Central Asia in World History

by Peter B. Golden

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, focusing largely on the unique melting pot of cultures that this region has produced over millennia. Golden describes the traders who braved the heat and cold along caravan routes to link East Asia and Europe; the Mongol Empire of Chinggis 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.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Asia, World History, China, Politics, Islam

192 pages, Paperback

First published December 23, 2010

About the author

Peter Benjamin Golden (born 1941) is an American historian who is "professor emeritus" of History, Turkish and Middle Eastern Studies at Rutgers University. He has written many books and articles on Turkic and Central Asian studies, such as An introduction to the history of the Turkic peoples.

Golden grew up in New York and attended Music & Art High School. He graduated from CUNY Queens College in 1963, before obtaining his M.A. and Ph.D. in History from Columbia University in 1968 and 1970, respectively. Golden also studied at the Dil ve Tarih – Coğrafya Fakültesi (School of Language and History – Geography) in Ankara (1967–1968). He taught at Rutgers University from 1969 until his retirement in 2012. He was Director of the Middle Eastern Studies Program (2008–2011) at Rutgers. He is an honorary member of the Türk Dil Kurumu and Kőrösi Csoma Society of Hungarian Orientalists and was a member of the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton) 2005–2006. In 2019, he was elected an Honorary Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

Reviews

[Meltem Sağlam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amerikalı bir akademisyen tarafından, “batılı” ya da belki de “tarafsız” gözle yazılmış bir Orta Asya tarihi. Jean-Paul Roux’dan (Kaynakçada adı yer almasa da) farklı tespitleri ve yorumları var. Daha derli toplu bir anlatım.

Çeviriyi ile ilgili bir görüşümü de belirtmek istiyorum. Yahya Kemal Taştan, 1976 doğumlu bir akademisyen olmasına rağmen, kullandığı Türkçe normalin üzerinde Arapça/Farsça/Osmanlıca kelimeler içeriyor. Öyle ki; sıklıkla sözlük kullanmam gerekti. Türkçe kullanımını ilginç buldum.

[Eressea · Rating 5 out of 5]

雖然是簡明的略史
畢竟一寫四萬年能詳到那去呢
但除了蒙古，大清西征
隋唐邊塞略有點概念之外
其他都是懵懵懂懂

有本像這樣的指南
就能知道之後觸角該往那伸
參考資料中有中譯的也不少
有辦法找到的話，也足夠看很久了

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Covers a lot of time & space in only 140 pages, so most of what you get is an outline of changing alliances, migrations, religious conversions, and seemingly endless warfare. The author jumps around a bit, which can be a little disconcerting when he talks about some group battling a leader who was killed off 2 pages earlier.

[Teo Nagy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished this while doing a 3 week trip across Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

I am glad that I’ve chosen this book which contains a nice round overview of Central-Asian history.

The first third of the book until 12th century was very dry and boring for me, but maybe due to personal preferences afterwards the Gengis Khan, Tamerlane and Soviet Times parts became very interesting.

[Terra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reads like the study outline for that awesome history class you took in college where you learned all the things about the history of Central Asia and it was fascinating, and this will totally help you ace the final. But I wanted the CLASS, not so much the outline. So much information, so little context! I demand maps, and pictures, and stories, and things that don't just rumble in one ear ("and then the this people did the thing and then they moved through the steppes and HEY-O now we're in a new era...") and out the other. Must admit, I didn't finish it.

[Vikas Datta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brings this long neglected but now much contested region into the spotlight and acquaints us with its relevance..

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dry as a bone, but excellent encapsulation. Only criticism is that would benefit from an inner asia centric map.

