Title:
Central Asia in world history / Peter B. Golden.
Author:
Golden, Peter B.
Publication Information:
New York : Oxford University Press, 2011.
Call Number:
DS329.4 .G598 2011
Abstract:
"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"--Provided by publisher.
"This work traces the history of the nomadic steppe tribes and sedentary inhabitants of the oasis city-states of Central Asia from pre-history to the present. Particular focus is placed on the unique melting pot cultures that this region has produced over millennia"--Provided by publisher.
ISBN:
9780195338195
9780195159479
Series:
New Oxford world history
New Oxford world history.
Physical Description:
x, 178 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.
Subject Term:
Contents:
A layering of peoples -- The rise of nomadism and oasis city-states -- The early nomads : "Warfare is their business" -- Heavenly Qaghans : the Türks and their successors -- The cities of the Silk Road and the coming of Islam -- Crescent over the steppe : Islam and the Turkic peoples -- The Mongol whirlwind -- The later Chinggisids, Temür, and the Timurid Renaissance -- The age of gunpowder and the crush of empires -- The problems of modernity.
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