The Sigynnae ( Ancient Greek : Σιγύνναι , romanized : Sigunnai ; Latin : Sigynnae ) were an obscure nomadic people of antiquity belonging to the Scythian cultures who lived in the region corresponding to parts of present-day Hungary .
109-584: The arrival of the Sigynnae in Europe was part of the larger process of westwards movement of Central Asian Iranic nomads towards Southeast and Central Europe which lasted from the 1st millennium BC to the 1st millennium AD, and to which also later participated other Iranic nomads such as the Cimmerians , Scythians , Sauromatians , and Sarmatians . The formation of genuine nomadic pastoralism itself happened in
218-699: A stringed instrument —in Kyrgyzstan, a three-stringed komuz , and in Kazakhstan, a similar two-stringed instrument, the dombra . Photography in Central Asia began to develop after 1882, when a Russian Mennonite photographer named Wilhelm Penner moved to the Khanate of Khiva during the Mennonite migration to Central Asia led by Claas Epp, Jr. Upon his arrival to Khanate of Khiva , Penner shared his photography skills with
327-542: A whetstone and pottery of the local Hallstatt tribe. This burial thus belonged to a member of the native Hallstatt aristocracy who showed his status within his society by adopting the style of the steppe warriors and riding a steppe breed of horse harnessed like those of the steppe nomads. Shortly after the first appearance of the Sigynnae in the Pannonian Steppe and the introduction by them of long-legged horses in this region, and beginning around c. 800 BC ,
436-473: A group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian suffix " -stan " (meaning 'land') in both respective native languages and most other languages. In the pre-Islamic and early Islamic eras ( c. 1000 and earlier) Central Asia was inhabited predominantly by Iranian peoples , populated by Eastern Iranian -speaking Bactrians , Sogdians , Chorasmians , and
545-713: A large North Caucasian diaspora. Much of the Northern Caucasus seceded from Russia in March 1917 as the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus , taking advantage of the instability caused by the February Revolution and becoming a minor participant in the Russian Civil War . Mountainous Republic troops engaged in fierce clashes against the invading White General Anton Denikin 's Volunteer Army , before
654-433: A large body of water, temperature fluctuations are often severe, excluding the hot, sunny summer months. In most areas, the climate is dry and continental, with hot summers and cool to cold winters, with occasional snowfall. Outside high-elevation areas, the climate is mostly semi-arid to arid. In lower elevations, summers are hot with blazing sunshine. Winters feature occasional rain or snow from low-pressure systems that cross
763-553: A local student Khudaybergen Divanov, who later became the founder of Uzbek photography . Some also learn to sing the Manas , Kyrgyzstan's epic poem (those who learn the Manas exclusively but do not improvise are called manaschis ). During Soviet rule, akyn performance was co-opted by the authorities and subsequently declined in popularity. With the fall of the Soviet Union , it has enjoyed
872-534: A more heterogeneous region with increasing East Asian ancestry through Turkic and Mongolian groups in the past thousands years, including extensive Turkic and later Mongol migrations out of Mongolia and slow assimilation of local populations. In the 8th century AD, the Islamic expansion reached the region but had no significant demographic impact. In the 13th century AD, the Mongolian invasion of Central Asia brought most of
981-515: A resurgence, although akyns still do use their art to campaign for political candidates. A 2005 The Washington Post article proposed a similarity between the improvisational art of akyns and modern freestyle rap performed in the West. As a consequence of Russian colonisation, European fine arts – painting, sculpture and graphics – have developed in Central Asia. The first years of the Soviet regime saw
1090-458: A scarcity of research on climate impacts in Central Asia, even though it experiences faster warming than the global average and is generally considered to be one of the more climate-vulnerable regions in the world. Along with West Asia , it has already had greater increases in hot temperature extremes than the other parts of Asia, Rainfall in Central Asia had decreased, unlike elsewhere in Asia, and
1199-658: A section of the first wave of the nomadic populations who originated in the parts of Central Asia corresponding to eastern Kazakhstan or the Altai-Sayan region , and who had, beginning in the 10th century BC and lasting until the 9th to 8th centuries BC, migrated westwards into the Pontic-Caspian Steppe regions, where they formed new tribal confederations which constituted the Chernogorovka-Novocherkassk complex. Among these tribal confederations were possibly
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#17328449451081308-474: A unified Aržan-Chernogorovka cultural layer originating from Central Asia. Thanks to their development of highly mobile mounted nomadic pastoralism and the creation of effective weapons suited to equestrian warfare, all based on equestrianism , these nomads from the Pontic-Caspian Steppes were able to gradually infiltrate into Central and Southeast Europe and therefore expand deep into this region over
1417-504: A very long period of time, so that the Chernogorovka-Novocherkassk complex covered a wide territory ranging from Central Europe and the Pannonian Plain in the west to Caucasia in the east, including present-day Southern Russia . The Sigynnae, who were part of this grouping of first wave nomads belonging to the Chernogorovka-Novocherkassk complex, eventually moved into the Pannonian Steppe and settled there without losing their links to
1526-703: Is between the Oxus and Jaxartes, and the Karakum Desert is between the Oxus and Kopet Dagh in Turkmenistan. Khorasan meant approximately northeast Persia and northern Afghanistan. Margiana was the region around Merv. The Ustyurt Plateau is between the Aral and Caspian Seas. To the southwest, across the Kopet Dagh, lies Persia. From here Persian and Islamic civilisation penetrated Central Asia and dominated its high culture until
