History Central Asia Is Perhaps the Best Place on Earth to Explore the Reality of the Phrase ‘The Sweep of History’
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© Lonely Planet Publications 34 www.lonelyplanet.com 35 History Central Asia is perhaps the best place on earth to explore the reality of the phrase ‘the sweep of history’. Populations, conquerors, cultures and ideas have traversed the region’s steppes, deserts and mountains for millennia. For more on the Silk Central Asia’s role as a conduit between cultures is symbolised by the Silk Road, including Road, through which the great civilisations of the East and the West first recommended books, made contact. But Central Asia was, and is, more than just a middle ground, see p53 . and its cultural history is far more than the sum of the influences brought from the East and the West. Here in the heart of the largest landmass on earth, vast steppes provided the one natural resource – grass – required to build one of this planet’s most formidable and successful forms of statehood, the nomadic empire. The grass- See www.orientarch.uni fed horses by the millions and mounted archers remained the unstoppable -halle.de/ca/bud/bud.htm acme of open-ground warfare for more than 2500 years. How the settled for more on the civilisations on the periphery of Eurasia interacted with successive waves of archaeology of mounted nomadic hordes is the main theme of the story of Central Asia. southeastern Central Asia. PREHISTORY & EARLY HISTORY In the Middle Palaeolithic period, from 100,000 to 35,000 years ago, people in Central Asia were isolated from Europe and elsewhere by ice sheets, seas and swamps. Cultural continuity begins in the late 3rd millennium BC with the Indo- Iranians, speakers of an unrecorded Indo-European dialect related distantly to English. The Indo-Iranians are believed to have passed through Central Asia on their way from the Indo-European homeland in southern Russia. From Central Asia, groups headed southeast for India and southwest for Iran. These peoples herded cattle, went to battle in chariots, and prob- ably buried their dead nobles in burial mounds (kurgans). The Tajiks are linguistic descendants of these ancient migrants. One of these subsequent Indo-European groups was the Sakas (also known as Scythians), who have left kurgans, rock carvings and other remains across Central Asia. For more UNEARTHING THE AMAZONS As early as the 5th century BC the Greek historian Herodotus knew of an army of women war- riors, known as the Amazons, who were so dedicated to warfare that they allegedly cut off their own right breast in order to improve their shot with bows and arrows. Recent excavations of Saka (Scythian)burial mounds (kurgans), on the Kazakh border with Russia, are unearthing some intriguing links to these perhaps not-so-mythical warrior women. Archaeologists have discovered skeletons of women, bow-legged from a life in the saddle, buried with swords, daggers and bronze-tipped arrows, indicating warrior status. Others appear to be priestesses, buried with cultic implements, bronze mirrors and elaborate headdresses. The finds indicate that women of these early steppe civilisations were trained from the outset to be warriors, fighting alongside men, perhaps even forming an elite social group. The status of these steppe women seems far higher than that of sedentary civilisations of the same time, challenging the stereotypical macho image of the Central Asian nomad. TIMELINE 100,000–40,000 years ago 2nd millennium BC Remains of Neanderthal man found at Aman-Kutan cave Saka/Scythian tombs in the Pamirs and the tomb of near Samarkand Sarazm (western Tajikistan) date from this period © Lonely Planet Publications 34 www.lonelyplanet.com 35 History Central Asia is perhaps the best place on earth to explore the reality of the phrase ‘the sweep of history’. Populations, conquerors, cultures and ideas have traversed the region’s steppes, deserts and mountains for millennia. For more on the Silk Central Asia’s role as a conduit between cultures is symbolised by the Silk Road, including Road, through which the great civilisations of the East and the West first recommended books, made contact. But Central Asia was, and is, more than just a middle ground, see p53 . and its cultural history is far more than the sum of the influences brought from the East and the West. Here in the heart of the largest landmass on earth, vast steppes provided the one natural resource – grass – required to build one of this planet’s most formidable and successful forms of statehood, the nomadic empire. The grass- See www.orientarch.uni fed horses by the millions and mounted archers remained the unstoppable -halle.de/ca/bud/bud.htm acme of open-ground warfare for more than 2500 years. How the settled for more on the civilisations on the periphery of Eurasia interacted with successive waves of archaeology of mounted nomadic hordes is the main theme of the story of Central Asia. southeastern Central Asia. PREHISTORY & EARLY HISTORY In the Middle Palaeolithic period, from 100,000 to 35,000 years ago, people in Central Asia were