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From a critically acclaimed author-a comprehensive history of the part of the world currently making headlines

The former Soviet republics of Central Asia comprise a sprawling, politically pivotal, densely populated, and richly cultured area of the world that is nonetheless poorly represented in libraries and mainstream media. Since their political incorporation in Stalin's Soviet era, these countries have gone through a flash of political and economical evolution. But despite these rapid changes, the growth of oil wealth and U.S. jockeying, and the opening of the region to tourists and businessmen, the spirit of Central Asia has remained untouched at its core.

In this comprehensive new treatment, renowned political writer and historian Dilip Hiro offers us a narrative that places the modern politics, peoples, and cultural background of this region firmly into the context of current international focus. Given the strategic location of Central Asia, its predominantly Muslim population, and its hydrocarbon and other valuable resources, it comes as no surprise that the five Central Asian republics are emerging in the twenty-first century as one of the most potentially influential-and coveted-patches of the globe. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A Comprehensive and Useful Overview
I read Dilip Hiro's "Inside Central Asia: A Political and Cultural History of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Iran" because I wanted to get a solid introduction to this region, and to this end the book was successful. Although Hiro discusses seven complicated countries, he manages to provide a very comprehensive and detailed overview. Some countries are discussed in greater detail than others (e.g., Uzbekistan gets 73 pages, Kyrgyzstan and Iran each get about 30) but all chapters provide a good starting place for those interested in studying any one country in greater detail. The "Summary and Conclusions" chapter was particularly useful.

Hiro's choice to include chapters on Turkey and Iran was logical, given the immense importance of these countries on the past, present, and future of the central Asian republics. Russia (and the Soviet Union), Afghanistan, the United States, and China are not given their own chapters, but they are intimately involved in all of the book's chapters. This is especially true of the Soviet Union, whose policies profoundly shaped Central Asia. The Soviet Union is discussed in detail, and I came away from the book with a much better understanding of its history and policies in the region. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Hiro explains how Russia continues to loom large in its so-called "near abroad" (this is particularly true given the large number of Russians who migrated to the region during the Soviet era). The United Stats enters the picture forcefully after 9/11, and its often ambiguous relations with the nascent republics, primarily concerning military bases and human rights, are well discussed. American relations with repressive regimes are especially complex and distressing, as America often turns a blind eye towards--or financially rewards--authoritarian abuses so as to secure reliable military partners in the "war on terrorism." In the troubling case of Uzbekistan, this relationship explodes following the mind-boggling Andijan massacre of 2005.

On that note, this book is also a useful study of how corrupt autocrats achieve and hold power through internal and external maneuvering. With the possible exception of Kyrgyzstan, all of the Central Asian Republics have been and still are ruled by strongmen who--having come to power during the collapse of the Soviet Union--have enriched themselves while oppressing dissent, religion, and anything resembling real democracy. Hiro provides interesting portraits of these leaders, who range from megalomaniacal and often amusing (Niyazov "Turkmenbashi" of Turkmenistan) and wildly corrupt (all of them) to utterly savage (Karimov of Uzbekistan).

My main gripe is that, despite its title, the book is primarily concerned with the politics rather than the cultures of this region. The role of religion in politics is discussed extensively, but, as another reviewer has mentioned, most cultural lessons take the form of sudden asides on this or that feature of Central Asian life. However, Hiro does a good job discussing the importance of national myth and history (fictive or otherwise) on the nationalist projects of different regimes. My interest occasionally flagged when Hiro presents detailed discussions of Soviet resource production, membership in political parties, and a sometimes bewildering parade of politicians in each country. Also, I couldn't help but notice that Hiro once inexplicably cites Wikipedia for a note on Iranian Jews (note 5, Chapter 7)! I would have liked more discussion of China's influence in the region, especially given that its sizable Xinjiang Uyghur population is frequently included in discussions of Central Asia (the Uyghurs are only mentioned once). Nevertheless, on the whole the book appears well researched and reasonable in its arguments.

