A History of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia, Volume I: Inner Eurasia from Prehistory to the Mongol Empire / Edition 1

by David Christian

Overview

This is a history of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia from the time of the first inhabitants of the region up to the break up of the Mongol Empire in 1260 AD. Inner Eurasia, as the author defines it, comprises most of the former Soviet Union and Russia's huge territories in Siberia; Russia's former empire in Central Asia; China's central Asian empire; and Mongolia, both the parts within China and those within the Mongolian People's Republic. The author presents Inner Eurasia as a coherent region with an underlying unity in geography and history despite its cultural and ecological variety.

This volume, the first of two surveying this region, charts developments from the Old Stone Age, through changes under such peoples as the Scythians, the Huns and the Turks, to the emergence of an identifiable "Rus" - the society from which modern Russia and Ukraine have evolved. The book sets political events in the broadest context of social and economic change, linking evolution to the vast geography of the territories it describes. Together with volume II covering the period up to the present, the work represents the most thorough, up-to-date study of this fascinating and much misunderstood region of the world.

The Blackwell History of the World Series

The goal of this ambitious series is to provide an accessible source of knowledge about the entire human past, for every curious person in every part of the world. It will comprise some two dozen volumes, of which some provide synoptic views of the history of particular regions while others consider the world as a whole during a particular period of time. The volumes are narrative in form, giving balanced attention to social and cultural history (in the broadest sense) as well as to institutional development and political change. Each provides a systematic account of a very large subject, but they are also both imaginative and interpretative. The Series is intended to be accessible to the widest possible readership, and the accessibility of its volumes is matched by the style of presentation and production.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780631208143
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	12/16/1998
Series:	Blackwell History of the World
Pages:	496
Product dimensions:	6.74(w) x 9.72(h) x 1.09(d)

About the Author

David Christian is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at Macquarie University, Sydney where he has taught since 1975. His BA and DPhil are from Oxford University. His previous publications include Bread and Salt: A Social and Economic History of Food and Drink in Russia (1982), Living Water: Vodka and Russian Society on the Eve of Emancipation (1990) and Imperial and Soviet Russia: Power, Privilege and the Challenge of Modernity (1997).

Table of Contents

List of Plates vii

List of Figures viii

List of Maps ix

List of Tables x

Series Editor’s Preface xi

Acknowledgements xiii

Introduction xv

Part I the Geography and Ecology of Inner Eurasia 1

1 The Geography and Ecology of Inner Eurasia 3

Part II Prehistory: 100,000–1000 BCE 21

2 First Settlers: The Old Stone Age 23

3 Hunters and Gatherers after the Ice Age 46

4 The Neolithic Revolution: Seventh to Third Millennia BCE 69

5 The Bronze Age: 3000–1000 BCE 99

Part III the Scythic and Hunnic Eras: 1000 Bce–500 Ce 121

6 The ‘Scythic’ Era: 1000–200 BCE 123

7 Outer Eurasian Invasions and their Aftermath 163

8 The Hsiung-nu Empire 183

9 ‘Barbarian’ Invasions before 500 CE 209

Part IV Turks, Mawara’n-nahr and Rus’: 500–1200 245

10 Turkic Empires of the East 247

11 Turkic Empires of Western Inner Eurasia 277

12 Mawara’n-nahr: Islamic Civilization in Central Asia 304

13 The Origins of Rus’ 327

14 Before the Mongols: 1000–1220 353

Part V the Mongol Empire: 1200–1260 383

15 Chinggis Khan 385

16 The Mongol Empire and a New ‘World System’ 409

Conclusion 430

Chronology 432

Bibliography 437

Index 460

Editorial Reviews

"Overall, this is an excellent book. It is rich in detail and has a good blend between description and history. It is everywhere fair and balanced in its interpretations. It is well written and well produced with good illustrations, maps, a useful chronology which divides the region into west, centre and east, and an excellent and extensive, albeit overwhelmingly English-language bibliography. Perhaps most important of all, although the histories of the various areas of concern to this book are reasonably well trodden paths, it crafts a new interpretation by taking up a distinct area of focus - inner Eurasia - and succeeds admirably in convincing the reader of the significance and interest of that region's history. I strongly recommend the book."
Asian Ethnicity Journal

"Well-written, impressive and bold synthesis ... One looks forward eagerly to volume 2."
The Russian Review

"Big picture history requires energy, openness and risk taking, a willingness to escape from the well-worn grooves of academe ... Christian has effected a great escape."
Journal of Asian Studies

From the Publisher