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This course will survey the history of Central Asia from the emergence of the earliest civilizations of the Bronze Age and the concomitant appearance of nomadic pastoralism, to the Arab conquest that reached its fullest military extent in the East at the battle of Talas against Chinese troops in A.D. 751. In between, we will trace the complex political events that contributed to the development of sedentary and nomadic life ways, and their perennial interaction; the repeated waves of ethnic migrations that resulted in far-reaching social, economic, and cultural upheaval; and the growing significance of the so-called “Silk Roads” for increased trade in both material and cultural goods. We will end the semester by examining the multiethnic and multicultural societies that shaped Central Asia and had their roots in Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, Christianity, Shamanism, and, finally, Islam
Days and Time: Thursday, 2:30 - 5:00.
Goodbody Hall 157 | 1011 East 3rd St. | Bloomington, IN 47405-7005 | Phone: (812) 855-2233 | Fax: (812) 855-7500 | ceus@indiana.edu