Generally, if you are looking for an up-to-date and in-depth overview of contemporary Central Asia, "Inside Central Asia" delivers.

Good Account of Modern Central Asia
"Inside Central Asia", by Dilip Hiro, provides a good account of the "Stan" nations of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.There is a chapter on each of these nations.Each chapter gives a short history of the nation, but the focus of the narrative is on post World War II era politics and Post Cold War politics.It highlights the influence of the Soviet Union on the Central Asian nations while they were a part of the USSR, and their attempts to find individual paths after the fall of Soviet government in Moscow.It details the struggle of each nation's leaders with the renewed growth of Islam, and the influence from the Taliban in Afghanistan.He gives an excellent account of the mostly corrupt doings of the nation's leaders.Mostly, it explains the constant struggles between Russia, Turkey and Iran to wield overall influence in Central Asia.The book ends suggesting that Russian influence is again on the rise.While Turkish influence was greatest after the fall of the Soviet Union, their power to influence Central Asia waned as Islamism grew stronger in Ankara.Overall, this is a good read to understand modern Central Asia and its politics.

A 'must' for any library strong in Asian history and culture
INSIDE CENTRAL ASIA: A POLITICAL AND CULTURAL HISTORY OF UZBEKISTAN, TURKMENISTAN, KAZAKHSTAN, KYRGYZSTAN, TAJIKISTAN, TURKEY AND IRAN is a 'must' for any library strong in Asian history and culture, especially as these regions are typically given only cursory attention in favor of Japan, Korea and others. The former Soviet republics of Central Asia represent a politically pivotal region and are essential study for any who would understanding the pressures in the region. Political writer and historian Dilip Hiro's analysis of the politics and daily lives of the peoples of these countries is detailed and essential.

A useful overview of recent Central Asian history
This provides a thorough and often insightful account of the recent history of today's five Central Asian states: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

The main focus is on the post-Soviet history of the new nations, but Hiro begins with an introductory chapter on the history of the region, starting from the earliest times and then providing increasingly detailed coverage of the Tsarist and Soviet periods up to 1950.

Each of the five nations is then covered in its own chapter, starting with its development in the final years of the USSR, then with its leap to independence, and then the subsequent years of nation building.There are many common themes, including the struggles to reassert (or create) a unifying national identity, to create functioning economies after the post-Soviet economic collapse, the tensions of overlapping ethnic groups, the resurgence of interest in traditional Islam, and a strong tendency towards authoritarian one-party rule.

The last twenty years have not always been easy in this region, and Hiro is willing to be fairly hard-hitting in discussing some of the difficulties, including the outright megalomania of Niyazov's personal rule in Turkmenistan, the regional rivalries behind the Tajikistan civil war, and the allegations of high-level corruption in Kazakhstan.He explains the background and consequences of ethnic tensions and Islamic movements in the Fergana valley, including the tensions that led to the tragic Andijon incident.

As well as the chapters on the five Central Asian nations, Hiro also includes chapters on Turkey and Iran.These are both useful short histories in their own right, but unfortunately the Turkish chapter is mostly unrelated to Central Asia, other than a few paragraphs noting Turkey's limited influence.The Iranian chapter is much more relevant, with an insightful explanation of how shared fears over the rise of the radical Sunni Taliban led to rapprochement between the generally secular Central Asian regimes and the strongly Shiite Iran.

While I found this work generally useful and readable, there are also some weaknesses.The writing quality is sometimes rather uneven and I got the impression that various parts of the book may have been written at different times, for different purposes.Especially in the chapter on Turkey, Hiro sometimes wanders off into strange side topics, such as the introduction of yogurt to 15th c. France. The two included maps are very weak (Kazakhstan's current capital is missing from both!).