1635-511: Is no longer accepted as having any validity. According to one hypothesis, the Sigynnae were a people who had been pushed towards the Pannonian Steppe by the migration of the Scythians into the Pontic Steppe over the course of the 8th to 7th centuries BC. However, there is currently no evidence to support this hypothesis, and the early date of the arrival of the Sigynnae in the Pannonian Steppe on
1744-529: Is often also encompassed under the notion of a Ciscaucasus region, thus the northern boundary of the Forecaucasus steppe or Nogai steppe is generally considered to be the Manych River . Owing to its mild climate compared to much of Russia, the region has been described as Russia's " sunbelt ". Ancient cultures of the Northern Caucasus are known as Klin-Yar community, with one of the most notable cultures being
1853-469: Is played throughout the Central Asian region, the countries sometimes organise Buzkashi competition amongst each other. The First regional competition among the Central Asian countries, Russia , Chinese Xinjiang and Turkey was held in 2013. The first world title competition was played in 2017 and won by Kazakhstan . Association football is popular across Central Asia. Most countries are members of
1962-670: The Central Asian Football Association , a region of the Asian Football Confederation . However, Kazakhstan is a member of the UEFA . Wrestling is popular across Central Asia, with Kazakhstan having claimed 14 Olympic medals, Uzbekistan seven, and Kyrgyzstan three. As former Soviet states, Central Asian countries have been successful in gymnastics . Mixed Martial Arts is one of more common sports in Central Asia, Kyrgyz athlete Valentina Shevchenko holding
2071-734: The Eurasian Steppe arrived in the Pannonian Steppe, while to their west across the Istros were the sedentary peoples of the Hallstatt culture , with a demarcation existing between the western parts of the Pannonian Basin inhabited by the sedentary Hallstatt farmers and the eastern part being populated by the nomadic Sigynnae. The presence of the Sigynnae in the Pannonian Steppe led to very important ethnic and cultural transformations as they themselves eventually underwent denomadisation and mingled with
2180-665: The Iron Age . Certain Turkic ethnic groups, specifically the Kazakhs , display even higher East Asian ancestry. This is explained by substantial Mongolian influence on the Kazakh genome, through significant admixture between blue eyes, blonde hair, the medieval Kipchaks of Central Asia and the invading medieval Mongolians. The data suggests that the Mongol invasion of Central Asia had lasting impacts onto
2289-559: The Kashmir Valley of India may also be included. The Tibetans and Ladakhis are also included. Most of the mentioned peoples are considered the "indigenous" peoples of the vast region. Central Asia is sometimes referred to as Turkestan . Central Asia is a region of varied geography, including high passes and mountains ( Tian Shan ), vast deserts ( Kyzyl Kum , Taklamakan ), and especially treeless, grassy steppes . The vast steppe areas of Central Asia are considered together with
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#17328449451082398-648: The Kopet Dagh near the Persian border. East of the Kopet Dagh is the important oasis of Merv and then a few places in Afghanistan like Herat and Balkh . Two projections of the Tian Shan create three "bays" along the eastern mountains. The largest, in the north, is eastern Kazakhstan, traditionally called Jetysu or Semirechye which contains Lake Balkhash . In the center is the small but densely-populated Ferghana valley . In
2507-522: The Pannonian Steppe . In the modern period, the Circassian people would employ this same general direction to migrate into Europe. During the 9th to 8th centuries BC, the Sigynnae finally settled in the Pannonian Steppe , from where they maintained their links with the Pontic Steppe and became important participants in trade networks through which horse equipment and bimetallic daggers typical of
2616-512: The Republic of Adygea , Karachay-Cherkessia , Kabardino-Balkaria , North Ossetia–Alania , Ingushetia , Chechnya , and Republic of Dagestan and to the north: Kalmykia . Geographically, the term North Caucasus also refers to the northern slope and western extremity of the Greater Caucasus mountain range, as well as a part of its southern slope to the West. The Pontic–Caspian steppe area
2725-1001: The UFC Flyweight Champion title. Cricket is the most popular sport in Afghanistan . The Afghanistan national cricket team , first formed in 2001, has claimed wins over Bangladesh, West Indies and Zimbabwe. Notable Kazakh competitors include cyclists Alexander Vinokourov and Andrey Kashechkin , boxer Vassiliy Jirov and Gennady Golovkin , runner Olga Shishigina , decathlete Dmitriy Karpov , gymnast Aliya Yussupova , judoka Askhat Zhitkeyev and Maxim Rakov , skier Vladimir Smirnov , weightlifter Ilya Ilyin , and figure skaters Denis Ten and Elizabet Tursynbaeva . Notable Uzbekistani competitors include cyclist Djamolidine Abdoujaparov , boxer Ruslan Chagaev , canoer Michael Kolganov , gymnast Oksana Chusovitina , tennis player Denis Istomin , chess player Rustam Kasimdzhanov , and figure skater Misha Ge . Since gaining independence in
2834-649: The "commonly-accepted division" that separates Europe from Asia. Russia completed the conquest of the North Caucasus by 1864. Between the 1850s and World War I, about a million North Caucasian Muslims, including Circassians , Chechens , Ingush, Ossetians, and others, became refugees in the Ottoman Empire . The Ottoman government settled North Caucasian refugees in territories of modern-day Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, Iraq, Georgia, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Kosovo, Greece, Cyprus, and North Macedonia, creating
