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

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).

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