in Pakistan, with a succession of political powers competing for the control of the regions of Sind, Baluchistan, Multan and Kashmir. The Abbasid caliphate of Baghdad governed the area from the eighth to the late tenth century, ensuring the dissemination of Islam, although Kashmir remained politically independent.

Situated on the northern passes between the Far East and western Asia, the Mongol empire was at the crossroads of global communication, linked by trading routes to both China and the Mediterranean.  The Mongol state developed in the late twelfth century and became one of the greatest powers in Central Asia after the extensive military conquests of Chinggis Khan (1155–1227).  One important consequence of the unification of political power in northern Asia was the protection of the Silk Routes and the facilitation of trade across the region.

The Kitan were a tribe based in northern China who conserved their distinctive identity throughout the Middle Ages, despite absorption into several different states and empires.  They are documented from the fifth century, emerging to develop their own khanate between the tenth and twelfth centuries, before changing their name to the Kara Khitay.

The Karakhanids (or Ilkhanid) can first be traced in historical sources in the ninth century, as a powerful tribe in Transoxania. By the late tenth and early eleventh century, they had formed a politically united Karakhanid state, as evidenced by the coinage from this period, on which a series of Karakhanid rulers are described as sovereigns of Transoxania. A distinctive feature of this state was the division of political power into ‘appanages’, or areas of financial government within which estate revenues were assigned to the khan.