But these quibbles aside, this is generally a very readable overview of the region.This is an area with a complex recent history, so having a single tightly written account is valuable.
... Read more

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"The History of Bukhara" by Narshakhi is unusual among city histories of the Middle East since it gives information on the origin of the city, its early rulers, and a topography of the city and surrounding villages, rather than merely biographies of religious leaders. The original publication has long been out of date and was oversupplied with footnotes. Richard Frye's translation from the Persian original has been corrected and is presented in a simple, readable form with introduction, commentary and appendices. Bukhara in the tenth century, under the rule of the Samanids, was a cultural centre that rivaled Baghdad, and it was called "the dome of learning in the East'. It was a populous metropolis, capital of the semi-independent dynasty which ruled most of present-day Iran and Central Asia. It was in Bukhara that the so-called 'Persian Renaissance' began, where the Persian language was raised to rival Arabic, and where poetry in the New Persian language was fostered by the rulers. Narshakhi describes life in villages, and how the Sogdian language continued to be spoken; he discusses textiles, coinage, and religious movements.This is a primary source for life in eastern Iran and Central Asia during a period of change in the Islamic world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Historically Significant
Bukhara seems to have been not only an important religious destination going back 10,000 years, but it has played a critical role in various religions such as idol worshipers of the early Sumerian era, Tengerism, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Judaism, and finally Islam. The book is rich in the oral history of the region, and there are many interesting stories about the villages that once existed in the ancient times, or what the landscapes surrounding the entire region of Bukhara were once like before the building of permanent settlements. As it's well known many of the Islamic historians originally came from this region and wrote extensively about the Medicinal knowledge that grew from the many civilizations that formed out of this remarkable place, leading to what eventually came to be known as Chinese medicine. Ancient Iranian folk tales are also written about, since many of the important symbolic characters of the Persian empire had to pass through this region, either erecting villages in their own name or constructing fire worshiping temples. The ancient Dravidian town names were well recorded in the oral histories, names that are now no longer even mentioned or spoken of.

For those interested in Islamic history this book would be equally interesting. There are many stories written about the early Arab invaders who forced the people into accepting Islam. Since this book was originally recorded as it was presented at an Arab court in the 9th century it was astonishing to read the extent to which cruelty was allowed to be written about. That is the level of torturous cruelty practiced towards the people who refused to accept Islam as a religion in this particular region. Beginning with the first appointed Umayyad caliphs well into the rule of the Abbasids this region endured many turmoils first for not accepting Islam and later for it's acceptance of Islam. According to these early accounts several of the Arab commanders would raid these towns from Bukhara to Transoxania every summer for many years to simply stock up on slaves, and to raid the enormous wealth of these trading towns. Eventually, the frequent battles,and damaging losses by the raids caused enough bloodshed that this ancient trading town and the entire region was no longer able to maintain its valuable crop lands, or its lucrative trading routes. Even after Islam was forcefully accepted, the Arab commanders fought each other over the use of the lands leading to more cities being burned to the ground, and more of the people being massacred. In one of the many yearly invasions alone 40,000 slaves including royal family members of Bukhara and Samarqand were slaved and taken back to Mecca to be sold into slavery or to be put to work on the farms of Medina and the surrounding towns of Saudi Arabia.

To better understand the effects of all these changes the silk road and trade is brought to ones attention repeatedly. The silk road that we know of during the Islamic times seems to have been far more lucrative before the Arab invasions, and the resulting devastation forced the region into rewriting itself in the Islamic era as Arab commanders were reappointed to each town along this very important trading route. Yemenites were also actively settled in at this time by Arab commanders who seemed to have shared parts of the former city centers after forcefully replacing the former townspeople. Inhabitants of towns such as Bukhara, Samarqand, and Balkh were eventually forced by Islamic leaders to give up half of their homes, and lands to Arab settlers who chose this alternative as the final step in converting the people to Islam. Living amongst the local people all year around in their own residence eventually paved the way for the evolution of Islam to take place, and securing the silk roads wealth in the hands of the Muslims. Also note worthy, are the Many Turkish tribes who are mentioned of, who seemed to have also come face to face with the Arabs during this time period. The Turks were allied with the original townspeople, but soon became enemies of each other as these towns were replaced with Islamic converts. It is a heart breaking history to say the least, but worth learning about since all the names and dates are meticulously recorded, and therefore can be researched further. ... Read more

