Part Nine IX › Division III III › Section 933 933

Inner (Central and Northeast) Asia to c. 1750

Subject Outline

AThe peoples of the steppes, their cultures, and their interactions with neighbouring civilizations; the geography and ethnography of Inner Asia; archaeological and documentary historical sources; historiographic problems
BThe peoples and states of Inner Asia to c. ad 1200
- 1The Hsiung-nu tribal confederation dominating Mongolia, southern Siberia, and eastern Turkistan from c. 400 bc to c. ad 50; pressure on it and its destruction by Han China
- 2The Manchurian tribes: attempts at unification, fluctuating relations with the Chinese until the advent of the Mongols
  - aThe Tung-hu tribes and Chinese presence in Manchuria to the 3rd century bc, ascendancy of the Hsien-pei and establishment of the Yin kingdom by Mu-jung Hui (ad 352), the Parhae (P'o-hai) kingdom (ad 712)
  - bThe Khitan and Juchen empires: penetration into China, Korea, and Mongolia; Juchen conquest of Chinese Sung territory; capital at Yen-ching (Peking); conquest by Mongols in 1234
- 3Development of West and East Turkistan to c. 1750
  - aWest Turkistan: the early empires, Muslim rule, the Chagatai khans and Timurids, the Uzbek and Kazakh khanates
  - bEast Turkistan (Kashgaria): Kyrgyz, Uighur tribes, Qarakhanid rule in the 10th century, Mongol conquest and rule in the 13th century, conquest by Manchus (1758-59)
- 4The Mongolian and Tungusic states from the 10th to the 13th century: the Liao (Khitan) empire and the later Chin (Juchen) state in North China and Manchuria (947-1125), the Western Liao (Kara khitai) of Turkistan (1124-1211)
- 5The development of Afghanistan to c. 1700: rule by Achaemenians and Greeks to c. 1st century ad, various nomadic rulers, advent of Muslim control in the 7th century, Mongol conquest (1221), later rule by Timurids and Mughals
CThe Mongol Empire and its successor states
- 1The establishment of a united Mongol Empire in Central, eastern, and western Asia by Genghis Khan and his successors ( 1206-60)
  - aThe rise of Genghis Khan and his military and political organization, tactics, and conquests
  - bThe division of his empire among his sons: further expansion under Ogodei Khan, Mangu (Mongke) Khan's friendly relations with Western Christendom
- 2The Mongol successor states
  - aThe completion of the conquest of China (1260-79) and the foundation of the Yuan dynasty by Kublai Khan
  - bThe Chagatai khanate (ulus) of Turkistan in the 13th and 14th centuries
  - cTimur's (Tamerlane's) establishment of the Timurid dynasty (1370-1506): his capital at Samarkand; his conquests; Turkistan, Afghanistan, and Transoxania under his successors
  - dThe Iranian Il-Khans (1258-1335): the Golden Horde (later Kipchak empire) in eastern Europe and its successor states (1240-1783)
  - eMongolia from the 13th to the 18th century: internecine strife, the revival of Buddhism, subjection to Yuan China and later autonomy and disunity until the ascendancy of the Manchus (Ch'ing China) in the 18th century
DTibet and Nepal to c. 1750
- 1Tibet to c. 1750
  - aThe legendary origins of the Tibetan people, consolidation of Tibet under Gnam-ri srong-btsan (c. ad 570-619), later rulers to the 9th century, introduction of Buddhism, cultural developments
  - bTibetan disunity from the 9th to the 14th century: eclipse and resurgence of Buddhism, conquest by Mongols, developments in literature and the visual arts
  - cRule by the Dge-lugs-pa (Yellow Hat) monastic order, unification of Tibet (1642), Tibet under Chinese overlordship (1720)
- 2Nepal to c. 1750: rule by Indian princely families, influence of Hinduism, relations with China and Tibet
EThe waning of nomad power from the 16th to the 18th century: the Manchu conquest of China and parts of Inner Asia, the Afghans as the last nomad power in Inner Asia, Russian expansion into Siberia and western Turkistan Suggested reading in the Encyclopaedia Britannica: macropaedia: Major articles and a biography dealing with inner (Central and Northeast) Asia to