Central Asia in World History

by Golden, Peter B.

• ISBN13: 9780195338195
• ISBN10: 0195338197
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-02-02
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

A vast region stretching roughly from the Volga River to Manchuria and the northern Chinese borderlands, Central Asia has been called the "pivot of history," a land where nomadic invaders and Silk Road traders changed the destinies of states that ringed its borders, including pre-modern Europe, the Middle East, and China. In Central Asia in World History , Peter B. Golden provides an engaging account of this important region, ranging from prehistory to the present, and focusing largely on the unique melting pot of cultures that this region has produced. Golden describes the traders who braved the heat and cold along caravan routes to link East Asia and Europe; the Mongol Empire of Genghis Khan and his successors, the largest contiguous land empire in history; the invention of gunpowder, which allowed the great sedentary empires to overcome the horse-based nomads; the power struggles of Russia and China, and later Russia and Britain, for control of the area. Finally, he discusses the region today, a key area that neighbors such geopolitical hot spots as Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and China.

Author Biography

Peter B. Golden is Professor Emeritus of History and Director of the Middle Eastern Studies Program, Rutgers University.

Table of Contents

Editors' Preface	p. ix
Introduction: A Layering of Peoples	p. 1
The Rise of Nomadism and Oasis City-States	p. 9
The Early Nomads: ôWarfare is Their Businessö	p. 21
Heavenly Qaghans: The Türks and Their Successors	p. 35
The Cities of the Silk Road and the Coming of Islam	p. 50
Crescent over the Steppe: Islam and the Turkic Peoples	p. 63
The Mongol Whirlwind	p. 76
The Later Chinggisids, Temür, and the Timurid Renaissance	p. 91
The Age of Gunpowder and the Crush of Empires	p. 105
The Problems of Modernity	p. 122
Pronunciation Guide	p. 141
Chronology	p. 142
Notes	p. 147
Further Reading	p. 159
Websites	p. 163
Acknowledgments	p. 165
Index	p. 167
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