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Invaded by the Persians under Darius I, the Macedonians under Alexander the Great, the Arabs in the eighth century and the Moguls in the 13th, Uzbekistan evolved into a richly-textured country that came to dominate Central Asia until its annexation by Russia in the 19th century. Apart from giving an account of its history and culture, this title examines the country's development since the break-up of the Soviet Union, its social, political and economic orientation in the modern world and its role as a bridge between East and West, North and South. In the political field, the author investigates the present system of government and the democratic institutions that have been put in place. In the economic field, he discusses Uzbekistan's path to economic reform and its macroeconomic stabilization strategy, and explains the country's failure to espouse the Western model of economic reform. As for the social setting, Dr Yalcin provides a detailed account of the ethnic minorities living alongside Uzbekistan's Muslim majority, and analyzes inter-ethnic relations.The diversity of information on this increasingly important and little-known country makes this an important work for those with an interest in the modernization taking place not only in Uzbekistan, but in Central Asia as a whole. ... Read more

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Read for pre-1998 background only
An overview of Uzbek history, with focus on Uzbek society, but the book has value as background reading only.The material does not even mention, much less address, the '98 regional crisis and its implications for Uzbekistan (conspicuously missing from the chapter on Economic Transformation) and dramatic changes following 9/11/01 have made the chapter on Foreign Policy and External Relations outdated. ... Read more

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Uzbekistan has recently come to the attention to global strategic planners.This report puts these executives on the fast track.Ten chapters provide: an overview of how to strategically access this important market, a discussion on economic fundamentals, marketing & distribution options, export and direct investment options, and full risk assessments (political, cultural, legal, human resources).Ample statistical benchmarks and comparative graphs are given. ... Read more

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In this study of the modern Uzbeks, Professor Edward A. Allworth provides a comprehensive and authoritative survey of an important group of Muslim people who live within the boundaries of the Soviet Union.After the Russians and the Ukranians, the Uzbeks are the largest ethnic group in the Soviet Union and the strongest of a number of Muslim communities that populate the vast region of Central Asia. Although he concentrates especially on the imperial Russian and Soviet periods of history, the author also gives earlier periods of Uzbek history solid scholarly assessment.Meticulously analyzed are Uzbek relations with their foreign rulers, the Uzbek response to Russification and modernization, and the ethnic and religous issues in Uzbek society. Also included is a critique of Soviet historiography and the underlying philosophical and ideological commitments that have shaped the study of history in the Soviet Union.Invaluable to scholars is the survey and assessment of Uzbek documents in Turkish, European, and American depositiories.

Customer Reviews (2)

A Scholarly History/Ethnography
This is primarily an ethnography that addresses the changing aspects of Uzbek group identity from its emergence in the 15th Century until shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union.The author necessarily includes some historiographic discussion, but the book cannot simply be described as a straightforward history.There is no attempt to lay out a linear chronology that would be helpful for a beginner or even intermediate-level student.

Accordingly, I give a qualified recommendation for the book.If you have advanced background in Central Asia, and preferably some knowledge of Russian and/or Uzbek, the author's command of his sources is extremely useful.I found his approach to literary sources and intellectual movements as evidence of group identity fascinating and enlightening.Although the material is out of date (it was published in 1990, before the independence of modern Uzbekistan), it has proven prescient in its discussion of charismatic strongmen as a rallying-point for social identification -- for better or for worse.My primary complaint with the scholarship is that too many of the author's assertions that should have been foot-noted are not, making his conclusions untestable.And as Central Asia opens up in the wake of the Soviet collapse, increased access to sources will probably undermine some of Allworth's data.

