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Zhang Qian

Zhang Qian

from 138 to 126 BCE, Mogao Caves mural, 618-712 CE.]] Zhang Qian (Chinese:張騫; died 113 BCE) was a Chinese explorer and imperial envoy in the 2nd century BCE, during the time of the Han Dynasty. He was the first official diplomat to bring back reliable information about Central Asia to the Chinese imperial court, then under Emperor Wu of Han, and played an important pioneering role in the Chinese colonisation and conquest of the region now known as Xinjiang. Zhang Qian's accounts of his explorations of Central Asia are detailed in the Early Han historical chronicles ("Shiji", or "Records of the Great Historian"), compiled by Sima Qian in the 1st century BCE .

First embassy to the West

1st century BCE Zhang Qian was born in Chenggu county (成固), Hanzhong commandery (漢中) in western China. He entered the capital, Changan, today's Xi'an, between 140 BCE and 134 BCE as a Gentleman (郎), serving Emperor Wu. At the time the Xiongnu tribes controlled modern Inner Mongolia and dominated much of modern Xiyu (西域 "Western Regions"). The Han court despatched Zhang Qian to the Western Regions in 138 BCE with a delegation of over one hundred members, including a surrendered Xiongnu guide. The objective of Zhang Qian's first mission was to seek a military alliance with the Greater Yuezhi (月氏), in modern Tajikistan. On route he was captured by the Xiongnu and detained for ten years. There he married a Xiongnu wife and gained the trust of the Xiongnu leader. When Zhang finally made it to Yuezhi lands, he found that they were too settled to want war against the Xiongnu. He spent about one year in Yuezhi and Bactrian territory, documenting their cultures, lifestyles and economy, before returning to China.

Zhang Qian's report

The report of Zhang Qian's travels is quoted extensively in the 1st century BCE Chinese historic chronicles "Records of the Great Historian" (Shiji) by Sima Qian. Zhang Qian visited directly the kingdom of Dayuan in Ferghana, the territories Yuezhi in Transoxonia, the Bactrian country of Daxia with it remnants of Greco-Bactrian rule, and Kangju (Sogdiana). He also made reports on neighbouring countries that he did not visit, such as Anxi (Parthia), Tiaozhi (Mesopotamia), Shendu (India) and the Wusun.

Dayuan (Ferghana)

Wusun Zhang Qian starts with a report on the first country he visited (after his captivity among the Xiongnu), Dayuan, in Ferghana, west of the Tarim Basin. They are considered by him as sophisticated urban dwellers, on the same footing as the Parthian and the Bactrians. The name Dayuan (meaning Great Yuan), may be a transliteration of the word Yona used to designate Greeks, who occupied the region from the 4th to the 2nd century BCE. :"Dayuan lies southwest of the territory of the Xiongnu, some 10,000 li (5,000 kilometers) directly west of China. The people are settled on the land, plowing the fields and growing rice and wheat. They also make wine out of grapes. The people live in houses in fortified cities, there being some seventy or more cities of various sizes in the region. The population numbers several hundred thousand" (Shiji, 123, Zhang Qian quote, trans. Burton Watson). See also: Dayuan

Yuezhi (Tocharians?)

After obtaining the help of the king of Dayuan, Zhang Qian went southwest to the territory of the Yuezhi, with whom he was supposed to obtain a military alliance against the Xiongnu. :"The Great Yuezhi live some 2,000 or 3,000 li (1,000 or 1,500 kilometers) west of Dayuan, north of the Gui (Oxus) river. They are bordered to the south by Daxia (Bactria), on the west by Anxi (Parthia), and on the north by Kangju (Sogdiana). They are a nation of nomads, moving place to place with their herds and their customs are like those of the Xiongnu. They have some 100,000 or 200,000 archer warriors." (Shiji, 123, Zhang Qian quote, trans. Burton Watson). Zhang Qian also describes the origins of the Yuezhi, explaining they came from the eastern part of the Tarim Basin, a momentous explanation which has encouraged historians to connect them to the Caucasoid mummies, as well as to the Indo-European-speaking Tocharians that have been identified from precisely the same area: :"The Yuezhi originally lived in the area between the Qilian or Heavenly Mountains (Tian Shan) and Dunhuang, but after they were defeated by the Xiongnu they moved far away to the west, beyond Dayuan (Ferghana), where they attacked the people of Daxia (Bactria) and set up the court of their king on the northern bank of the Gui (Oxus) river." (Shiji, 123, Zhang Qian quote, trans. Burton Watson). A smaller group of Yuezhi, the "Little Yuezhi" were not able to follow the exodus and reportedly found refuge among the "Qiang barbarians" (Tibetans). See also Yuezhi

Daxia (Bactria)

