Turkestan

Turkestan is the name of the greatest state based in central Asia. It is the home of many of the Turkic tribes. It's capital is Zhanibek, although it had for many centuries been at the great city of Khiva.
Initially founded by the Oghuz tribe, eventually other tribes such as the Uyghurs and the Karluks, both shadows of their former glory, came under its control. In the mid twentieth century it is located between the rising Russian empire to the west, the great Persian and Tibetan empires to the south, and the Mongolians and Koreans to the east. Its only routes to the sea are in the arctic, making it reliant on trade with its neighbors for global goods. This would normally necessitate cooperative behavior on Turkestan's part, yet history might show its behavior as somewhat other than this.
Indeed, aside from old tensions with the Russians contributing to new dangers between the two, it was just such foolish geopolitical tact that led to the loss of Khiva, Urgench, Gurganj, and many other important cities to the Persians in the early eighteen hundreds. A sense of revanchism drives still more belligerent thought in Turkestan's politics in the modern day.
Its main foreign influences are Greek, Avadhi, and Persian. They are by proximity and trade liable to Persian influence, a fact that has been constant over the centuries. Perhaps in efforts to break from this prison, the past centuries have seen them reach out towards India, finding a willing patron in Avadhistan, colloquially known as "the Rashtrakutas" for the dynasty that has ruled there since the middle ages. Always eager to bite down at Persian influences, Avadhistan is responsible for a certain amount of cultural influence in the country, seen greatest in the current ruling dynasty- the Turkish branch of the Rashtrakutas. Dependent on much less recent devolpments, Greek influence has a storied past. Many of the western Turkic tribes, particularly the Khazars, were partial to adopting Greek culture over the centuries. The influence spread to the Russians, Mordvins, and eventually to the Oghuz Turks. This phenomenon was so influential that even today the kings of Turkestan largely take Greek names.

Type

Geopolitical, Country

Demonym

Turkish

Leader

Alexandros II Rashtrakuta

Neighboring Nations

• Eranshahr

Tenuous.

Eranshahr

-10

Turkestan

-10

The turning of Turkestan on Eranshahr's interests, such as restricting their traders, led, ultimately, to a war between the two. Since Turkestan's crushing defeat the two have been on cold relations with one another.