Begin with a geographic overview of Central Asia, a land of climatic extremes, encompassing mountain ranges, rivers, vast deserts, and fertile steppes. Take account of the two types of societies that emerged here: nomadic peoples of the desert and steppe and agriculturalists of the waterways and oases. Learn about the ways of life of these peoples, and their historical interactions.

The Scythians were among the first people to dominate large parts of Central Asia. Explore their nomadic lifestyle, and their excavated burial mounds, showing spectacular grave goods with great artistic sophistication. Review astonishing archaeological findings that confirm some of the more outlandish parts of Herodotus’s account of the Scythians from the fourth century BCE.

The history of the Eurasian steppe was shaped by the interface of the nomadic tribes at its core and the sedentary civilizations that surrounded it. Track the incursions onto the steppe of the Persian Achaemenid Dynasty, the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, the Kushan Empire, and the Han Dynasty of China. See how these interactions produced a remarkable fusion of cultures, ideas, and languages.

Religion became a key form of cultural fusion in early Central Asia. Trace the influence in the region of the beliefs and rituals of Zoroastrianism, and the role of Buddhism in the development of long-distance trade. Road. Learn of the ancient civilization’s embrace of Nestorian Christianity, through which the religion first entered Central Asia and China.

The Xiongnu nomads of Mongolia were one of the first nomadic confederations to become an empire. Chart the Xiongnu’s defeat of the Chinese Han dynasty, and the eventual success of the Han in reducing the Xiongnu to vassals. Learn about the key role of procured luxury goods in Xiongnu political culture, the stunning intricacy of nomadic animal art, and core nomadic religious beliefs and practices.

Trace the origins of Turkic nomadic peoples, the emergence of the Turkic khaganate in the sixth century, and their expansion to become the first empire to link Europe with China. With the fall of the Turk khaganate, there rose another Turkic empire, the Uyghur khaganate. Grasp the distinctive role of the religion of Manichaeism under Uyghur rule and the Uyghur construction of impressive cities.