2943-572: The 18th century as a result of a long struggle with the Dzungars . The Russian Empire conquered the lands of the nomadic Kazakhs, Turkmens, Kyrgyz and Central Asian khanates in the 19th century. A major revolt known as the Dungan Revolt occurred in the 1860s and 1870s in the eastern part of Central Asia, and Qing rule almost collapsed in all of East Turkestan. After the Russian Revolution ,
3052-549: The 18th century was Tibetan Buddhist and would sometimes travel from Beijing to other cities for personal religious worship. Central Asia also has an indigenous form of improvisational oral poetry that is over 1000 years old. It is principally practiced in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan by akyns , lyrical improvisationalists. They engage in lyrical battles , the aytysh or the alym sabak . The tradition arose out of early bardic oral historians . They are usually accompanied by
3161-592: The 19th century, following the Caucasian War between the Russian Empire and the various regional powers. The territory is the southernmost portion of Russia and is divided between a number of republics and krais . It is administered as part of the North Caucasian and Southern Federal Districts and consists of Krasnodar Krai , Stavropol Krai , and the constituent republics, approximately from west to east:
3270-477: The 2020 and 2019 IWB World Competitiveness rankings. In particular, they have been modernizing the industrial sector and fostering the development of service industries through business-friendly fiscal policies and other measures, to reduce the share of agriculture in GDP. Between 2005 and 2013, the share of agriculture dropped in all but Tajikistan, where it increased while industry decreased. The fastest growth in industry
3379-695: The Caspian Sea in the west, the Altai mountains in the north and the Hindu Kush and Pamir mountains in the South. He did not give an eastern border for the region. His legacy is still seen: Humboldt University of Berlin , named after him, offers a course in Central Asian studies . The Russian geographer Nikolaĭ Khanykov questioned the latitudinal definition of Central Asia and preferred a physical one of all countries located in
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3488-507: The Cimmerians and the Agathyrsi, there is no data available to identify the ethnic and linguistic affiliations of the Sigynnae. It is therefore not known for certain whether the Sigynnae were an Iranic or pre-Iranic people. Unlike the nomads of the Pontic Steppe, the Pannonian Basin nomads such as the Sigynnae appear to not have possessed an elite class. The Sigynnae maintained trade links with
3597-537: The Danube region then needed to wear their own traditional clothing. Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia bounded by the Caspian Sea to the southwest, European Russia to the northwest, Western China and Mongolia to the east, Afghanistan and Iran to the south, and Siberia to the north. It includes Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Tajikistan , Turkmenistan , and Uzbekistan . The countries as
3706-494: The Greek historian Herodotus of Halicarnassus to call them the "only tribe living to the north of Thrace ." The core territory of the Sigynnae was in the Pannonian Steppe to the east of the Danube, around the valley of the Tisza and extending to the northern hillier regions of what are presently northern Hungary and south-west Slovakia . To the west, the territory of the Sigynnae reached
3815-557: The North Pontic region over the course of the 9th to mid-7th centuries BC from elements which had earlier arrived from Central Asia, due to which it itself exhibited similarities with the other early nomadic cultures of the Eurasian steppe and forest steppe which existed before the 7th century BC, such as the Aržan culture , so that these various pre-Scythian early nomadic cultures were thus part of
3924-503: The Pontic Steppe, from where they bought pottery manufactured in the region of the Tyras and Hypanis rivers and in the coast of Thrace immediately to the south of the Istros river. It was likely from these same regions that the Sigynnae bought steppe horses for breeding, in exchange of which they sold various goods to the populations of the Pontic Steppe. The Sigynnae in turn sold steppe horses to
4033-471: The Russian conquest. In the southeast is the route to India. In early times Buddhism spread north and throughout much of history warrior kings and tribes would move southeast to establish their rule in northern India. Most nomadic conquerors entered from the northeast. After 1800 western civilisation in its Russian and Soviet form penetrated from the northwest. Because Central Asia is landlocked and not buffered by
4142-508: The Russian-Ukrainian steppe and eastward into the steppes and deserts of Dzungaria and Mongolia. Southward the land becomes increasingly dry and the nomadic population increasingly thin. The south supports areas of dense population and cities wherever irrigation is possible. The main irrigated areas are along the eastern mountains, along the Oxus and Jaxartes Rivers and along the north flank of
4251-634: The Sigynnae in the Pannonian Steppe , and certainly the Agathyrsi in the Pontic Steppe, as well as the Cimmerians in the Caspian Steppe. The archaeological and historical records regarding these migrations are however scarce, and permit to sketch only a very broad outline of this complex development. The Sigynnae corresponded to a part of the Chernogorovka-Novocherkassk complex, to whose development three main cultural influences contributed to: The Chernogorovka-Novocherkassk complex thus developed natively in
4360-467: The Sigynnae were part of introduced the use of trousers into Central Europe, whose local native populations did not wear trousers before the arrival of the first wave of steppe nomads of Central Asian origin into Europe. The Greek historian Herodotus of Halicarnassus claimed that the Sigynnae described themselves as colonists from Media. Although the Sigynnae themselves had disappeared by the Middle Ages,
4469-410: The Sigynnae. The Sigynnae used reflex bows and Scythian-type arrowheads, and appear to have decorated their shields with animal-shaped fittings similarly to the nomads of the Pontic Steppe. The Sigynnae dressed themselves in the "Median fashion," that is consisting of sleeved tunics as well as trousers . Because of this, they did not make use of the fibulae and pins which the native populations of