isolated from Europe and elsewhere by ice sheets, seas and swamps. Cultural continuity begins in the late 3rd millennium BC with the Indo- Iranians, speakers of an unrecorded Indo-European dialect related distantly to English. The Indo-Iranians are believed to have passed through Central Asia on their way from the Indo-European homeland in southern Russia. From Central Asia, groups headed southeast for India and southwest for Iran. These peoples herded cattle, went to battle in chariots, and prob- ably buried their dead nobles in burial mounds (kurgans). The Tajiks are linguistic descendants of these ancient migrants. One of these subsequent Indo-European groups was the Sakas (also known as Scythians), who have left kurgans, rock carvings and other remains across Central Asia. For more UNEARTHING THE AMAZONS As early as the 5th century BC the Greek historian Herodotus knew of an army of women war- riors, known as the Amazons, who were so dedicated to warfare that they allegedly cut off their own right breast in order to improve their shot with bows and arrows. Recent excavations of Saka (Scythian)burial mounds (kurgans), on the Kazakh border with Russia, are unearthing some intriguing links to these perhaps not-so-mythical warrior women. Archaeologists have discovered skeletons of women, bow-legged from a life in the saddle, buried with swords, daggers and bronze-tipped arrows, indicating warrior status. Others appear to be priestesses, buried with cultic implements, bronze mirrors and elaborate headdresses. The finds indicate that women of these early steppe civilisations were trained from the outset to be warriors, fighting alongside men, perhaps even forming an elite social group. The status of these steppe women seems far higher than that of sedentary civilisations of the same time, challenging the stereotypical macho image of the Central Asian nomad. TIMELINE 100,000–40,000 years ago 2nd millennium BC Remains of Neanderthal man found at Aman-Kutan cave Saka/Scythian tombs in the Pamirs and the tomb of near Samarkand Sarazm (western Tajikistan) date from this period 36 HISTORY •• Prehistory & Early History lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com HISTORY •• Alexander the Great 37 on Kazakhstan’s famous ‘Golden Man’ find, dating from a 5th-century Saka called Semireche by the Russians), extending indefinitely over the steppes For a detailed chronicle of (Scythian) kurgan outside Almaty, see p119 . beyond the Syr-Darya and including the Tian Shan range, was the home of Central Asian history try Central Asia’s recorded history begins in the 6th century BC, when the nomadic warriors until their way of life ended in the late 19th century. Empire of the Steppes by large Achaemenid empire of Persia (modern Iran) created client kingdoms Rene Grousset, A History or satrapies (provinces), in Central Asia: Sogdiana (Sogdia), Khorezm (later ALEXANDER THE GREAT of Inner Asia by Svat Khiva), Bactria (Afghan Turkestan), Margiana (Merv), Aria (Herat), Saka In 330 BC this former pupil of Aristotle, from Macedonia, led his army to a Soucek or the excellent (Scythia) and Arachosia (Ghazni and Kandahar). Sogdiana was the land key victory over the last Achaemenid emperor, Darius III, in Mesopotamia. Central Asia is strewn (but hard to find) Central between the Amu-Darya and Syr-Darya, called Transoxiana by the Romans With the defeat of his Persian nemesis, Alexander (356–323 BC) developed with ancient petroglyphs, Asia by Gavin Hambly. and Mawarannhr by the Arabs (both names mean ‘Beyond the Oxus’). Here a taste for conquest. By 329 BC he had reached modern Herat, Kandahar and some of the best of Bukhara and Samarkand later flourished. Khorezm lay on the lower reaches Kabul. Crossing the Hindu Kush he pressed northward to Bactria, crossed which can be visited of the Amu-Darya, south of the Aral Sea, where one day the 19th-century the Oxus (Amu-Darya) on inflated hides and proceeded via Cyropol/Cy- at Saimaluu Tash in khans of Khorezm would lord it from the walled city of Khiva. Saka (also ropolis (Istaravshan) and Marakanda (Samarkand) and towards the Jaxartes Kyrgyzstan ( p323 ) and (Syr-Darya), which he crossed in order to crush Saka defenders. Perhaps in Tamgaly in Southeastern 0 500 km Kazakhstan ( p138 ). CENTRAL ASIA THROUGH HISTORY 0 300 miles celebration he founded his ninth city, Alexandria Eskhate (Farthest Alexan- dria), on the banks of the Jaxartes where today’s Khojand stands. Alexander met the most stubborn resistance of his career in the Sogdians, who in concert with the Massagetes, a Saka clan, revolted and under the leadership of Spitamenes held the mountains of Zerafshan (Zeravshan) until 328 BC. After an 18-month guerrilla war, the rebels’ fall was a poignant one: attacked and defeated after Greek troops scaled the cliffs of their last redoubt Alexander the Great, known locally as Iskander River A L T A Y the ‘Rock of Sogdiana’ (its location today in the Hissar Mountains remains a Ural mystery), their leader yielding his daughter, the beautiful Bactrian princess or Sikander, is a popular Roxana, into captivity and marriage to Alexander.