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The History of Central Asia: The Age of the Steppe Warriors
The epic plains and arid deserts of Central Asia have witnessed some of the greatest migrations, as well as many of the most transformative developments, in the history of civilization. Christoph Baumer's ambitious four-volume treatment of the region charts the 3000-year drama of Scythians and Sarmatians; Soviets and transcontinental Silk Roads; trade routes and the transmission of ideas across the steppes; and the breathless and brutal conquests of Alexander the Great and Chinghiz Khan.
Masterfully interweaving the stories of individuals and peoples, the author's engaging prose is richly augmented throughout by color photographs taken on his own travels. For all the complexity of the history, Dr. Baumer, a noted authority on Central Asia, never loses sight of the sweeping grandeur of its overall setting.
Volume 1 focuses on the geography of the area now occupied by present-day Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, northern Afghanistan, western and central Mongolia and parts of southern Russia and northern China. Discussing the changing climates of the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Ages, the author explores subjects as diverse as glacial retreat; the invention of the wheel; the legendary Cimmerians and Amazons; Hellenism and Zoroastrianism; and the Oxus Treasure. Future volumes will explore the later historical periods of the region.
Masterfully interweaving the stories of individuals and peoples, the author's engaging prose is richly augmented throughout by color photographs taken on his own travels. For all the complexity of the history, Dr. Baumer, a noted authority on Central Asia, never loses sight of the sweeping grandeur of its overall setting.
Volume 1 focuses on the geography of the area now occupied by present-day Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, northern Afghanistan, western and central Mongolia and parts of southern Russia and northern China. Discussing the changing climates of the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Ages, the author explores subjects as diverse as glacial retreat; the invention of the wheel; the legendary Cimmerians and Amazons; Hellenism and Zoroastrianism; and the Oxus Treasure. Future volumes will explore the later historical periods of the region.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published December 11, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 14, 2020
Yes, you want to read this book. Its a big beautiful coffee table book loaded with fantastic pictures. Like if you wanted to draw a map of a bronze age city...hey, here's an aerial photograph of a fully excavated one for inspiration...hint...it don't look like most city maps. The regional maps are actual sattelite images with the locations added in so you get a real feel for why one big desert area is labeled as 4 seperate deserts...because they're radically different terrain, and you can actually see that in the sattelite imagery.
But its the sweep of history that makes this a must buy. The book literally begins with Pangea and the formation of the continents, so it covers Central Asia as far back as our current knowledge will take us. It introduced me to dozens of distinct cultures that I never knew existed, known to us only by their Archaelogical name...no one has any idea what they called themselves.
But here's what really blew my mind. We all know that Central Asia is the home of the steppe nomads, right. Mighty horse archers like the Scythians, Sarmatians, Huns, Turks, Mongels...the very first people in Central Asia must have been nomads right from the beginning, right.
Nope. Central Asia (particularly what is today Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) had some of the earliest and largest urban centers in the world. There were cities and urban culture in Turkmenistan to rival anything in Mesopotamia. And the book I just finished about how global the bronze age was...completely missed these cultures and how essential they were. The Turkmenistan cities were some of the largest trade centers of their day, linking the Indus Valley with Mesopotamia. Long before the "Silk Road" was the "Tin Road" and very sophisticated trade networks.
It was climate change that put an end to Central Asia's early urbanization. Early in the process cities were abandoned and new ones built from scratch following rivers that repeatedly changed their course. Then finally the region got too dry to sustain concentrated populations built on intensive agriculture and the people shifted to a more pastoral semi to fully nomadic society. Interestingly, this process seems to be entirely peaceful. Forget about the nasty horse nomads raiding the poor city people. There's no evidence of that here, and alot of evidence of "hey...that's a really good idea you've got there, we're going to try that too".
And while I knew that Central Asia gave us the domesticated horse (first as food source, then as draft animal, and finally for riding) and all of the accoutrements of bridles, and saddles and eventually stirrups and such; and of course the composite bow and other cool things, I never knew how much ELSE started there. How about the wheel? Yep. The oldest known chariots in the world...not Mesopotamia...Central Asia. How about bronze working? Yep...Mesopotamia developed a more advanced metalurgy, but the earliest examples of copper and bronze working...Central Asia. And China...pretty much got everything from Central Asia. Current archaeology suggests that nearly ALL of the technology we'd think of as being foundational to civilization (metal working, grain based agriculture, the wheel) was adopted whole cloth in China from their contact with Central Asian steppe nomads.