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4578-489: The Soviet Central Asian Republics". 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 Uyghur Autonomous Region, the Turkic regions of southern Siberia , the five republics, and Afghan Turkestan . Afghanistan as a whole, the northern and western areas of Pakistan and
4687-599: The Soviet Union in 1991, the leaders of the four 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. In 1978, UNESCO defined the region as "Afghanistan, north-eastern Iran , Pakistan , northern India , western China, Mongolia and
4796-495: The Soviet Union to Central Asia and Siberia . According to Touraj Atabaki and Sanjyot Mehendale, "From 1959 to 1970, about two million people from various parts of the Soviet Union migrated to Central Asia, of which about one million moved to Kazakhstan." With the collapse of the Soviet Union , five countries gained independence, that is, Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Tajikistan , Turkmenistan , and Uzbekistan . The historian and Turkologist Peter B. Golden explains that without
4905-584: The Soviet Union. Afghanistan remained relatively independent of major influence by the Soviet Union until the Saur Revolution of 1978. The Soviet areas of Central Asia saw much industrialisation and construction of infrastructure , but also the suppression of local cultures, hundreds of thousands of deaths from failed collectivisation programmes, and a lasting legacy of ethnic tensions and environmental problems. Soviet authorities deported millions of people, including entire nationalities, from western areas of
5014-683: The Turkification of Central Asia, while extending its cultural influence. The Tang Chinese were defeated by the Abbasid Caliphate at the Battle of Talas in 751, marking the end of the Tang dynasty's western expansion and the 150 years of Chinese influence. The Tibetan Empire would take the chance to rule portions of Central Asia and South Asia. During the 13th and 14th centuries, the Mongols conquered and ruled
5123-411: The Turkmens have a large percentage from populations to the east, their main components are Central Asian. The study further suggests that both migration and linguistic assimilation helped to spread the Turkic languages in Eurasia. The Tang dynasty of China expanded westwards and controlled large parts of Central Asia, directly and indirectly through their Turkic vassals. Tang China actively supported
5232-491: The adoption of new forms of weapons and equestrian technology in the core territories of these cultures. These Hallstatt populations appear to have not borrowed the use of the nomads' reflex bows , likely due to the complication of their fabrication, or their animal-shaped pole tops used for the shamanic cults of the steppe. The Sigynnae also influenced the populations living in the territories corresponding to modern-day Bosnia and Serbia around c. 500 BC , where
5341-404: The ancient Koban culture . Ciscaucasus was historically covered by the Pontic–Caspian steppe , mostly on fertile calcareous chernozyom soils, which has been almost completely tilled and grazed. It is bounded by the Sea of Azov on the west, and the Caspian Sea on the east. According to the Concise Atlas of the World, Second Edition (2008), the Ciscaucasus region lies on the European side of
5450-492: The appearance of modernism, which took inspiration from the Russian avant-garde movement. Until the 1980s, Central Asian arts had developed along with general tendencies of Soviet arts. In the 90s, arts of the region underwent some significant changes. Institutionally speaking, some fields of arts were regulated by the birth of the art market, some stayed as representatives of official views, while many were sponsored by international organisations. The years of 1990–2000 were times for
5559-539: The area from the Mediterranean Sea . Average monthly precipitation is very low from July to September, rises in autumn (October and November) and is highest in March or April, followed by swift drying in May and June. Winds can be strong, producing dust storms sometimes, especially toward the end of the summer in September and October. Specific cities that exemplify Central Asian climate patterns include Tashkent and Samarkand , Uzbekistan, Ashgabat , Turkmenistan, and Dushanbe , Tajikistan. The last of these represents one of
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#17328449451085668-561: The area. Modern-day Central Asia is home to a large population of European settlers , who mostly live in Kazakhstan: 7 million Russians, 500,000 Ukrainians , and about 170,000 Germans . During the Stalinist period, the forced deportation of Koreans in the Soviet Union resulted in a population of over 300,000 Koreans in the region. Central Asia has a population of about 72 million, in five countries: Kazakhstan (19 million), Kyrgyzstan (7 million), Tajikistan (10 million), Turkmenistan (6 million), and Uzbekistan (35 million). One of
5777-422: The aristocrats had access to innovations coming from the steppe. One example of such steppe influences is the "princely burial" of Atenica , which contained lavish grave goods, including Greek imports and objects made of precious metals. In the middle of the 5th century BC, the Hallstatt developed into the La Tène culture , whose people are identified with the Celts , who by the late 5th century BC were moving to
5886-451: The complex relations between their nomadic groupings and the settled populations of Southeast and Central Europe were continued by the Hungarians, the Bulgars, Rus and Poles. In the 19th and 20th centuries CE, some scholars attempted to connect the Sigynnae with the Romani people due to an alleged similarity of the ancient Greek name Sigunnai with the Hungarian name for the Romani, cigány . This hypothesis has since become obsolete and