[Aysillustration · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter B. Golden'ın okuduğum ikinci eseri.
Baskı için konuşacak olursak; 2010 senesinde ilk kez yayınlanmış ama kullanılan kelimeler çok atıl kalmış. Tamamen arapça ve farsça kelimeler ile dolu. Kelime anlamları için sürekli sözlük karıştırmanz gerekiyor.
Bu kitabı okuduğumda yazarın bir diğer kitabı olan Türk Halkları Tarihine Giriş kitabından çok daha önce okumuş olmam gerektiğini farkettim. Özellikle Türk halkları ile ilgili olan bilgileri Ansiklopedi tadındaki detaylı ve anlaşılması gerçekten zor olan eser için önsöz oluşturuyor diyebiliriz. Tabii ki kitapta Türk halkları dışında İrani Halklar, Moğolllar, Çinliler, Ruslar, Hintliler gibi orta asyanın kaderine ve şekillenmesine etki eden bir çok halkın tarihi özet olarak ele alınıyor. Kitapta daha önce bilgi sahibi olmadığım ya da yanlış bildiğim bir çok konuyu da okuma fırsatı da buldum. Daha yukarıdan bir bakış ile aşırı detayda boğulmadan bir harita sonuyor kitap.
Hatırlamak adına kendime notlar;
İranı göçebe kavim iskit(Grekçe)-Saka(İran dilleri) ların orta asyadaki göçebe dünyasındaki yeri.
Türk halklarının temas halinde oldukları İran ve Çin dillerinden aldıkları kelimelerin kökeninin İslamiyetten çok öncelere dayanması(Aşina kabilesinin toharca ve çince den aldığı gök,doğu ve mavi kelimeleirni alması)
Uygular'ların çöl pompeisi diye anılan Bezeklik şehrini inşaası
Zerdüşlüğün(deve güden MÖ 1500 yılında iranda doğması, Nevruz'un irani takvimde yeni senenin başlangıcı anlamı...
Soğd Kırallığı olan Baktriya'nın İskender dönemindeki Makedon fethi ile nasıl Grek-Baktriya krallığı haline gelmesi.
Peçenek kelimesinin Tüylü Köpek, Kazak'ın asi, bugün inligizcede slave olarak bilinen köle kesimesinin ise Slav halklarından ismini alması..
İranı halkların kırallığı olan Samani'lerin 9. ve 11. yy arasında putperest diye nitelendirdikleri Türkleri esir edip, "ılımlı ve hoşgörülü" Abbasiler'e satmaları ve Abbasilerin memlük(köle) ve gulam adını verdikleri bu kişileri 200 sene boyunca islam ordusunun askerleri olarak kullanması.(Askeri Makineler)
Bu aynı zamanda Osmanlı 1400'lerde kurulan ve Turkmenler tarafından doğru bulunmayan gulam sistemin de kökenini oluşturuyor.
Sufilik(Arapça yün) yayılması. Şah ismail'in babası olan Şeyh Haydar tarafından seçilen 12 İmam ve kızıl renkte başa geçirdikleri serpuş ile Kızılbaş adınının kökeni ve Safevi Türkmen Tarikatı..
1700'lerde yalın ayak göç olarak anılan ve kazak nüfusunun 3'de 2'sini yok eden zorunlu göç..
Rusya'nın 1550'lerden sonra orta asya'ya nüfuz etmesi ve Turki halkları teker teker hakimiyeti altına alışı ve Sovyetler dönemindeki modern halklar oluşturmaya yönelik toplum mühendislikleri. 1 milyon kazakın açlıktan ölmesi…
Çin-Rusya Moğolistan sınırlarının oluşması…

[Alastair · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book as a first foray into trying to understand the history of this part of the world and I have probably picked up a handful of broad brush facts and ideas that will frame my understanding as I pick up longer, more informative books on the subject. In this sense, it has succeeded (I know something where previously I knew nothing)

However, this far-too-small book not only fell short of my expectations through its brevity (which may have been a boon due to its sometimes ponderous academic style). It also frequently left me deeply confused and frustrated by the total lack of maps. These are, surely, pivotal when the author repeatedly refers to rivers, mountains and regions, almost all of which are being encountered by the reader for the first time, and which are pivotal to understanding what is going on. Regional names in particular are extremely difficult to get a handle on because, over the course of a millennia, these designations change entirely. A quick google search (as one can do for the Syr Darya for example since it is a river) is useless: "Turkestan" and "Jungaria", for example, are not fixed entities but change so the lack of maps illustrating their extent at the points referenced in the text renders some passages almost impossible to follow. The addition of a handful of maps would have at least made this book intelligible even if still offering too cursory a look at this extremely complicated part of the world.

