<P> The Islamic world was expanded into Central Asia during the 8th century, under the Umayyad Caliphate, while its successor the Abbasid Caliphate put a halt to Chinese westward expansion at the Battle of Talas in 751 (near the Talas River in modern - day Kyrgyzstan). However, following the disastrous An Lushan Rebellion (755--763) and the conquest of the Western Regions by the Tibetan Empire, the Tang Empire was unable to reassert its control over Central Asia . Contemporary Tang authors noted how the dynasty had gone into decline after this point . In 848 the Tang Chinese, led by the commander Zhang Yichao, were only able to reclaim the Hexi Corridor and Dunhuang in Gansu from the Tibetans . The Persian Samanid Empire (819--999) centered in Bukhara (Uzbekistan) continued the trade legacy of the Sogdians . The disruptions of trade were curtailed in that part of the world by the end of the 10th century and conquests of Central Asia by the Turkic Islamic Kara - Khanid Khanate, yet Nestorian Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, and Buddhism in Central Asia virtually disappeared . </P> <P> During the early 13th century Khwarezmia was invaded by the early Mongol Empire . The Mongol ruler Genghis Khan had the once vibrant cities of Bukhara and Samarkand burned to the ground after besieging them . However, in 1370 Samarkand saw a revival as the capital of the new Timurid Empire . The Turko - Mongol ruler Timur forcefully moved artisans and intellectuals from across Asia to Samarkand, making it one of the most important trade centers and cultural entrepôts of the Islamic world . </P> <P> The Mongol expansion throughout the Asian continent from around 1207 to 1360 helped bring political stability and re-established the Silk Road (via Karakorum). It also brought an end to the dominance of the Islamic Caliphate over world trade . Because the Mongols came to control the trade routes, trade circulated throughout the region, though they never abandoned their nomadic lifestyle . </P> <P> The Mongol rulers wanted to establish their capital on the Central Asian steppe, so to accomplish this goal, after every conquest they enlisted local people (traders, scholars, artisans) to help them construct and manage their empire . </P>

When did the mongols take over the silk road