Eurasia

domestication

10,000 BCE

pop. 500,000 in C. Eurasia (out of world pop. 10 mil)
wheat farming, some animals in Indus River, Fertile Crescent, Yangtze
Neolithic revolution
changed the way people lived, from hunting and gathering to sedentary food production

agriculture development

6000 BCE

Turkmenistan

hunter gathering, fishing

4800 BCE

further development

3000 BCE

Built irrigation canals, contact w/ Elam, Sumerian Mesopotamia, Afghanistan, India, metallurgy, early writing system evidence

pastoral nomadism

2000 BCE

developed by Iranian Scyths in steppes of interior Asia

horseback riding

1700 BCE

Common, 36% of livestock horses, hauled the dwellings in which they lived

Tarim mummies

1000 BCE

“Cherchen man”
some of the textiles use a weave thought to be from the Celts, found elsewhere in Europe
“beauty of Loulan”
why significant: in good shape, clothes intact. Don’t have facial features of Mongols — appear Caucasian. Found before the major Indo-European migrations.
ancient peoples of Tarim Basin may have been speakers of Tokharian, not Indo-Iranian. Means that they would be ancestors of the Yuezhi. Also would mean that they migrated from Russia/Kazakh steppe initially.

Scythians

Period: 700 BCE to 400 BCE

Sakas, Ashkuza
5th C - Herodotus discussed
5th C - large-scale sedentary development
3rd C - much of Scythia lost to Samaritans

Soghdians

Period: 600 BCE to Feb 27, 1100

where: Uzbekistan
when: 6th C BC to 11th C CE
diasporic trading peoples
had operations in India, Armenia, China
ultimate Silk Roadians
wore short caps, tunics, beards
established themselves as traders in the region
Samarkand (Gansu Corridor ancient Silk Road town) — trove of letters written in Soghdian script found
313, another Soghdian letter found
refers to Hun?

Achaemenid Empire

Period: 559 BCE to 330 BCE

Persian Achaemenid Empire

Period: 550 BCE to 330 BCE

originally established by Cyrus the Great (consolidation, conquered of Median, Lydian, and Babylonian empires)
lacked centralized control by the time Alexander came along, so he exploited this weakness
Alexander the Great

Herodotus

484 BCE

Siddhartha Gautama

480 BCE

prince in a state in N India/S Nepal
rich youth in the palace
left the palace grounds, saw suffering and sickness, had a crisis of conscience
decides on Middle Path between Bhramanism and Jainism, has a set of realizations, attributes

Pazyryk

Period: 400 BCE to 100 BCE

Altai mountain tribe
tombs contain oldest woven rugs
preserved by being frozen
obsession w elaborate antlers
reindeer herding, beginning of horse nomadism

Alexander the Great

334 BCE

father: Philip of Macedon
King of Macedonia
awarded generalship of Greece following his father’s death
led the Greeks in conquest of Persia
334 BCE: conquered Achaemenid Empire in its entirety — 10 year campaign
overthrew Darius III
important period of Hellenization
Gordium (Gordium knot), Tyre (known for its dye)
married a Soghdian woman (Roxana)
why important: oversaw Hellenization, convergence of Mediterranean and Asian worlds which signaled a geopolitical shift to Bactria

Seleucid Dynasty

Period: 300 BCE to 64 BCE

Seleucus Nicator — founder, one of Alexander’s generals
successor realm to the Persian Empire
jumpstarted process of Hellenization
many Greeks transplanted to Central Asia, Greek influence reinforced by immigration
warfare was initially in the Greek style, but adapted Persian/Asian styles with the adoption of cavalry
moved away from Greek democratic approaches — wore purple robes, demanded that lieutenants bow down, elements of Persian political culture evident

Qin Dynasty

Period: 221 BCE to 206 BCE

Maodun

Period: 209 BCE to 174 BCE

Xiongnu chanyu, "great man" in history

Xiongnu

Period: 209 BCE to 300

Han Dynasty

Period: 206 BCE to 220

Han Dynasty

Period: 206 BCE to 220

Yuezhi

Period: 200 BCE to 1 BCE

162 BCE: Maodun (leader of Xiongnu) attacks Yuezhi, at that point they were in N. Xinjiang
split into south and north
Yuezhi migrate west towards Uzbek and Afghan tribe of 100,000 people
Greek sources call the overlords in Bactria “Tokaroi”
Texts from centuries later found in Tarim Basin refer to a “woman of Kucha” as “Tokharika”
PLUS similar references from Greek and Indian sources
why significant: Yuezhi are likely the Tokharians who took control of Bactria.