5995-421: The contrary suggests that their migration was part of the initial spread of the Chernogorovka-Novocherkassk complex, and thus preceded the arrival of the Scythians. The Sigynnae lived in a place called by the ancient Greeks as the "plain of Laurion," which was likely the eastern part of the Pannonian basin to the north and east of the middle Danube river corresponding to the parts of modern-day Hungary , leading
6104-451: The development of population mobility and the formation of warrior units necessary to protect herds and take over new areas. These climatic conditions in turn caused the nomadic groups to become transhumant pastoralists constantly moving their herds from one pasture to another in the steppe, and to search for better pastures to the west, in Ciscaucasia and the forest steppe regions of western Eurasia. The Sigynnae themselves originated as
6213-406: The diversion of water from rivers that feed them for irrigation and industrial purposes. Water is an extremely valuable resource in arid Central Asia and can lead to rather significant international disputes. Central Asia is bounded on the north by the forests of Siberia. The northern half of Central Asia (Kazakhstan) is the middle part of the Eurasian steppe . Westward the Kazakh steppe merges into
6322-408: The early 1st millennium BC due to climatic changes which caused the environment in the Central Asian and Siberian steppes to become cooler and drier than before. These changes caused the sedentary mixed farmers of the Bronze Age to become nomadic pastoralists, so that by the 9th century BC all the steppe settlements of the sedentary Bronze Age populations had disappeared, and therefore led to
6431-401: The early 1990s, the Central Asian republics have gradually been moving from a state-controlled economy to a market economy. However, reform has been deliberately gradual and selective, as governments strive to limit the social cost and ameliorate living standards. All five countries are implementing structural reforms to improve competitiveness. Kazakhstan is the only CIS country to be included in
6540-440: The early 2000s, the Chinese government engaged in a series of human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities in Xinjiang . At the crossroads of Asia, shamanistic practices live alongside Buddhism . Thus, Yama , Lord of Death, was revered in Tibet as a spiritual guardian and judge. Mongolian Buddhism , in particular, was influenced by Tibetan Buddhism . The Qianlong Emperor of Qing China in
6649-410: The east along the upper Istros and initially settled in Transistria before moving into the Pannonian Steppe where lived the Sigynnae and later into the mountainous regions where lived the Agathyrsi. The relations between the Celtic incomers and the Iranic nomads appear to have remained peaceful, with the Celts later intermarrying with the local populations of the Pannonian Basin, thus exposing the Celts to
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#17328449451086758-438: The eastern Alpine hilltop settlements ranging from South Styria [ de ] through Burgenland and Lower Austria to South Moravia that protected the core Hallstatt territory. Among the southeast Hallstatt groups of Slovenia , only the aristocrats had access to the use of nomadic equestrian equipment. Although the direct steppe influences reached only the frontier regions of the Hallstatt culture, they resulted in
6867-457: The environs of the Adriatic Sea . The Graeco-Roman author Strabo recorded the presence of another branch of the Sigynnae living in the parts of Caucasia located in the northern Iranian plateau immediately to the south of the Caspian Sea, where they lived along the Derbices, Hyrcanians and Tapyri. The Orpheōs Argonautika meanwhile located the Sigynnae between Phasis and Sinope in northern Anatolia, and Stephanus of Byzantium placed them on
6976-435: The establishment of contemporary arts. In the region, many important international exhibitions are taking place, Central Asian art is represented in European and American museums, and the Central Asian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale has been organised since 2005. Equestrian sports are traditional in Central Asia, with disciplines like endurance riding , buzkashi , dzhigit and kyz kuu . The traditional game of Buzkashi
7085-557: The fall of the Soviet Union, including a low-level armed conflict between Russia and militants associated with the Caucasus Emirate and, from June 2015, the Islamic State . The insurgency became relatively dormant in its later years. During its peak, the violence was mostly concentrated in the North Caucasus republics of Chechnya , Dagestan , Ingushetia and Kabardino-Balkaria . Occasional incidents happened in surrounding regions, such as North Ossetia–Alania , Karachay-Cherkessia , Stavropol Krai , and Volgograd Oblast . While
7194-487: The first geographers to mention Central Asia as a distinct region of the world was Alexander von Humboldt . The borders of Central Asia are subject to multiple definitions. Historically, political geography and culture have been two significant parameters widely used in scholarly definitions of Central Asia. Humboldt's definition comprised every country between 5° North and 5° South of the latitude 44.5°N. Humboldt mentions some geographic features of this region, which include
7303-407: The frequency and intensity of dust storms had grown (partly due to poor land use practices). Droughts have already become more likely, and their likelihood is expected to continue increasing with greater climate change. By 2050, people in the Amu Darya basin may be faced with severe water scarcity due to both climate and socioeconomic reasons. Although, during the golden age of Orientalism
7412-445: The full genome of Uzbeks and other Central Asian populations found that about ~27-60% of the Uzbek ancestry is derived from East Asian sources, with the remainder ancestry (~40–73%) being made up by European and Middle Eastern components. According to a recent study, the Kyrgyz, Kazakhs, Uzbeks, and Turkmens share more of their gene pool with various East Asian and Siberian populations than with West Asian or European populations, though
