Central Asia

Central Asia (Russian: ??????? ????/"Srednyaya Azia" for "Middle Asia" or ??????????? ????/"Tsentrallnaya Azia" for "Central Asia"; Mandarin Chinese: ??/ pinyin: "Zh?ngyà"; Arabic: pending/"Asya al Wsta") is a vast landlocked region of Asia. Though various definitions of its exact composition exist, no one definition is universally accepted. Despite this uncertainty in defining borders, it does have some important overall characteristics. For one, Central Asia has historically been closely tied to its nomadic peoples and the Silk Road. As a result, it has acted as a crossroads for the movement of people, goods, and ideas between Europe, the Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia. It is also sometimes known as Middle Asia or Inner Asia, and is within the scope of the wider Eurasian continent.

Definitions

The idea of Central Asia as a distinct region of the world was introduced in 1843 by the geographer Alexander von Humboldt. The borders of Central Asia are subject to multiple definitions.

Related Topics:
1843 - Alexander von Humboldt

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The most limited definition was the official one of the Soviet Union that defined the "Middle Asia" as consisting solely of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan, but did not include Kazakhstan. This definition was also often used outside the USSR in this period. However, the Russian language has two distinct terms: ??????? ???? (Srednyaya Azia or "Middle Asia", the narrower definition which includes only those traditionally non-Slavic, "Central Asian" lands that were incorporated within those borders of historical Russia) and ??????????? ???? (Tsentrallnaya Azia or "Central Asia", the wider definition which includes "Central Asian" lands that have never been part of historical Russia). However, there lacks a meaningful distinction between the two in the English language; and so "Central Asia" is used for both Russian usages, thus creating some confusion. The new post-USSR Russian Federation has now included Kazakhstan in its new definition of "Middle Asia".

Related Topics:
Soviet Union - Uzbekistan - Turkmenistan - Tajikistan - Kyrgyzstan - Kazakhstan - Russian language - English language - Russian Federation

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Soon after independence, the leaders of the five former Soviet Central Asian Republics met in Tashkent and declared that the definition of Central Asia should include Kazakhstan as well as the original four included by the Soviets. Since then, this has become the most common definition of Central Asia.

Related Topics:
Soviet - Central Asian Republics - Tashkent

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The UNESCO general history of Central Asia, written just before the collapse of the USSR, defines the region based on climate and uses far larger borders. According to it, Central Asia includes Mongolia, Western China (including Tibet), northeast Iran, Afghanistan and western Pakistan, central-east Russia south of the Taiga, the former Central Asian Soviet Republics (the five "Stans" of the former Soviet Union), but also even the Punjab, northern India and Pakistan.

Related Topics:
Mongolia - China - Tibet - Iran - Afghanistan - Pakistan - Taiga - Soviet - Soviet Union - Punjab - India

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However, the Punjab, many may consider, are hardly worthy of being considered part of Central Asia for sharp cultural differences. Tibet has more cultural, linguistic, and historical ties to Central Asia as a whole. And therefore, if anything, many might remark that the South Asian states of Bhutan and Nepal would be better candidates as cultural adjacents to Tibet.

Related Topics:
Bhutan - Nepal

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An alternative method is to define the region based on ethnicity, and in particular, areas populated by Eastern Turkic, Eastern Iranian, or Mongolian peoples. These areas include Xinjiang, the Turkic/Muslim regions of southern Siberia, the five republics, and Afghan Turkestan. The Tibetans are also included. Insofar, the mentioned peoples are considered the "indigenous" peoples of the vast region.

Related Topics:
Eastern Turkic - Iranian - Mongolian - Xinjiang - Muslim - Siberia - Afghan Turkestan - Tibetans

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Colonization and settlement by Chinese, Iranians, and Russians was to come later.

Related Topics:
Chinese - Iranians - Russians

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