In short, the book is too brief an for the most part too confusing to recommend. It has, admittedly, left me with a semblance of knowledge regarding this area, hence the 2 star score, but other than that I feel this book is not really appropriate except perhaps as a primer for someone who, once upon a time, had a good understanding of the area in the first place. As it is, I am going to go read The Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan, since I believe it will be both a more comprehensive and also more entertaining read.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Certainly, this gives a taste for the diversity of the population of Central Asia as well as their long, intricate history and the various influences that shaped the region, albeit in very different ways. (Spoiler alert: Genghis Khan and Buddhism loom just as large as Islam and Russia/USSR.)

What got me, especially toward the end, was the way in which Golden jumped back and forth between time periods while discussion different peoples. I found myself flipping back a few pages numerous times just to make sure I hadn't misread dates previously. Also would have been helpful to have had more maps given the way the allegiances evolved.

[Murodbey ☾ · Rating 1 out of 5]

This books reminds school history textbooks. But the difference is the author is anti muslim christian who tried to add bad comments towards the islam and muslims even though he could have used simply the nation/race name. He used the nation names for countries like russian, bulgarians, byzantine and china refraining to call them christians or christianity. But when it comes to muslim countries he mostly used muslims and islam. Double standards? Hate towards muslims? Another antimuslim christian textbook writer? Dont waste ur time reading this book. Completely trash

[Ruthie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Despite being published in 2011, this book acts like history ended with the fall of the USSR. There’s literally nothing past the 90s discussed. A lot of shitting on the Soviets for doing what the multinationals are doing right now - siphoning gas out of Central Asia. I would have liked to at least read about how many military bases exist in the region now vs 1990s. I’m sure the answer is quite inconvenient to the Anglo-American academics of Oxford World History.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good primer on the region, however it can be a bit rushed due to the multitude of different tribes that emerge from the steppes. "The Turks in World History" by Carter Vaughn Findley from the same series covers much of the same history but goes into far greater detail on the socio-economics of the region. This is probably an easier read though for most people, and a bit more colourful.

[Amina at Book Nomad Podcast · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-written and easy-to-read overview of the history of Central Asia and its effects on the wider world. Thoroughly enjoyed it and so glad I read it.

[Nora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good overview, but it lacks maps. I know my way round most of central asia, but 70% of the time I had no idea of what area exactly the author was talking about

[Jerusalem]

Alan ile ilgili son literatürü komple özetlemiş, mevcut kabuller üzerine inşa edilmiş, ilgisi için birinci dereceden 101 kitabı.

[Denizhan Lermi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Written with a completely orientalist perspective, it is a disgraceful study of the academy community, which reveals Golden's Turkish allergy and does not even like to mention the name of Turkıstan.

[Jim Gise · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tad dry but thorough and well-written

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad. For my history of Central Asia class. The last line of the book made me laugh.

[Sarbajit Ghosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

whirlwind tour with no storytelling, but it wasn't meant to tell me stories anyway

[Daniel Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really interesting narrative, because each chapter is written as a unitary essay about a particular time period. As a result, the author weaves together the ebbs and flows of dynasties, the movement of peoples, and the cultural development of many communities.

I really appreciate how well the author tied these themes together. They surveyed kings and commoners - what was the literacy rate in Tsarist Tatarstan? How did Uzbek herdsmen live? Sure, tell me about the Sogdian dancers who performed in China!