Pretty sweet, and I'm only up to the Middle Bronze Age.
This is the first volume of a projected 4 volume series. The second: Age of the Silk Roads is now also available and takes the history through 900AD
But its the sweep of history that makes this a must buy. The book literally begins with Pangea and the formation of the continents, so it covers Central Asia as far back as our current knowledge will take us. It introduced me to dozens of distinct cultures that I never knew existed, known to us only by their Archaelogical name...no one has any idea what they called themselves.
But here's what really blew my mind. We all know that Central Asia is the home of the steppe nomads, right. Mighty horse archers like the Scythians, Sarmatians, Huns, Turks, Mongels...the very first people in Central Asia must have been nomads right from the beginning, right.
Nope. Central Asia (particularly what is today Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) had some of the earliest and largest urban centers in the world. There were cities and urban culture in Turkmenistan to rival anything in Mesopotamia. And the book I just finished about how global the bronze age was...completely missed these cultures and how essential they were. The Turkmenistan cities were some of the largest trade centers of their day, linking the Indus Valley with Mesopotamia. Long before the "Silk Road" was the "Tin Road" and very sophisticated trade networks.
It was climate change that put an end to Central Asia's early urbanization. Early in the process cities were abandoned and new ones built from scratch following rivers that repeatedly changed their course. Then finally the region got too dry to sustain concentrated populations built on intensive agriculture and the people shifted to a more pastoral semi to fully nomadic society. Interestingly, this process seems to be entirely peaceful. Forget about the nasty horse nomads raiding the poor city people. There's no evidence of that here, and alot of evidence of "hey...that's a really good idea you've got there, we're going to try that too".
And while I knew that Central Asia gave us the domesticated horse (first as food source, then as draft animal, and finally for riding) and all of the accoutrements of bridles, and saddles and eventually stirrups and such; and of course the composite bow and other cool things, I never knew how much ELSE started there. How about the wheel? Yep. The oldest known chariots in the world...not Mesopotamia...Central Asia. How about bronze working? Yep...Mesopotamia developed a more advanced metalurgy, but the earliest examples of copper and bronze working...Central Asia. And China...pretty much got everything from Central Asia. Current archaeology suggests that nearly ALL of the technology we'd think of as being foundational to civilization (metal working, grain based agriculture, the wheel) was adopted whole cloth in China from their contact with Central Asian steppe nomads.
Pretty sweet, and I'm only up to the Middle Bronze Age.
This is the first volume of a projected 4 volume series. The second: Age of the Silk Roads is now also available and takes the history through 900AD
April 17, 2017
Christoph Baumer is a scholar and explorer cut from a very old-style of cloth. He is perhaps the closest we can get to a modern incarnation of the Silk Road pioneers Sir Aurel Stein and Sven Hedin, the latter of whom was a formative influence on him. He has led several expeditions to the Taklamakan desert in search of old oasis sites, making a serious contribution to knowledge of the ancient history of the region. He is also a formidable expert on Assyrian Christianity and Tibetan Buddhism, having travelled extensively in the east to investigate them both.
With such a background, Baumer is ideally suited to this new work, which is perhaps his most ambitious project so far: a four volume history of Central Asia, of which this, the first in the series to be published, runs from the pre-history of the region up to the conquest of Alexander and the period of Greek rule which came to an end around the first century BC.
The book is an absolute pleasure to read. Like its author, it is similarly old-style in its approach. It possesses a thorough and rigorous knowledge of detail over a huge range of areas, but never loses sight of the grand narrative and broader concepts of the region’s history. The work is as comprehensive as it is possible to be. He starts at the very beginning, not with the rise of settled agriculture or nomadism – these come later – but with plate tectonics and climatic history. The dinosaurs, rightly, make their appearance before any humans.