For a beginner, the book is probably worthless, and possibly unfinishable.The writing is not elegant or easy.The author assumes too much familiarity with historical figures, and with archaic geographical terms (like Bactria, Sogdiana and the Qipchaq plains) which are not defined and which do not appear on modern maps.An undergraduate-level student will find the sources, very few of which are in English, almost totally worthless.

I rate this book as highly as I do because I doubt many beginners will bother to pick up such a thick book on such an obscure topic.Advanced readers should find it a treasure-trove of ethnographic information on an ethnic group that will play an increasingly large role in regional events.

"When is an Uzbek not an Uzbek ?"
As empires break, new states often emerge.In the last 150 years, the basis for such new states has been mainly nationalism.But in Africa, to take the main example, the colonial powers carved out new entities on the basis of their ability to reach or control African regions.More often than not, they divided peoples and linguistic groups, creating totally artificial nations that ran counter to all traditional polities.What happened in Central Asia in the 1920s was another version of that process.Allworth has written a masterly work on aspects of Central Asian culture and--- though he doesn't often emphasize it---on what exactly can be called "Uzbek" and why.Erudite and full of careful, wide-ranging research, Allworth's book is not an easy read, full of thousands of names, and arcane details of Central Asian history.He traces the arrival of so-called Uzbeks in southern Central Asia to the start of the 15th century.They came from two directions as two separate groups and the designation "Uzbek" may have been an uncomplimentary term used by those whose lands they invaded.The name certainly never appeared in the long history of civilization in the region before that.The "Uzbeks" of that time deposed the Timurids, descendants of the famous Timur (Tamerlane).Allworth does not pursue a political history, but rather a cultural one, writing on such topics as values, religion, leadership, diplomacy, poetry, and education.He follows Central Asian civilization through the decline of the 1600s, a revival in the 1700s, decay in the first half of the 1800s, and then the Russian conquest.All this takes up the first third of the book.The Russians found a vast region--Muslim, full of clan/tribal associations, a conglomeration of city, farm, and nomadic peoples, speaking many dialects of a Turkic language, which in its literary form (though few were literate) was known as Turki.The author has almost nothing to say about Persian-speaking Tajiks, but notes that many of them spoke Turki as well.

As in most parts of Asia and Africa, the impact of the West touched off reform movements.Recognizing that gaining freedom would be a matter of using Western institutions, education, and technology against the colonialists, people tried to change their traditional culture from the inside.In Central Asia, this took place under the leadership of the Jadid movement, opposed by both the Russians and the traditionalists among the Muslim population.Russia set up a large province called "Turkistan" as well as maintaining two client states---Bukhara and Khwarazm.Literature, newspapers, education, foreign contacts, Jadid activists and writers--Allworth looks at all these in his detailed analysis of Central Asian cultural history between 1865 and 1917.

Soon after the Bolshevik Revolution, Central Asia was wracked by violent struggle and hunger.Allworth mentions these in passing, but concentrates more on how and why the new Communist leaders decided to divide Central Asia and create separate nations.For centuries, Central Asians had regarded themselves as Muslims, subjects of such and such ruler, and later as Turkistanis.There were no nationalities, no ethnic labels as such, though tribal identification had resonance.There was no such thing as specifically Uzbek literature until 1922 !People did not identify themselves as Uzbeks.Even outsiders commonly used the word "Sart" to refer to the dwellers of southern Central Asia."The lack of strong monoethnic identity particularly retarded the emergence of a specifically `Uzbek' culture and education in modern times." Allworth provides "reliable, firsthand proof that as late as the start of the 1920s, no unified, self-confident Uzbek aggregate existed."Soviet bureaucrats chose several subgroups from the Turkistani whole and declared them to be nationalities.After that, the process inevitably turned to creating "languages" and "national cultures" for these new "nationalities",Eventually, after the creation of an Uzbekistan whose inhabitants did not want it, (protesters suffered the usual fate of dissidents under Stalin---those who wanted a unified Turkistan were condemned as "nationalists" !A fine piece of Orwellism.), Soviet scholars created an Uzbek history with national heroes, some of whom were Timurids deposed and killed by the original Uzbeks back in the 15th century !The process was even more cynical and destructive than what I have described.Two-thirds of the book covers this whole creation of a reluctant nation.The text comes to an end before the breakup of the Soviet Union.Based on what Allworth has written, I would venture to say that the iron-fisted rule of Karimov continues to keep people from considering any other type of state.Anything less might lead to chaos and then an entirely new picture of Central Asia, certainly endangering Soviet types like him.Will the Soviet creations stand the test of time or will Central Asia reshape itself in future ?If you want to think about this problem, you must read THE MODERN UZBEKS.It will surely remain the foremost book on the subject for many years to come.

