A History of Inner Asia

by Svat Soucek

This accessible introduction to Inner Asia traces its history from the arrival of Islam, through the various dynasties to the Russian conquest. The contemporary focus rests on the seven countries that make up present-day Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Sinkiang and Mongolia. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, renewed interest in these countries has prompted considerable debate. While a divergent literature has evolved, no comprehensive survey of the region exists. This book will fill the gap and become indispensable for anyone studying or visiting the area.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Asia

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 31, 1996

Reviews

[Carlos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dr. Soucek does a wonderful job in introducing the dynamic history of Central Asia to an unfamiliar but interested reader. Here I emphasize the word “interested” because unless you are seriously familiar with the geography of Central Asia you will need to crack open more than one Atlas. Similarly, the linguistic variety of the region is such that keeping the names straight, let alone their historical transformations, is not a trivial task. Nevertheless Dr. Soucek has a lively tone that keeps the reader engaged and while clearly intending the book to be a survey of the history of 6 countries, still manages to give a thorough enough history to understand its place in the world. I highly recommend it to anyone who has been curious of the extent of the Islamic Caliphates, the beginnings of both Mongol and Timurid invasions and of the effect of the Soviet Union and its fall on this fascinating corner of the world.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really dense and fact/figure/date ridled. He is a Soviet trained historian if Im not mistaken. Focus on "high politics" can get annoying in later chapters. It really is a political history though. You'll find mention of cultural phenomena, but only as they pertain to the political events. However, it is extremely comprehensive in the realm it has sought to cover.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first part was really good, lays out the broad outlines of who is in Central Asia in maybe the clearest way I've read. But as the book goes on it gets pretty dense, one khan after another, and kind of loses the forest for the trees.

[Phillip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tough to read. Informative but needs more maps. Dense information.

[Wes F · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m giving this book on Central Asia 3-1/2 stars in my Reading Log. There was some very good technical info in this introduction & overview of Central Asia, but there were times it was a bit dry & story-less; i.e. sometimes it was just too much of long lists of who begat who & who ruled over who at such & such a time.

I really appreciated that Savet included Xinjiang (he used the older Sinkiang nomenclature) in what he defined as Inner Asia, or Central Asia, the vast landlocked territory between the Caspian Sea & the Taklamakan Desert of NW China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

I also appreciated his untangling of the former & obscure Soviet republics that make up Inner/Central Asia, that mix of Turkic & Persian people groups who for so long were independent khanates, before being oppressed under 70 years of Communism/socialism. There were some benefits to this Russian colonization, but they lost much of their unique heritage found in their languages/cultures & Islamic religious identity.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't let the other reviews fool you, this is a master work on the topic. On the surface the title appears to gloss over Central Asian history with a mostly militaristic narrative, but one needs to remember that the period and region we're talking about only has so much historical evidence available. So military info is going to be a good proportion of what we get.

And with that being said I found that the author did actually do a reasonable job of interspersing the title with the odd cultural tidbit. But when attempting such a broad history in a single volume we're inevitably going to miss some details, you can't get around it.

But the other reviewers are on point that this is a dense work, so if you're not someone who likes carefully parsing and interpreting a text, it may not be for you. If you are that person it's an excellent book.

[Les · Rating 3 out of 5]

A History of Inner Asia is the best one volume history I've read of a unique area now encompassed by Central Asia, Xinjiang, and Mongolia. Starting from the period immediately before the Arab conquest of Transoxiana in the 7th and 8th centuries, Soucek provides an outline of the historic, cultural and economic drivers of Inner Asia's development up to the post-Soviet period of independence. He provides thumbnail sketches of the outstanding historic figures and is particularly lucid on the role of Islam in a region that was already home to several other religions, including Zorastrianism, Christianity, and Buddhism. Soucek is adept at summarizing huge amounts of material and providing a very readable synthesis.

[Jindřich Zapletal · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is competent, but save for the valuable geographic, religious, and linguistic introduction, it is just military history. If you wanted to make a case that military history by itself is an utterly senseless direction of study, you could use this book as evidence. Which is a pity, because the author (a well-known specialist) certainly spent an enormous effort on it, and the region is fascinating from mostly every other angle than the one chosen in the book.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to give this book more stars but found the last quarter of the book, especially chapter 15 difficult to read. The author had initially tried to be unbiased but he seemed to think that Russia was a better coloniser than the other Western countries. I was so put off that I didn't finish the book.

[Irene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extremely dense, but interesting. If you are not intimately familiar with Central/Inner Asia, keep a map handy to make your life easier. Definitely an academic read for the deeply interested, and not a light read for the bored.

[Fred · Rating 5 out of 5]

该书将内亚的地理范围大致限定于中亚五国、蒙古和中国新疆，叙述时间起于伊斯兰教的诞生。该书将内亚划分为多个不同的地理区域，以不同区域的历史变化为主干，将纷繁复杂的内亚历史梳理清晰。注重各个王朝的族群、语言和文化属性，兼顾了内亚的宗教变化、文化成果和科技发展，又能恰当引用中亚历史文献，详略得当，确实是一部不错的教科书。后半部分重点讲述了内亚五国从俄罗斯的殖民地和藩属地，到苏联加盟共和国，再到独立共和国的历史进程，描述了五国内部的本地语言文化和苏联共产主义文化的矛盾冲突。

[James B · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent introduction to the history of the region. A bit confusing in terms of organization at times, but worth the read for some good context and the references.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book provides a very useful introduction to the region for readers unfamiliar with the Central Asian region

[Zekeriya · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, this book was pretty confusing. Not the material, but the way he would structure everything. I had to read certain chapters twice, in order to really grasp what was going on. Overall, a detailed book with tons of examples for points he puts forth about certain areas during specific time periods.

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good overview of the area's history. Some sections are very fact dense, with one fact leading to another without sticking to the subject of the chapter.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, although a little too basic.