In spite of this deep coverage, it is always clear and readable. The combination of breadth and depth allow Baumer to open up a range of perspectives on the area that are always fresh and illuminating. One example out of many is his treatment of petroglyphs. These engravings on rocks, frequently of animals, hunters and chariots, are one of the oldest and most abiding forms of art. They are particularly common in Central Asia; the most ancient are over 5,000 years old, and at certain sites people continued to create them well into recorded history. By putting these in the wider context of archaeology and other scholarship, Baumer is able to illustrate not only how to understand their chronology, but also how they cast a light on the development of stock-keeping, agriculture, the use of horses, chariots, and even the evolution of religious ideas in the region.
One could point to similar instances, such as his drawing together the development of Zoroastrianism in the context of the interaction between nomadic immigrants from the steppe and the urban settlements in the region of the River Oxus, or the relationship between the spread of languages and ancient tribal movements. For anyone with an interest in the Greek historian Herodotus, Baumer’s demonstration of the accuracy of his accounts of nomadic burials in Central Asia, long thought suspect, will be especially fascinating: the Scythians really did sacrifice their dead chieftains’ concubines, butlers, messengers, stewards, cooks and horses, to send their leaders grandly into the afterlife. There is also a review of the evidence for Amazons and fighting women amongst the ancient nomads of the steppe.
Baumer is also fully up to date with the wider contemporary academic literature, which means that there are always exciting revelations about the latest developments in the field. One which caught my eye was the recent potential identification of the city of the Branchidae. This was a community of Greek refugees who left Greece in 480 BC having collaborated with King Darius during the Persian invasion. Darius settled them somewhere north of the Oxus, but when Alexander discovered them during his conquest around 330 BC, he slaughtered them without mercy in revenge for their ancestors’ betrayal. The fort of Talashkan I, near Termez, has lately been identified as fitting the details of the historical account.
The book is also beautifully presented. Baumer is a talented photographer, and the work is lavishly illustrated both with pictures from museums as well as Baumer’s own collection. This is especially helpful in the discussions of steppe arts and motifs. Beyond this, his own photographs, particularly those from his expedition to the Taklamakan and the Bronze Age burial site of Ayala Mazar are not only informative, but even haunting and evocative.
It is impossible to do full justice to this all-embracing work in a short review, save to say that when the series is complete it is likely to become a standard reference work. More than this, it is a treat for anyone with an interest in the grand past of Central Asia.
With such a background, Baumer is ideally suited to this new work, which is perhaps his most ambitious project so far: a four volume history of Central Asia, of which this, the first in the series to be published, runs from the pre-history of the region up to the conquest of Alexander and the period of Greek rule which came to an end around the first century BC.
The book is an absolute pleasure to read. Like its author, it is similarly old-style in its approach. It possesses a thorough and rigorous knowledge of detail over a huge range of areas, but never loses sight of the grand narrative and broader concepts of the region’s history. The work is as comprehensive as it is possible to be. He starts at the very beginning, not with the rise of settled agriculture or nomadism – these come later – but with plate tectonics and climatic history. The dinosaurs, rightly, make their appearance before any humans.
In spite of this deep coverage, it is always clear and readable. The combination of breadth and depth allow Baumer to open up a range of perspectives on the area that are always fresh and illuminating. One example out of many is his treatment of petroglyphs. These engravings on rocks, frequently of animals, hunters and chariots, are one of the oldest and most abiding forms of art. They are particularly common in Central Asia; the most ancient are over 5,000 years old, and at certain sites people continued to create them well into recorded history. By putting these in the wider context of archaeology and other scholarship, Baumer is able to illustrate not only how to understand their chronology, but also how they cast a light on the development of stock-keeping, agriculture, the use of horses, chariots, and even the evolution of religious ideas in the region.
One could point to similar instances, such as his drawing together the development of Zoroastrianism in the context of the interaction between nomadic immigrants from the steppe and the urban settlements in the region of the River Oxus, or the relationship between the spread of languages and ancient tribal movements. For anyone with an interest in the Greek historian Herodotus, Baumer’s demonstration of the accuracy of his accounts of nomadic burials in Central Asia, long thought suspect, will be especially fascinating: the Scythians really did sacrifice their dead chieftains’ concubines, butlers, messengers, stewards, cooks and horses, to send their leaders grandly into the afterlife. There is also a review of the evidence for Amazons and fighting women amongst the ancient nomads of the steppe.
