From the seventeenth to the nineteenth century, the Qing dynasty expanded its control over Central Asia through a combination of military conquest, administrative restructuring, population resettlement, and cultural-religious integration. While military force destroyed major steppe rivals such as the Zunghars, the Qing consolidated authority by dividing Mongol power, promoting Tibetan Buddhism, and settling diverse farming populations in Xinjiang. Together, these policies transformed a previously autonomous frontier into an integrated imperial borderland.