Turkistan spans Central Asia between Siberia, Tibet, India, Afghanistan, Iran, Gobi Desert, and Caspian Sea. Region divided into West Turkistan (Russian sphere) and East Turkistan (Chinese sphere). Turkic peoples inhabited Turkistan, excluding Ottoman Turks and Turko-Tatar Volga area
Turkic languages form part of Altaic family with close phonological and morphological similarities. Earliest linguistic records found in Mongolia and Russia from 8th century CE. Distributed across eastern Europe and Central/North Asia from Balkans to Arctic Ocean