Zhang Qian probably witnessed the last period of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom, as it was being subjugated by the nomad Yuezhi. Only small powerless chiefs remained, who were apparently vassals to the Yuezhi horde. Their civilization was urban, almost identical to the civilizations of Parthia and Dayuan, and the population was numerous. :"Daxia is situated over 2,000 li (1,000 kilometers) southwest of Dayuan (Ferghana), south of the Gui (Oxus) river. Its people cultivate the land, and have cities and houses. Their customs are like those of Dayuan. It has no great ruler but only a number of petty chiefs ruling the various cities. The people are poor in the use of arms and afraid of battle, but they are clever at commerce. After the Great Yuezhi moved west and attacked and conquered Daxia, the entire country came under their sway. The population of the country is large, numbering some 1,000,000 or more persons. The capital is Lanshi (Bactra) where all sorts of goods are bought and sold." (Shiji, 123, Zhang Qian quote, trans. Burton Watson).

Shendu (India)

Zhang Qian also reports about the existence of India southeast of Bactria. The name Shendu is probably a transliteration of Hindu or Hindus. Northwestern India was at time ruled by the Greeks, forming the Indo-Greek Kingdom (2nd century to 1st century BCE), which explains the reported cultural similarity between Bactria and India. :"Southeast of Daxia is the kingdom of Shendu (India)... Shendu, they told me, lies several thousand li southeast of Daxia (Bactria). The people cultivate the land and live much like the people of Daxia. The region is said to be hot and damp. The inhabitants ride elephants when they go in battle. The kingdom is situated on a great river (Indus?)" (Shiji, 123, Zhang Qian quote, trans. Burton Watson).

Anxi (Parthia)

Zhang Qian clearly identifies Parthia as an advanced urban civilization, like Dayuan (Ferghana) and Daxia (Bactria). The name "Anxi" is a transliterations of "Arsacid", name of the Parthian dynasty. :"Anxi is situated several thousand li west of the region of the Great Yuezhi. The people are settled on the land, cultivating the fields and growing rice and wheat. They also make wine out of grapes. They have walled cities like the people of Dayuan (Ferghana), the region contains several hundred cities of various sizes. The coins of the country are made of silver and bear the face of the king. When the king dies, the currency is immediately changed and new coins issued with the face of his successor. The people keep records by writing on horizontal strips of leather. To the west lies Tiaozi (Mesopotamia) and to the north Yancai and Lixuan (Hyrcania)." (Shiji, 123, Zhang Qian quote, trans. Burton Watson). See also Parthia

Tiaozhi

Zhang Qian reports about Mesopotamia, beyond Parthia, although in rather tenuous terms, because he didn't go there, and was only able to reports other's accounts. :"Tiaozhi (Mesopotamia) is situated several thousand li west of Anxi (Parthia) and borders the Western Sea (Persian Gulf/ Mediterranean?). It is hot and damp, and the people live by cultivating the fields and planting rice... The people are very numerous and are ruled by many petty chiefs. The ruler of Anxi (Parthia) give orders to these chiefs and regards them as vassals." (Shiji, 123, Zhang Qian quote, trans. Burton Watson).

Kangju (Sogdiana)

Zhang Qian also visited directly the area of Sogdiana, home to the Sogdian nomads: :"Kangju is situated some 2,000 li (1,000 kilometers) northwest of Dayuan (Bactria). Its people are nomads and resemble the Yuezhi in their customs. They have 80,000 or 90,000 skilled archer fighters. The country is small, and borders Dayuan. It acknowledges sovereignty to the Yuezhi people in the South and the Xiongnu in the East." (Shiji, 123, Zhang Qian quote, trans. Burton Watson).

Yancai

:"Yancai lies some 2,000 li (1,000 kilometers) northwest of Kangju. The people are nomads and their customs are generally similar to those of the people of Kangju (Sogdiana). The country has over 100,000 archer warriors, and borders a great shoreless lake, perhaps what is known as the Northern Sea (Caspian sea?)" (Shiji, 123, Zhang Qian quote, trans. Burton Watson).

Return to China

On his return trip Zhang Qian was again captured by the Xiongnu, who again spared his life because they valued his sense of duty and composure in the face of death. Two years later the Xiongnu leader died and in the midst of chaos Zhang Qian escaped. Zhang Qian returned in 125 BCE with detailed news for the Emperor, which showed that sophisticated civilizations existed to the West, with which China could advantageously develop relations. The Shiji relates that "the emperor learned of the Dayuan, Daxia, Anxi, and the others, all great states rich in unusual products whose people cultivated the land and made their living in much the same way as the Chinese. All these states, he was told, were militarily weak and prized Han goods and wealth". (Shiji, 123, trans. Burton Watson). His second expedition was more organised, a trade mission to the Wu-sun people in 119 BCE. This was a success and led to trade between China and Persia.

