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.

External links

• Eurasia Daily Monitor — political, strategic, and economic news from Central Asia.
• EurasiaNet — information and analysis about political, economic, environmental and social developments in Central Asia.
• Central Eurasian Studies World Wide
• Publications on the history of Central Asia Prior to 1917
• University of Central Asia