THE EARLY MIDDLE Ages in Inner Asia coincide with the era of the political hegemony of the early Turkic peoples— particularly the Türks (Chinese: Tujue) and Uyghurs (Chinese: Huihe, Huihu)— throughout the region. The polities they established had their origins on the Mongolian Plateau and expanded from there in multiple directions to interact with various sedentary powers, including China, Korea, Persia, Byzantium, and the kingdoms of the Tarim Basin and Transoxiana. Through war, trade, and diplomacy they helped shape Eurasia during the Early Middle Ages and exercised significant influence in terms of their military and political interactions as well as economic and cultural exchanges from the establishment of Türk power in 552 to the collapse of the Uyghurs in 840.

The Turkic peoples inhabiting the Inner Asian steppes were primarily pastoral nomads whose economy was based on their herds of sheep, goats, and horses supplemented by smaller numbers of cattle and Bactrian camels. Agriculture, albeit on a relatively small scale, was also an important activity for those who lived in amenable habitats, primarily river valleys. This economy was supplemented by goods obtained from neighbouring peoples, both nomadic and sedentary; acquisition could be through trade or seizure by force or the threat of force. Living in large tents made of broad pieces of felt wrapped and tied around wooden lattice frameworks, the pastoral Turkic peoples normally nomadized in established and recognized seasonal patterns but were also capable of rapid movement when needed. Their way of life gave them a level of military skill and preparedness that allowed for the swift mobilization of an effective cavalry. This did not mean, however, that they were not vulnerable to attack from other powers.

The Türks and Uyghurs were not the first pastoral nomadic peoples of Inner Asia to create far-flung empires, but they are the first whose ethno-linguistic identity is known thanks to stone inscriptions that they created in their language (Old Turkic) in a script devised especially for its expression. They thus are the earliest known Inner Asian nomads to leave native sources.