Development of East-West contacts

Following Zhang Qian' embassy and report, commercial relations between China and Central as well as Western Asia flourished, as many Chinese missions were sent throughout the end of the 2nd century BCE and the 1st century BCE, initiating the development of the Silk Road: :"The largest of these embassies to foreign states numbered several hundred persons, while even the smaller parties included over 100 members... In the course of one year anywhere from five to six to over ten parties would be sent out." (Shiji, trans. Burton Watson). Many objects were soon exchanged, and travelled as far as Guangzhou in the East, as suggested by the discovery of a Persian box and various artifacts from Central Asia in the 122 BCE tomb of the Chinese King Wen of Nanyue. Nanyue, Mogao Caves, Dunhuang, c.8th century CE.]] Around 120 BCE, one of these missions may have brought the first Buddhist statues to China. Murals in Mogao Caves in Dunhuang describe the Emperor Han Wudi (156-87 BCE) worshipping Buddhist statues, explaining them as "golden men brought in 120 BCE by a great Han general in his campaigns against the nomads", although there is no other mention of Han Wudi worshipping the Buddha in Chinese historical litterature. China also sent a mission to Parthia, which were followed up by reciprocal missions from Parthian envoys around 100 BCE: :"When the Han envoy first visited the kingdom of Anxi (Parthia), the king of Anxi dispatched a party of 20,000 horsemen to meet them on the eastern border of the kingdom... When the Han envoys set out again to return to China, the king of Anxi dispatched envoys of his own to accompany them... The emperor was delighted at this." (Shiji, 123, trans. Burton Watson). The Roman historian Florus describes the visit of numerous envoys, included Seres (Chinese), to the first Roman Emperor Augustus, who reigned between 27 BCE and 14 CE: :"Even the rest of the nations of the world which were not subject to the imperial sway were sensible of its grandeur, and looked with reverence to the Roman people, the great conqueror of nations. Thus even Scythians and Sarmatians sent envoys to seek the friendship of Rome. Nay, the Seres came likewise, and the Indians who dwelt beneath the vertical sun, bringing presents of precious stones and pearls and elephants, but thinking all of less moment than the vastness of the journey which they had undertaken, and which they said had occupied four years. In truth it needed but to look at their complexion to see that they were people of another world than ours." ("Cathey and the way thither", Henry Yule). In 97 CE the Chinese general Ban Chao went as far west as the Caspian Sea with 70,000 men and established direct military contacts with the Parthian Empire, also dispatching an envoy to Rome in the person of Gan Ying. Several Roman embassies to China soon followed from 166 CE, and are officialy recorded in Chinese historical chronicles.

Zhang Qian of today

Zhang Qian (1109) is a frigate built in Taiwan based on the Oliver Hazard Perry class-design. It is currently in service for the Republic of China Navy.

References

- "Records of the Great Historian", Han Dynasty II, Sima Qian, Translated by Burton Watson, Columbia University Press, ISBN 0231081677

126 BCE

Centuries: 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC Decades: 170s BC 160s BC 150s BC 140s BC 130s BC - 120s BC - 110s BC 100s BC 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC Years: 131 BC 130 BC 129 BC 128 BC 127 BC - 126 BC - 125 BC 124 BC 123 BC 122 BC 121 BC ---- Events
- Tyre successfully revolts from the Seleucid Empire.
- Seleucus V Philometor succeeds his father Demetrius II as king of the Seleucid Empire. Due to his youth, his stepmother Cleopatra Thea acts as regent. Births Deaths
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Mogao Caves

The Mogao Caves (莫高窟) form a system of 492 temples near Dunhuang, in Gansu province, China. They are also known as the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas, the Mogao Grottoes or the Caves of Dunhuang. China Local legend says that in AD 366 the Buddhist monk Lo-tsun had a vision of a thousand Buddhas and conviced a wealthy Silk Road pilgrim to fund the first of the temples. The temples eventually grew to number more than a thousand. From the 4th until the 14th century, Buddhist monks at Dunhuang collected scriptures from the west, and many pilgrims passed through the area, painting murals inside the caves. The murals cover 450,000 square feet (42,000 m²). The caves were abandoned in the 14th century. The Mogao Caves are the best known of the Chinese Buddhist grottoes, and along with Longmen and Yungang are one of the three famous ancient sculptural sites of China. Buddhist monks valued austerity in life, and they hoped that remote caves would aid their quest for enlightenment. The paintings served as aids to meditation, as visual representations of their quest for enlightenment, and as tools to inform illiterate Chinese about Buddhist beliefs and stories. In the early 20th century, a Chinese Taoist named Wang Yuan-lu appointed himself guardian of some of these temples. Wang discovered an enormous hoard of manuscripts. Rumors of these manuscripts brought European explorers, who trekked across Central Asia to attempt to see and obtain these mauscripts. Wang embarked on an ambitious refurbishment of the temples, funded in part by soliciting donations from neighboring towns, and in part by donations from European explorers such as Sir Aurel Stein and Paul Pelliot who were interested in Wang's manuscripts. Paul Pelliot Paul Pelliot, Mogao Caves, Dunhuang, c.8th century CE.]] Today, the site is an important tourist attraction and the subject of an ongoing archaeological project. The Mogao Caves became one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1987.