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Uzbekistan more than any other country in the area is likely to play a critical role in shaping Central Asia's future. Situated at the heart of the region and sharing borders with all the other Central Asian states, Uzbekistan is the most powerful and populous of the new states of Central Asia.
In this volume, the historical origins of Uzbekistan are explored and the range of political, economic and social challenges faced by the country since independence is charted. Particular attention is given to the emergence of highly authoritarian politics in the country and the implications of this regime for the prospects of economic development, ethnic peace, and the growth of political Islam.
The emergence of Tashkent as a force in the international system and the importance of Uzbekistan to other countries in the area, to regional powers and to the leading western countries and international organizations is also examined. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A book for beginners
This is not a book for someone who already knows a lot about Uzbekistan.Melvin is a 'nationalities' expert who has no evident background in Uzbek or the Uzbeks, so there is little in the way of in-depth analysis.If you are just looking to get a general review of Uzbekistan, this may be the book for you - at only 123 pages in paperback, it won't take long to get through.It's generally pretty readable, except for the occasional run-on sentance.You also need to beware of some sloppy editing that misidentifies dates and people.The book is primarily about politics, not culture, so if you are looking for something on history, culture, or religion, I suggest that you keep looking. ... Read more

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This work is a chronological account of the struggle between the AfghanAmirs of Kabul and the Manghit Dynasty of Bukhara for Balkh province (wilayat) during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Drawing extensivelyon India Office Records, Persian and native oral sources, the book provides aunique insight into an important, but little-studied Central Asian region.Structured around the history of Maimana's Mingid dynasty, the book detailsthe various military campaigns, whilst also examining critically Britain andRussia's role in the `Afghanisation' of Balkh during the period of the `GreatGame'.The work is especially significant to historians since it questionsconventional perceptions of Central Asia during the era of Europeanimperialism. It examines too Balkh's social and economic situation. Itincludes numerous maps, charts, photographs and dynastic charts. ... Read more

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In recent years, the Uzbekistan government has been criticized for its brutal suppression of its Muslim population. This book, which is based on the author's intimate acquaintance with the region and several years of ethnographic research, is about how Muslims in this part of the world negotiate their religious practices despite the restraints of a stifling authoritarian regime. Fascinatingly, the book also shows how the restrictive atmosphere has actually helped shape the moral context of peoples' lives, and how understandings of what it means to be a Muslim emerge creatively out of lived experience. ... Read more