7521-509: The genetic makeup of Kazakhs. According to recent genetic genealogy testing, the genetic admixture of the Uzbeks clusters somewhere between the Iranian peoples and the Mongols . Another study shows that the Uzbeks are closely related to other Turkic peoples of Central Asia and rather distant from Iranian people. The study also analysed the maternal and paternal DNA haplogroups and shows that Turkic speaking groups are more homogenous than Iranian speaking groups. Genetic studies analyzing
7630-495: The great trading cities of Bokhara and Samarkand . The other great commercial city was Tashkent northwest of the mouth of the Ferghana valley. The land immediately north of the Oxus was called Transoxiana and also Sogdia , especially when referring to the Sogdian merchants who dominated the silk road trade. To the east, Dzungaria and the Tarim Basin were united into the Manchu-Chinese province of Xinjiang (Sinkiang; Hsin-kiang) about 1759. Caravans from China usually went along
7739-588: The imperial manipulations of the Russian Empire but above all the Soviet Union, the creation of said republics would have been impossible. In nearly all the new states, former Communist Party officials retained power as local strongmen. None of the new republics could be considered functional democracies in the early days of independence, although in recent years Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Mongolia have made further progress towards more open societies, unlike Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, which have maintained many Soviet-style repressive tactics. Beginning in
7848-481: The influence of the beliefs, practices and art styles of the steppe nomads so that motifs borrowed from and influenced by the steppe nomads started appearing in La Tène Celtic art. Among these borrowed artistic influences were images of predatory carnivores, sometimes attacking herbivorous beasts, as well as motifs of pairs of animals facing each other, giving rise to Celtic motif of the "dragon pairs" which decorated
7957-545: The insurgency was officially declared over on 19 December 2017 when FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov announced the final elimination of the insurgent underground in the North Caucasus, counter-terrorism operations in the North Caucasus have not ended. In June 2022, the US State Department advised citizens not to travel to the North Caucasus, including Chechnya and Mount Elbrus , due to terrorism, kidnapping and risk of civil unrest. Other paramilitaries active in
8066-497: The largest contiguous empire in recorded history. Most of Central Asia fell under the control of the Chagatai Khanate . The dominance of the nomads ended in the 16th century, as firearms allowed settled peoples to gain control of the region. Russia , China , and other powers expanded into the region and had captured the bulk of Central Asia by the end of the 19th century. The Qing dynasty gained control of East Turkestan in
8175-624: The latter's defeat at the hands of the Red Army . The region was informally occupied by the Soviet Union shortly afterwards, and the republic was forced into accepting a nonviolent annexation in January 1921. It was reformed into the Mountainous ASSR , which was later dissolved in October 1924, replaced by a series of autonomous Okrugs and Oblasts. The outer border of the Soviet Union's North Caucasus Krai
8284-445: The most accomplished women charioteers of the Sigynnae had the right to freely choose their life partners. The Sigynnae used short-nosed shaggy ponies which were too small to be ridden, but were instead yoked together in four-horse teams, and were able to swiftly pull carts . The Sigynnae employed carts pulled by these horses as their main mode of travel. Animal-shaped pole attachments used as cult devices by shamans were used by
8393-475: The native horses, it quickly became a symbol of aristocratic status among the communities of the Hallstatt culture, and during the 8th to 7th centuries equestrianism was quickly adopted widely among this culture until as far as Britannia . Some new types of slashing swords might also have been developed during this period as a cavalry weapon. Over the course of the 8th to 7th centuries BC, the cultural influences of
8502-434: The native population while still maintaining connections with the Pontic Steppe. These trade routes in which participated the Sigynnae provided the upper classes of the Hallstatt culture with steppe horses and harnesses and high-status equipment such as daggers, resulting in the high-quality steppe horses and elite horse gear being adopted by the Hallstatt culture, thus introducing horse breeds and styles of horse-riding from
8611-611: The nomads of the Pannonian Basin under Scythian influence and contributed to the transformation of the cultures of the Agathyrsi and the Sigynnae into a more Scythian-like form, causing to the Mezocsat culture of the Sigynnae to evolve into the Vekerzug culture. From these more Scythianised Sigynnae, the eastern groups of the Hallstatt culture might have borrowed the Scythian-type arrowheads which around c. 600 BC destroyed several of
8720-566: The north or south side of the Tarim basin and joined at Kashgar before crossing the mountains northwest to Ferghana or southwest to Bactria. A minor branch of the silk road went north of the Tian Shan through Dzungaria and Zhetysu before turning southwest near Tashkent. Nomadic migrations usually moved from Mongolia through Dzungaria before turning southwest to conquer the settled lands or continuing west toward Europe. The Kyzyl Kum Desert or semi-desert
8829-464: The parts of the northern Iranian plateau immediately to the south of the Caspian Sea , moved to the northwest and then travelled to the west through Caucasia and then the Pontic Steppe , although it is still unknown whether the Sigynnae migration route went from Ciscaucasia through Moldavia and then Wallachia , or through the forest steppes and across the northern Carpathian Mountains , to reach
8938-405: The place of Central Asia in the world history was marginalised, contemporary historiography has rediscovered the "centrality" of the Central Asia. The history of Central Asia is defined by the area's climate and geography. The aridness of the region made agriculture difficult, and its distance from the sea cut it off from much trade. Thus, few major cities developed in the region; instead, the area