Sima Qian

145 BCE

Zhang Qian

139 BCE

139 BCE: goes west in search of Yuezhi remains
captured in Tarim basin, remains for 10 years
120s BCE: reaches Bactria, encounters a large tribe of nomads, asks them to help Han fight the Xiongnu
why significant: gathered geographical information about the route he took, reported that Chinese cloth was already being sold in Bactria, but further expands the trade routes between the two places

Kushan Empire

Period: 30 to 375

Kanishka
Kushan was originally a clan name, but later became the name for the entire polity
Iranian language, evidence of both Greek and Indian scripts
Kushan coin example- spells Buddha in Greek, Kanishka on one side and Buddha on the other
270s: Kushans fall to Sassanid Empire why important: Hellenization of Buddhism. Representations in human form, Indic and Greek influence, headdress/halo/mandoria, form of Buddha in East Asia now inseparable

Ban Chao

70

mission to control oases
roaming for 30 years
back and forth, not definitive
why important: ongoing involvement of Han dynasty generals in Xinjiang keeps trade routes open, lots of connectivity between Central Asia + China

Heqin Treaty

198

Han sent royal princess and silk, in exchange for peace with the Xiongnu. Tribute-based nomadic policies.
why significant: Xiongnu afforded the same treatment as a sedentarized kingdom, as well as equal status with the Chinese emperor in exchange for refraining from attack.
peace through kinship

Mani (Manichaeism)

216

claimed he was an apostle of Christ
light (goodness) in everyone, but locked by master
can learn to escape based on the teachings of great prophets (Jesus, Zoroaster)
preached in Persia, executed for not following official religion

Turk Kaghanate

Period: 522 to Feb 27, 730

major medieval power in history
arose from the Rouran state - slaves, metal workers, and mining caste breaks away from Rouran
Rouen take on clan name, everyone becomes a part of the Turk Khaganate
Western/eastern division with separate but equal polities was a form of government emulated by the Byzantine. Diverse (multiple religions, Buddhism, Manichaeism, Zoroastrianism, Nestorian Christianity), complex (pastoral, metallurgy), administratively.

Muhammad

570

Soghdians

Period: Feb 27, 600 to Feb 27, 1100

diasporic trading peoples
had operations in India, Armenia, China
ultimate Silk Roadians
wore short caps, tunics, beards
established themselves as traders in the region
Samarkand (Gansu Corridor ancient Silk Road town) — trove of letters written in Soghdian script found
313, another Soghdian letter found

Tang Dynasty

Period: Mar 1, 618 to Mar 1, 907

Umayyad

Period: Mar 1, 661 to Mar 1, 750

Uyghur Empire

Period: Feb 27, 744 to Feb 27, 840

new state
Altai mountains, Lake Baikal
marked new era in the sophistication of steppe empires. Turkic but attracted to sedentary life and large state religions. Major predecessor to the Mongols.
capital city
adopted Manichaeism - priests brought religion and also writing
bureaucratic
good relations with the Chinese
at one point, were called upon to save the Tang — held the upper hand, weren’t slaves in the relationship
840: attacked by Kyrgyz, empire falls apart, move eastward toward Xinjiang

Abbasid Caliphate

Period: Mar 1, 750 to Mar 1, 1258

Battle of Talas

Feb 28, 751

An Lushan Rebellion

Feb 28, 755

Samanid

Period: Mar 1, 819 to Mar 1, 999