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Chapters: Khazars, Eurasian Avars, Old Turkic Script, History of Uzbekistan, History of Kazakhstan, History of Kyrgyzstan, History of Turkmenistan, Origin of the Azeris, Timurid Dynasty, Great Seljuq Empire, Seljuq Dynasty, Oghuz Turks, Ghaznavids, Kara-Khanid Khanate, Hordes of the Jochid Ulus, Kadizadeli, Karamanoğlu, Uyghur Khaganate, Ak Koyunlu, Pechenegs, Kazakh Khanate, Candaroğlu, Danishmends, Kara Koyunlu, Artuqid Dynasty, History of the Turkic Peoples, Ordu-Baliq, Kimek, Emirate of Bukhara, Kipchaks, Khanate of Bukhara, Germiyan, Saltuklu, Ahlatshahs, Eretna, Mengücek, Oghuz Yabgu State, Çobanoğlu, Menteşe, Shiban, Alaiye, Saruhan, Great Horde, Khatun, Aydınoğlu, Brutakhi, Dulkadir, Kankalis, Tokuz-Oguzes, Ramazanoğlu, Karesi, Ili River Treaty, Hamidoğlu, Pervâneoğlu, Beylik of Teke, Sâhipataoğlu, Beylik of Lâdik, Eşrefoğlu, Uzbek Khanate. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 327. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Ukraine Portal The Khazars (Turkic Dialect:Xazarlar) were a semi-nomadic Turkic people who dominated the Pontic steppe and the North Caucasus from the 7th to the 10th century. The name "Khazar" seems to be tied to a Turkic verb form meaning "wandering". In the 7th century, the Khazars founded an independent Khaganate in the Northern Caucasus along the Caspian Sea. Although the Khazars were initially Tengri shamanists, many converted to the Abrahamic faiths through interaction with the Byzantine Empire and successive Islamic caliphates; during the 8th or 9th century, the Khaganate adopted Judaism as the state religion. At their height, the Khazars and their tributaries controlled much of what is today southern Russia, western Kazakhstan, eastern Ukraine, Azerbaijan, large portions of the Northern Caucasus (Circassia, Dagestan, Chechnya), parts of Georgia and the Crimea....More: http://booksllc.net/?id=16635 ... Read more

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The former Soviet republics of Central Asia comprise a sprawling, politically pivotal, densely populated, and richly cultured area of the world. In this comprehensive new treatment, renowned political writer and historian Dilip Hiro places the politics, peoples, and cultural background of this critical region firmly into the context of current international focus. ... Read more

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The Sogdian Traders were the main go-between of Central Asia from the fifth to the eighth century. From their towns of Samarkand, Bukhara, or Tashkent, their diaspora is attested by texts, inscriptions or archaeology in all the major countries of Asia (India, China, Iran, Turkish Steppe, but also Byzantium). This survey for the first time brings together all the data on their trade, from the beginning, a small-scale trade in the first century BC up to its end in the tenth century. It should interest all the specialists of Ancient and Medieval Asia (including specialists of Sinology, Islamic Studies, Iranology, Turkology and Indology) but also specialists of Medieval Economic History. ... Read more

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Webster's bibliographic and event-based timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "Uzbekistan," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have Uzbekistan in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with Uzbekistan when it is used in proper noun form. Webster's timelines cover bibliographic citations, patented inventions, as well as non-conventional and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities in usage. These furthermore cover all parts of speech (possessive, institutional usage, geographic usage) and contexts, including pop culture, the arts, social sciences (linguistics, history, geography, economics, sociology, political science), business, computer science, literature, law, medicine, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and other physical sciences. This "data dump" results in a comprehensive set of entries for a bibliographic and/or event-based timeline on the proper name Uzbekistan, since editorial decisions to include or exclude events is purely a linguistic process. The resulting entries are used under license or with permission, used under "fair use" conditions, used in agreement with the original authors, or are in the public domain. ... Read more

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Chapters: Yuezhi. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 291. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Unknown, although the epigraphy ranges from Greek to Bactrian, and often considered to have spoken a Tocharian language. The Yuezhi, or Rouzhi (Chinese: , pinyin: yuè zh or ròu zh; also , pinyin: yuè shì or ròu shì; Old Chinese: Tokar), also known as the Da Yuezhi or Da Rouzhi (Chinese: , dà yuè zh or dà ròu zh, "Great Yuezhi"), were an ancient Central Asian people. They are believed by most scholars to have been an Indo-European people and may have been the same as or closely related to the Tocharians () of Classical sources. They were originally settled in the arid grasslands of the eastern Tarim Basin area, in what is today Xinjiang and western Gansu, in China, before they migrated to Transoxiana, Bactria and then northern South Asia, where they may have had a part in forming the Kushan Empire. Since the character yuè () can stand for the character ròu () in pictograms, it may not mean "moon" here. The character seems to have derived originally from ròu, "meat", as a character component. However, if the form Yuezhi () is accepted, the name translates literally as "moon clan", from yuè (), "moon" and shì (), "clan" or "race". There are numerous theories about the derivation of the name Yuezhi, and none has yet found general acceptance. According to Zhang Guang-da, the name Yuezhi is a transliteration of their own name for themselves, the Visha ("the tribes"), being called the Vijaya in Tibetan.. The first known reference to the Yuezhi was made in 645 BCE by the Chinese politician Guan Zhong in his Guanzi (Guanzi Essays: 73: 78: 80: 81). The dates of the most common version of this book are disputed, however, and it may date to as late as the 1st century BCE. The book described the Yuzhi , or ...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=309851 ... Read more

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This groundbreaking work in women's history explores the lives of Uzbek women, in their own voices and words, before and after the Russian Revolution of 1917. Drawing upon their oral histories and writings, Marianne Kamp reexamines the Soviet Hujum, the 1927 campaign in Soviet Central Asia to encourage mass unveiling as a path to social and intellectual "liberation." This engaging examination of changing Uzbek ideas about women in the early twentieth century reveals the complexities of a volatile time: why some Uzbek women chose to unveil, why many were forcibly unveiled, why a campaign for unveiling triggered massive violence against women, and how the national memory of this pivotal event remains contested today. ... Read more

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Drawing from a wide range of Uzbek and Russian sources, James Critchlow analyzes significant developments leading up to Uzbekistan's declaration of sovereignty and examines the outlook for the republic's emergence as an independent international player. The author's primary focus is on the Uzbek elites' attitudes and their efforts to throw off Moscow's hegemony by using popular grievances to mobilize mass support against the central Soviet government.

Critchlow traces local grievances to two roots. The first is Uzbekistan's decades-long economic exploitation by Moscow through the imposition of an intensive cotton monoculture, the accumulated effects of which have been massive environmental degradation, illness, and death. The second is the central government's failure to adequately compensate Uzbekistan for these hardships and for the republic's overall contribution to the Soviet economy, while having further impoverished Uzbeks by limiting the range of their cultural and political expression. Among the manifestations of Uzbek resistance explored here are protests against russification and compulsory military conscription; persistent and open adherence to religious traditions; and loyalty above all to local political, ethnic, and family ties-- which frequently has led Moscow to charge the republic's leadership with "nepotism" and "corruption".

Now that their campaign for sovereignty has triumphed, will Uzbek leaders be able to solve the knotty political and economic problems their republic still faces? The analysis offered here illuminates this question and suggests possible answers. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from World Policy Journal, published by World Policy Institute on March 22, 1997. The length of the article is 5098 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: Tamerlane is a 14th-Century conqueror and is considered as Uzbekistan's national cultural hero. Tamerlane, who is known in the West as Amir Timur, was born in Transoxiana in 1336 and conquered Syria, Egypt, Baghdad, Damascus, Delhi and Persia. His life and achievements became popular among Uzbeks after Hilda Hookham's book 'Tamburlaine, the Conqueror' was published in the 1960s. Uzbeks tout his military genius and his passion for arts.

Citation Details
Title: Uzbekistan: in the shadow of Tamerlane. (national cultural hero)
Author: Kenneth Weisbrode
Publication: World Policy Journal (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 1997
Publisher: World Policy Institute
Volume: v14Issue: n1Page: p53(8)

Article Type: Biography

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