9047-461: The populations of the Hallstatt culture started including bits and side pieces of bronze-made horse bridles in their cremation graves, attesting of an increase in importance of equestrianism in the Hallstatt culture. These changes were the result of extensive exchanges between the Sigynnae and the Hallstatt natives of Transistria, and which must have included the trade of horses. Due to the steppe horse's better appearance and performance compared to
9156-744: The region have included the Confederation of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus , an anti-Georgian organization and a participant in the 1992–1993 Abkhaz conflict that based its flag and political agenda directly on those of the Mountainous Republic. The North Caucasus, especially in its mountainous territories, has the highest life expectancy in Russia. The region is known for a large number of centenarians . Russian political subdivisions associated with
9265-513: The region landlocked from water, including Afghanistan , Khorasan (Northeast Iran), Kyrgyzstan , Tajikistan , Turkmenistan , Uyghuristan (Xinjiang), Mongolia , and Uzbekistan . Russian culture has two distinct terms: Средняя Азия ( Srednyaya Aziya 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 Центральная Азия ( Tsentralnaya Aziya or "Central Asia",
9374-712: The region under Mongolian influence, which had "enormous demographic success", but did not impact the cultural or linguistic landscape. Once populated by Iranian tribes and other Indo-European speaking people , Central Asia experienced numerous invasions emanating out of Southern Siberia and Mongolia that would drastically affect the region. Genetic data shows that the different Central Asian Turkic-speaking peoples have between ~22% and ~70% East Asian ancestry (represented by "Baikal hunter-gatherer ancestry" shared with other Northeast Asians and Eastern Siberians), in contrast to Iranian-speaking Central Asians, specifically Tajiks , which display genetic continuity to Indo-Iranians of
9483-661: The region's cities. Major rivers of the region include the Amu Darya , the Syr Darya , Irtysh , the Hari River and the Murghab River . Major bodies of water include the Aral Sea and Lake Balkhash , both of which are part of the huge west-central Asian endorheic basin that also includes the Caspian Sea . Both of these bodies of water have shrunk significantly in recent decades due to
9592-469: The rest of the western steppe. This in turn allowed the Chernogorovka-Novocherkassk complex itself to strongly influence the Hallstatt culture of Central Europe: among these influences was the adoption of trousers, which were not used by the native populations of Central Europe before the arrival of the Central Asian steppe nomads. As part of these migrations, the Sigynnae, who appear to have initially lived in, either Ciscaucasia or Transcaucasia , or in
9701-569: The rise of prosperous trade cities. acting as a crossroads for the movement of people, goods, and ideas between Europe and the Far East . Most countries in Central Asia are still integral to parts of the world economy. From the mid-19th century until near the end of the 20th century, Central Asia was colonised by the Russians , and incorporated into the Russian Empire , and later the Soviet Union , which led to Russians and other Slavs migrating into
9810-461: The semi-nomadic Scythians and Dahae . As the result of Turkic migration , Central Asia also became the homeland for the Kazakhs , Kyrgyzs , Tatars , Turkmens , Uyghurs , and Uzbeks ; Turkic languages largely replaced the Iranian languages spoken in the area, with the exception of Tajikistan and areas where Tajik is spoken. The Silk Road trade routes crossed through Central Asia, leading to
9919-670: The south is Bactria , later called Tocharistan, which is bounded on the south by the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan. The Syr Darya (Jaxartes) rises in the Ferghana valley and the Amu Darya (Oxus) rises in Bactria. Both flow northwest into the Aral Sea . Where the Oxus meets the Aral Sea it forms a large delta called Khwarazm and later the Khanate of Khiva . North of the Oxus is the less-famous but equally important Zarafshan River which waters
10028-651: The southeast of the Black Sea. After the 6th century BC, the neighbours of the Sigynnae in the Pannonian Steppe included a western group of the Scythian splinter tribe of the Sindi and the otherwise unknown Grauci. Although the Sigynnae formed the westernmost expansion of steppe culture and were originally part of the Chernogorovka-Novocherkassk complex of Central Asian origin to which belonged many Iranic peoples like
10137-490: The steppe into Western Europe. This role of the Sigynnae in linking the steppe and Hallstatt cultures is visible in a burial from Pécs - Jakab-hegy , where a member of the Hallstatt ruling class was buried in the traditional Hallstatt tradition, but with a weapon set from Caucasia: the deceased was cremated and their ashes were buried together with a dagger, an iron spearhead and an axe imported from Caucasia, as well as locally-made steppe-type horse gear, and an iron knife ,
10246-488: The steppe nomads of which the Sigynnae were part of led to significant changes in the burial rites of the peoples of the Hallstatt culture, whose aristocrats borrowed and adapted cultural norms from the equestrian steppe peoples. Among these changes was a new burial rite, widely adopted from Bohemia in the east to the upper Istros and the Rhenane valley region in the west, and whose characteristics were similar to those followed
10355-415: The steppe nomads since the 9th century BC. According to this new rite, the aristocrats of the Hallstatt culture started being inhumated rather than cremated, with the body of the deceased being placed on a funerary cart in a wooden chamber inside a pit, within which were also the trappings of the horses pulling the carts and one riding horse. The tomb itself was covered by a large mound , at the top of which
