Turkestan

From Kaiserreich

Revision as of 03:08, 1 October 2007

Turkestan in green, surrounded by its neighbors

Turkestan is a country in Central Asia, which today is largely inhabited by Turkic Peoples, from whence it gets its name. Currently, Turkestan is ruled by the emir of Bukhara as a dictatorship. Turkestan is bordered predominately by Alash Orda in the north, as well as Xebei San Ma in the east, and Afghanistan and Persia in the south. It's capital is the historical city of Samarkand, also being the capital of such nations as the Timurid Empire.

Geography

Turkestan expands over a relatively broad area, stretching from the Caspian sea in the west to the Tian Shan mountain range in the east. The country is scarred by Karakum Desert in the lands of the Turkmen, and given fertile valleys in the Amu Darya and Syr Darya river basins. To the north along its border with Alash Orda lies the Kyzyl Kum, a harsh desert that's the 11th largest on earth. The Syr and Amy Darya rivers also empty into the Aral Sea, which has been declared a neutral zone by the Turkestani and Alash Ordan governments.

History

Ever since the fall of the Timurid empire, the region of Turkestan has been marred by violence and war from foriegn empires. It quickly became the buffer zone and object of desire for the conflict between the Russian and British Empires known as The Great Game.

While Russia took over all of modern day Turkestan, certain local rulers were allowed to stay in control, one of which being Mohammed Alim Khan of the Manghit dynasty, which ruled over Bukhara. When the Russian Civil War took place, Alim Khan joined with several other local emirs and tribal leaders to show a force of stiff resistance against both the Bolsheviks and Whites, each wishing to impose their will over Turkestan. In the process, an ambitious pan-Turanic leader from the Ottoman Empire, Ismail Enver Pasha, joined the struggle with a small group of mercenaries and eventually became very influential in the new Turkestan, helping Alim Khan spread his influence.

After destroying a commune in Tashkent and uprooting a White general in Turkestan, Russian resistance was futile in the area, allowing for the new Turkestan to officially take hold. These victories coupled with a new buffer of Alash Orda developing between Russia and Turkestan would allow Turkestan greater stability in the years to come.

Government

Currently, Turkestan is ruled under the strict dictatorship of Alim Khan and Ismail Enver Pasha. The two represent an alliance between the Sunni fundamentalists under Alim Khan to create a new caliphate in the region, and the Pan-Turanists under Ismail Enver Pasha. While so far these two ideologies have flourished together in the ruling few of Turkestan, it is uncertain whether they will continue to do so, let alone peruse their ambitious goals.