Baumer is also fully up to date with the wider contemporary academic literature, which means that there are always exciting revelations about the latest developments in the field. One which caught my eye was the recent potential identification of the city of the Branchidae. This was a community of Greek refugees who left Greece in 480 BC having collaborated with King Darius during the Persian invasion. Darius settled them somewhere north of the Oxus, but when Alexander discovered them during his conquest around 330 BC, he slaughtered them without mercy in revenge for their ancestors’ betrayal. The fort of Talashkan I, near Termez, has lately been identified as fitting the details of the historical account.
The book is also beautifully presented. Baumer is a talented photographer, and the work is lavishly illustrated both with pictures from museums as well as Baumer’s own collection. This is especially helpful in the discussions of steppe arts and motifs. Beyond this, his own photographs, particularly those from his expedition to the Taklamakan and the Bronze Age burial site of Ayala Mazar are not only informative, but even haunting and evocative.
It is impossible to do full justice to this all-embracing work in a short review, save to say that when the series is complete it is likely to become a standard reference work. More than this, it is a treat for anyone with an interest in the grand past of Central Asia.
May 1, 2017
This is one of those books that fits into several categories, and I think suffers a little because of this. It is the size of a coffee table book, is beautifully presented and full of fabulous photographs and other images. If you are after such a book for your coffee table - this one is a 5 star beauty.
I got it to read, rather than simply to skim through. As a book to read it is less successful. It falls into that difficult category in that it is not an academic book, but it is not an easy read for the non-specialist either. The author is obviously hugely knowledgeable about his subject, but sometimes the writing is pretty dry. To be fair, the first 3 quarters of this book relate to pre-history and its hard then to make it exciting and interesting without making things up. So the first 3/4 are essentially archaeology and interpretation of archaeology. This is dry. The book becomes more interesting in the last section about the Greeks in Central Asia for which there are historical records. I am hopeful the next volume will be more stimulating.
Another issue for the reader - one I was willing to accept but may be a pain for some, is simply the practical difficulty of reading and carrying around such a large book. I read it slowly, dipping into it from time to time when I am at home in my living room.
Overall: beautiful, interesting, a little dry and not always the most stimulating read, but hopefully a great basis for a better second volume.
I got it to read, rather than simply to skim through. As a book to read it is less successful. It falls into that difficult category in that it is not an academic book, but it is not an easy read for the non-specialist either. The author is obviously hugely knowledgeable about his subject, but sometimes the writing is pretty dry. To be fair, the first 3 quarters of this book relate to pre-history and its hard then to make it exciting and interesting without making things up. So the first 3/4 are essentially archaeology and interpretation of archaeology. This is dry. The book becomes more interesting in the last section about the Greeks in Central Asia for which there are historical records. I am hopeful the next volume will be more stimulating.
Another issue for the reader - one I was willing to accept but may be a pain for some, is simply the practical difficulty of reading and carrying around such a large book. I read it slowly, dipping into it from time to time when I am at home in my living room.
Overall: beautiful, interesting, a little dry and not always the most stimulating read, but hopefully a great basis for a better second volume.
September 23, 2021
Excellent book.
Crown jewel of my library.
Very in depth study, starts from millions of years ago, explains the techtonic and climatic changes, gives insight of human species evolution and population of the area in scope, updates the reader on archeological findings... Every info is referenced.
On the hardware side, excellent cover, highest quality paper, exceptional photography and illustrations... Makes one want to read more. Once you see the book, you can not keep your hands off...
What more can I say?
I would like the author and the publisher do one more project, for Near/Middle East history...
Crown jewel of my library.
Very in depth study, starts from millions of years ago, explains the techtonic and climatic changes, gives insight of human species evolution and population of the area in scope, updates the reader on archeological findings... Every info is referenced.
On the hardware side, excellent cover, highest quality paper, exceptional photography and illustrations... Makes one want to read more. Once you see the book, you can not keep your hands off...
What more can I say?
I would like the author and the publisher do one more project, for Near/Middle East history...
March 6, 2025
This beautifully illustrated four-volume set is really the definitive introduction to Central Asia. The author's first-hand knowledge of places is combined with a keen appreciation for the many cultures encountered in this region. These books are highly recommended!
August 24, 2015
While the pictures were pretty, the history was mediocre and at in places flat out carelessly done.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews