Change and Continuity in Central Asia

By Tiffani Kolozian, Hannah Mulvihill, and

JaLinda Dunovant

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

8000 B.C.E.- 600 C.E.8000 B.C.E.- 600 C.E.Nomads cause the fall of major empires• 400 BCE- Empire of Alexander the Great

expands into Central Asia where Greek culture is spread

• 1 CE- Buddhism begins to spread from India into Central Asia

• 100 CE- Buddhism flourishes in Central Asia becoming the most popular religion replacing Zoroastrianism

• 200 CE- Han China had constant conflict with the nomadic Xiongnu who invaded after collapse

• 400 CE- Silkworm farms develop in Central Asia• 476 CE- Visigoths and Huns began to press on the

Roman Empire• 550 CE- Collapse of the Gupta Empire due to White

Hun invasions• 200-600 CE- Mongols control Silk Roads and by doing

so spread the Black Death. Germanic tribes converted to Christianity

ChangeChange ContinuityContinuity• Religious diffusion: conversion

to different religions

• End of empires due to the Germanic invasions

• Greek culture brought to Central Asia (Hellenism)

• Black Death spread along trade routes

•Remain nomadic

•Continued brutality in conquest

•Skilled archers and horsemen

•Superior military organization

600 C.E.- 1450600 C.E.- 1450• 1100- Genghis Khan is able to unite the Mongols• Early 1200’s- death of Genghis Khan. Mongols

invade Russia, Poland and Hungary• 1234- Mongol invasion of China

-Regions split into Hordes: Golden Horde in Russia• 1242- Russia succumbs to the Tatars (a group of

Mongols previously under Genghis Khan): they ruled much of Russia for 2 centuries causing a split in Eastern and Western European culture

• 1200s-1300s- Pax Mongolica (stabilized period of the Mongolian Empire where there was social, cultural and economic peace)

• 1279- Song Dynasty fell to the Jurchen then the Mongols, Yuan dynasty established

• 1300s- Decline of Mongolian power in Russia (with rise of Ivan the Terrible)

-Turkish Ottoman Empire established: Osman Bey, Selim I, Suleiman I

• 1370-1405- Mogul Empire under Timur Lang (Samarkand: capital). Death of Tamerlane leads to decline of Mogul Empire in India

• 1453- Byzantine Empire ends due to Turks (Constantinople becomes Istanbul)

ChangeChange ContinuityContinuity• Mongols settle down,

controlling major empires instead of previous nomadic lifestyle

• Rise and fall of Mongolian empires in Russia, China, and India

• Pax Mongolica

•Mongols are able to tie together the world using the silk roads and ideas and culture spread from the Pacific to the Mediterranean•The Mongols did not impose their own culture on their subjects and were religiously tolerant, but remained brutal in take over•Ottoman Empire intact

1450-1750• 1526- Prince Babur founds the Mughal

Empire, unifying India.• 1556-1605- Akbar leads religiously

tolerant rule-Taj Mahal built under Shah Jahan• 1600s- Europeans begin to penetrate

port cities• 1700s- Muslims begin to persecute

Hindus

ChangeChange ContinuityContinuity• From religiously tolerant to

persecution of Hindus by Muslims in India

• Arrival of Europeans sets stage for British control

•Mughal empire in India is evidence of still existing Mongol imperial monopoly

1750-19141750-1914• 1800s- The Great Game:

– Tsarist Russia and the British Empire are in competition for control in Central Asia

– Conflict over the control of Afghanistan

• Ottoman involvement in World War I: sided with Central Powers

ChangeChange ContinuityContinuity

• Competition for Afghanistan

• Ottoman Empire force in WWI

•Afghanistan remains a major source of oil and dispute•Ottoman empire still standing though weak and suffering many territorial losses

1914 to Present1914 to Present• 1922- End of Ottoman Empire with Ataturk• 1941- End of the Great Game• 1980- Terrorism in Afghanistan- Al Qaeda, Taliban

forces• 1991- Collapse of Soviet Union. 5 central Asia countries

gain independence• Late 1900’s- Soviets invade Afghanistan: industrializes,

local culture suppressed, ethnic tensions, and environmental problems result

• 2001- September 11th: terrorist plot against US. War on Terrorism launched

ChangeChange ContinuityContinuity• Fall of Ottomans• Soviet Union loosens

control in Afghanistan• 5 countries in Central Asia

gain independence• Rise of terrorism• Afghanistan independent

and Islamic in the end

•Even though Afghanistan was independent, Russia still had economic influence because their trade routes and pipelines ran through Russia•Terrorism still major threat (US still in war)