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Uzbek
Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group found primarily in Uzbekistan, but large populations are also found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Xinjiang province of China.
The Uzbeks predominatly follow Islam (mainly Sunni Islam) in a form that became weakened under the rule of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; however, Uzbek independence saw a revival in Islamic interest after 1991. Conversion to Islam of people living in the area of modern Uzbekistan came as early as the 8th Century AD as Arab troops invaded the area, displacing Zoroastrianism, Buddhism and Nestorian Christianity. Victory of the Arabs over the Chinese at the Battle of Talas (north east of modern Tashkent - now called Dzhambul in Kazakhstan) in 751 ensured the future dominance of Islam in Turkic Central Asia.
The Uzbeks form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China.
The Uzbek language is a Turkic language, related to Uighur, Kazakh, and more distantly to Turkish.
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