History of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia - Volume II - Inner Eurasia from the Mongol Empire to Today, 1260-2000

This is Volume One of "A History of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia", covering from the time of the first inhabitants in the region right up to the Mongol Empire in the 13th century of the modern era. Inner Eurasia, as the author defines it, comprises: most of the former Soviet Union and Russia's territories in Siberia; Russia's former empire in Central Asia; China's central Asian empire; and Mongolia, both the parts within China and those within the Mongolian People's Republic. The author presents Inner Eurasia as a coherent region with an underlying unity in geography and history despite its cultural and ecological variety. This volume charts developments from the Old Stone Age, through the emergence of the earliest farming societies of Central Asia, and the pastoral nomadic societies of peoples such as the Scythians, the Huns and the Turks. It also describes the emergence of a powerful agrarian state in the lands of Rus, where eventually the modern Russian state would appear. The book describes the political and economic history of these societies as well as their distinctive lifeways, and shows how their evolution reflects the geography and ecology of Inner Eurasia.