Uyghurs
Rian Thum explored the concepts of identity among the ancestors of the modern Uyghurs in Altishahr (the native Uyghur name for eastern Turkestan or southern Xinjiang) before the adoption of the name "Uyghur" in the 1930s, referring to them by the name "Altishahri" in his article "Modular History: Identity Maintenance before Uyghur Nationalism". Thum indicated that Altishahri Turkis did have a sense that they were a distinctive group separate from the Turkic Andijanis to their west, the nomadic Turkic Kirghiz, the nomadic Mongol Qalmaq, and the Han Chinese Khitay before they became known as Uyghurs. There was no single name used by them to refer to themselves, the various native names Altishahris used to refer to themselves were Altishahrlik (Altishahr person), yerlik (local), Turki, and Musulmān (Muslim), the term Musulmān in this situation did not signify religious connotations, because the Altishahris would exclude other Muslim peoples like the Kirghiz when referring to themselves as Musulmān. Dr. Laura J Newby has also noted that the sedentary Altishahri Turkic people felt themselves as a separate group from other Turkic Muslims since at least the 19th century.
History of the Uyghur people
In AD 611, the Uyghur led by the Seyanto (Ch. Xueyantuo) defeated a Göktürk invasion; however, in AD 615 they were placed under Göktürk control again by Shipi Qaghan. In AD 627 the Uyghur, now led by Pusa Ilteber, participated in another Tokuz-Oguz revolt against the Göktürks, again spearheaded by the Seyanto tribe. In AD 630 the Göktürk Khanate was decisively defeated by the Emperor Tang Taizong. The Uyghur occupied second position after the Xueyantuo in the Tokuz-Oguz. However, in AD 646 when the Uyghur bey, Tumitu Ilteber (吐迷度) was granted the Chinese title Prefect () it established a legal precedent for Uyghur rule. Chinese crushed the Xueyantuo in 646 and appointed Uyghur khagan as Anbei Protector (安北都護) over the Mongolian steppe.