Ethnogenesis plays a major role in this book. How did different peoples change their langauges and religion and us/them identities. How did Turkic peoples become Ozbeks become modern Uzbeks? How did Ozbek-Kazaqs become Kazakhs, with a threefold Great/Middle/Little Horde social division? And what does Tajik mean?

My only critique is that the book needed more maps. For as many cities, archaeological sites, natural landmarks, and nomad states that were named, only a few are mentioned on maps. For example - Transoxiana is referenced constantly, and yet on none of the books maps is "Oxus River" labelled. My favorite example is this bit from page 54:

"This is evident in the extraordinary wall paintings that have been preserved in the ruins of the Sogdian city of Panjikand. It was briefly the capital of Dewashtich, a ruler who titled himself the King of Sogdia."

Question - where's Sogdia! If we have an archaeological site, a city, and a kingdom, surely one of these could appear on a map.

Aside from that, this was a great book. The most interesting thing I learned was about how the control of horses enabled the Mongol conquests. The author highlighted how Chinggis Khan himself focused on conquering other Central Asian states - the Jin Khanate in northern China, the Khwarazamanian Shahs of Transoxiana, the Naimans and Merkits, the Tanguts. As a result, by his death the Mongols controlled over 50% of the global horse population (p. 84). No wonder they were so powerful!

Although there are definitely more resources in the back, the actual text is quick and easy - and I say that as a compliment. I picked this up because frankly, I play a lot of strategy computer games and I was curious about the Central Asian peoples and places that show up. This is just 139 pages, and I actually feel like I learned a lot without this being dense.

If you have even the slightest tiniest interest in Central Asia, go ahead and give this a read.

[Claire Binkley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This answered many of the questions stirred in my mind from my previous studies of varied Asian histories! It also gives me a foothold to anchor myself in future studies.

I have heard much of this before, but I can't understand much of what people tell me even in English, so seeing it on the page helps me tremendously.

Let me try to generate a 10-question list after completing this!
1. How the hell didn't I understand the Tartars and the Mongols were the same people before now?
2. How did Islam galvanise so many people where the other faiths failed?
3. Does the Silk Road get used any more?
5. How are Genghis and Chinggis the same? Oh, pronouncing the initial G like gem?
6. What can I extract from my understanding of Russian and Chinese history to enhance my understanding of this?
7. What can I use from this to enhance my Verst After Verst tale?
8. Could I get any of the books this one refers to?
9. How is this hard to understand?
10. Will I have to go to anywhere in the Turkestan area soon?
11. How did the Soviet division of this area differ from how the people wanted?

I am so thankful to the reference librarian who pointed me to this book, and to my friend Lena for talking with me in such depth about this!

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was reluctant to rate this a 4 because of the lack of continuity and organization. There is lots of really good information, particularly for covering centuries of history in about 140 pages of text, but the author does a lot of jumping around, which makes it a little harder to follow than I think it should be.

To be fair, covering such a long timeframe for multitudes of nations, clans, tribes and other groupings isn't easy, especially for an area that was a continuous flux of migrations. Finding a good way to present the material would be a challenge for the best of writers.

[Siying Dong · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is very concise. It introduces a basic framework of history of Central Asia and its relationship with nearby powers. It's good because that's exactly what I want. I guess many people are the same as me, in the sense that they will only be interested in knowing more about a missing piece of an integrated history of Eurasia, if they are interested in Central Asian history at all. The book is good because it is short and didn't dig deeply and on the other hand complete and easy to understand.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moves quickly through the region's history, and if I am left with a general overview and more questions, I suppose that it is a good start. Hints of the spread of religion, Islam (especially via Sufism and trade), Tibetan Buddhism (offering political legitimacy), and Nestorian Christianity, plus a depth of cultural and political history damaged by the decline of the Silk Road and the rise of Russia and China. Sometimes encyclopedic and listy, but enjoyable.

[Guy VanHorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good and informative book. Last couple of chapters are about Russian "colonization" and "annexation". Interesting that today, their conquest ambitions are still strong.