UIGURS. A people of Eastern Turkestan, and of Turkic stock. They founded the powerful kingdom of Hiong-Nu, which reached its zenith in the first century A.n., when it was divided into a northern and a southern empire. The latter was destroyed by the Tunguses in the third cen tury, whereupon the southern Uigurs retreated to the west and founded the empire of the Huns (q.v.). In the eighth century the northern Vi gurs founded a kingdom which was destroyed by the Kirghizes. In the fifth century A.D. their cul ture. developed on the slopes of the Tian Shan, was in a flourishing condition, and about this time they underwent considerable Buddhistic and Chinese influence, their religion having already been modified to some extent by Nestorian Chris tians, from whom they adopted the traces of Zoroastrianism also present among them. But they finally adopted the faith of Islam, and hare been modified in blood and other characteristics by more recent Mongol-Chinese, Arab, and Turkic elements. The vicissitudes of time have deprived
the L'igurs of their independent nationality and much of their peculiar culture. It is probably due to L'igur influence that the Mongols and Manchus adopted the Syrian system of writing, and not a few other advanees in the culture of the numerous tribes of Central Asia and Siberia may, perhaps, be attributed to them. Consult: Klaproth, Abhandluagen libel. die Sprache and Schrift der Uiguren (Paris, 1820) ; Vilmb6ry, I'igurische Sprachmonanentc said des Kadatku Bilik, (Leipzig, 1870) : Schott, Zur Uigarcufrage I Berlin, 1875) ; Radloft Avs Sibirien (Leipzig, id., Ethnologische Urbersieht der Tiirken stiimme ?Sibiriens vnd der liongolci (lb., 1883); id., Die alttiirkischcn Insehriften der liongo/ei (Saint Petersburg. 1899).