Due to their early and voluntary submission to the Mongols, the cultural and administrative traditions of the mostly Buddhist Uyghurs exerted substantial influence on the Mongol Empire in its early formative period and thus affected various Eurasian cultural zones, from China to the Kipchak steppe. Although the Uyghurs lost their autonomy during the Mongol period and the Islamization of their land in the 14th and 15th centuries marked a clear turning point, some aspects of Uyghur literary and administrative culture were maintained in the various post-Mongol polities in Central Eurasia.

The number of historical studies about the role of Uyghur literati and their cultural influence in the territories to the East and West of the Turfan basin is quite uneven. While the Uyghurs’ role in Yuan China received considerable scholarly attention, their presence and cultural influence in the western territories of the Empire has not yet been scrutinized.

The first part of the presentation is focusing on a Middle Mongolian document from Iran, showing how a scrutiny of the text can reveal hidden hints of Uyghur cultural influence. The second part of the presentation gives an overview of the Uyghur’s presence in 13th Iran and their cultural influence .