10464-556: The steppes of Eastern Europe as a homogeneous geographical zone known as the Eurasian Steppe . Much of the land of Central Asia is too dry or too rugged for farming. The Gobi Desert extends from the foot of the Pamirs , 77° E, to the Great Khingan (Da Hinggan) Mountains, 116°–118° E. Central Asia has the following geographic extremes: A majority of the people earn a living by herding livestock. Industrial activity centers in
10573-686: The territory of the Sigynnae, and subsequently intermarried with the local populations while remaining in contact with the Pontic Steppe through trade. Among these splinter Scythian groups were a section of the Scythian tribe of the Sindi , who had left the region of the Maeotian Sea and migrated westwards into the Pannonian Steppe, unlike the bulk of the Sindi who remained in Ciscaucasia. These migrations from around c. 600 BC and trade connections placed
10682-462: The tops of Celtic sword scabbards . Another motif borrowed by Celtic art from steppe art are pairs of predatory birds around circular shield bosses , reflecting not only the mere artistic influence of the steppe nomads, but also of the borrowing by the Celts of Iranic steppe nomad belief systems expressed through the image of predatory beasts. The peoples of the Chernogorovka-Novocherkassk complex of which
10791-517: The west, the Caspian Sea to the east, and the Caucasus Mountains to the south. The region shares land borders with the countries of Georgia and Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus . Located in the south of the region, Mount Elbrus is the tallest peak in Europe. Krasnodar is the most populous among the urban centres in the region. The North Caucasus came under Russian control in
10900-499: The western Central Asian regions were incorporated into the Soviet Union . The eastern part of Central Asia, known as Xinjiang , was incorporated into the People's Republic of China , having been previously ruled by the Qing dynasty and the Republic of China . Mongolia gained its independence from China and has remained independent but became a Soviet satellite state until the dissolution of
11009-484: The western populations of the Hallstatt culture in exchange of several commodities, such as grain . The Sigynnae were mobile pastoral nomads who depended on their sheep and cattle and who cultivated grain on a smaller scale. The Greek historian Herodotus of Halicarnassus described the Sigynnae as having all the exact same customs as the ancient Persians . According to the Graeco-Roman author Strabo of Amasia ,
11118-499: The wettest climates in Central Asia, with an average annual precipitation of over 560 mm (22 inches). Biogeographically, Central Asia is part of the Palearctic realm . The largest biome in Central Asia is the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome. Central Asia also contains the montane grasslands and shrublands , deserts and xeric shrublands and temperate coniferous forests biomes. As of 2022, there has been
11227-404: The wider definition, which includes Central Asian lands that have never been part of historical Russia). The latter definition includes Afghanistan and ' East Turkestan '. The most limited definition was the official one of the Soviet Union , which defined Middle Asia as consisting solely of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, omitting Kazakhstan . Soon after the dissolution of
11336-653: Was achieved was most probably due to the influence of the Silk Road , which traveled along Central Asia. Periodically, great leaders or changing conditions would organise several tribes into one force and create an almost unstoppable power. These included the Hun invasion of Europe, the Five Barbarians rebellions in China and most notably the Mongol conquest of much of Eurasia . During pre-Islamic and early Islamic times, Central Asia
11445-408: Was for millennia dominated by the nomadic horse peoples of the steppe . Relations between the steppe nomads and the settled people in and around Central Asia were long marked by conflict. The nomadic lifestyle was well suited to warfare , and the steppe horse riders became some of the most militarily potent people in the world, limited only by their lack of internal unity. Any internal unity that
11554-596: Was inhabited predominantly by speakers of Iranian languages . Among the ancient sedentary Iranian peoples , the Sogdians and Chorasmians played an important role, while Iranian peoples such as Scythians and the later on Alans lived a nomadic or semi-nomadic lifestyle. The main migration of Turkic peoples occurred between the 6th and 11th centuries, when they spread across most of Central Asia. The Eurasian Steppe slowly transitioned from Indo European and Iranian -speaking groups with dominant West-Eurasian ancestry to
11663-508: Was observed in Turkmenistan, whereas the services sector progressed most in the other four countries. North Caucasus The North Caucasus , or Ciscaucasia , is a subregion in Eastern Europe governed by Russia . It constitutes the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, which separates Europe and Asia . The North Caucasus is bordered by the Sea of Azov and Black Sea to
11772-464: Was sometimes placed a stone statue of the deceased. In the 6th century BC, some splinter Scythian groups followed the earlier route of the nomads of the Chernogorovka-Novocherkassk wave, passed through the passes of the Carpathian Mountains, and settled in the Pannonian Basin, where some of them settled in the territory of the Agathyrsi while others moved into the Pannonian Steppe and settled in
11881-604: Was the same as that of present-day North Caucasus Economic Region (Raion) which includes an oblast ( Rostov Oblast ), two krais ( Krasnodar Krai and Stavropol Krai ), and seven republics. The former North Caucasus Military District (Okrug) also included Astrakhan Oblast , Volgograd Oblast , and the Republic of Kalmykia . Its administrative center was Rostov-on-Don until 10 January 1934, Pyatigorsk until January 1936, then Ordzhonikidze (today Vladikavkaz) and, from 15 December 1936, Voroshilovsk (today Stavropol). The North Caucasus region experienced widespread unrest and insurgency after
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