Synopses & Reviews
From the Silk Road to the Great Game, Central Asia has long been a region of great strategic, political, and economic importance. Currently the home of large oil reserves, Islamic terrorists, and new democracies, Central Asia is of growing visibility to Americans. In this atlas, Rafis Abazov provides 50 two-color maps, each accompanied by a facing page of explanatory text, that graphically illuminate the region's history tracing back to the 8th-7th centuries B.C. From the spread of Islam to the invasion of the Mongols, the area has been at the crossroads of some of the world's most important developments, all succinctly explained in this book. Students will regard it as a useful reference, and general readers will value it for its clarity and wealth of information.
Review
"Every diplomat, scholar or traveler who knows the historical geography of Central Asia, will be miles ahead in understanding the region than those who do. The Palgrave Concisee Historical Atlas of Central Asia is an excellent read that provides a wealth of knowledge for western vistors, helping them to learn about the complexity of Central Asian history, geopolitics and recent political developments."--Grigoriy Evseev, President, Central Asian Geographic Society, Kazakhstan.
Synopsis
The first comprehensive atlas of a region of growing importance
About the Author
Rafis Abazov is an adjunct professor at the Harriman Institute, Columbia University. He worked as a Central Asian regional analyst for Moscow-based news agencies and newspapers and contributed annual analytical reports on Central Asia to various international analytical research centers, including the Freedom House and Transition-on-Line. He has published three books, including Historical Dictionary of Kyrgyzstan and Historical Dictionary of Turkmenistan and contributed a number of articles to edited volumes, including about 50 articles to various encyclopedias.
Table of Contents
Introductory Maps * Early History, 6th Century B.C.-6th Century A.D. * Islamic Golden Age * Mongols and Decline of Central Asia * Era of Colonialism and Nation State Building * Post-Communism and Independence