 It soon was traversed by the Northern Silk Road.For the Uyghurs, who took control of northern Xinjiang in the 8th century, the traditional name of the Tarim Basin in southern Xinjiang was Altishahr, which means "six cities" in the Uyghur language.The region of Dzungaria in northern Xinjiang was named after its native inhabitants, the Dzungar Mongols.