Reference

- Hopkirk, Peter (1980). Foreign Devils on the Silk Road: The Search for the Lost Cities and Treasures of Chinese Central Asia. Amherst: The University of Massachusetts Press. ISBN 0-87023-435-8.

External link

- [http://idp.bl.uk/ International Dunhuang Project]
- [http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/gansu/dunhuang/mogao_grottoes/index.htm Travel China Guide: Dunhuang Caves] Category:Caves Category:Central Asian Buddhist sites Category:Chinese Buddhist Grottoes Category:Sites along the Silk Road Category:World Heritage Sites in China ja:莫高窟

113 BCE

Centuries: 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC Decades: 160s BC 150s BC 140s BC 130s BC 120s BC - 110s BC - 100s BC 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC Years: 118 BC 117 BC 116 BC 115 BC 114 BC - 113 BC - 112 BC 111 BC 110 BC 109 BC 108 BC ---- Births
- Deaths
- Prince Liu Sheng
- Zhang Qian Events
- Germanic tribes attack Gaul and northern Spain, the Cimbri defeated a Roman army under G. Papirius Carbo in the Drava Valley.
- War between the Celtiberians and the Romans.
- Antiochus IX Cyzicenus becomes king of Seleucid Sport
- Arts and Entertainment
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List of explorers

:Expedition redirects here. See also explorations, sea explorers, astronaut, conquistador, travelogue, the History of Science and Technology and Biography. Also, see International Space Station for ISS explorers, and for the Ford Motor Company's large SUV, see Ford Expedition (especially replacing the Ford Excursion). For the science-fiction book, see Expedition (book). __NOTOC__

A

- Antonio de Abreu (16th century Portuguese explorer of Indonesia)
- Charles Albanel (1616-1696), Canada
- Afonso de Albuquerque (16th century Portuguese naval explorer and viceroy of India)
- Pêro de Alenquer (15th century Portuguese explorer of the African coast)
- Benedict Allen, (1960-), modern day British explorer
- Diego de Almagro
- Francisco de Almeida (16th century Portuguese naval explorer and viceroy of India)
- Pedro de Alvarado
- Francisco Alvarez (16th century Portuguese missionary and explorer in Ethiopia)
- Jorge Álvares (16th century Portuguese, the first to reach China)
- Roald Amundsen, (1872-1928), Norwegian, first at the South Pole, first to navigate the Northwest Passage in a single ship
- Fernão Pires de Andrade (16th century Portuguese merchant in China)
- Salomon August Andrée (1854 – 1897) Swedish, Arctic explorer
- Roy Chapman Andrews, (1884-1960), US explorer
- Diogo de Azambuja (15th century Portuguese explorer of the African coast)

B

- George Back, (1796—1878), British naval officer, several expeditions to the Canadian Arctic
- William Baffin, (1584-1622)
- Samuel Baker, Africa
- Vasco Núñez de Balboa, (c. 1475-1519), Spanish, first to sight the Pacific Ocean, founded Darién, oldest surviving European settlement in the South American continent.
- Pêro de Barcelos (15th century/16th century Portuguese explorer of North America)
- Willem Barents, (1550?-1597), Dutch, died on Novaya Zemlya Northeast Passage
- Heinrich Barth (1821-1865), Northern and Central Africa
- Robert Bartlett (1875-1946), notable Arctic explorer
- George Bass - Australian explorer
- Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta, (1304?-1377?), Moroccan Berber Muslim, visited Mecca several times, travelled to Central Asia, East Africa, China, Tombouctou and other places
- Nicolas Baudin - 18th century French explorer, mapped the West Australian coastline.
- Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, Russian explorer
- Joseph René Bellot French Arctic explorer
- Moric Benovsky, Slovak
- Vitus Bering
- W T Blake The man who led the first attempt to fly round the world in 1922
- Vittorio Bottego (1860,1897), Italian explorer of the Giuba region in northeast Africa
- Pierre Savorgan de Brazza Italian explorer naturalized French. French Congo's founder.
- Saint Brendan - Irish abbot who sailed the Atlantic Ocean
- James Bruce
- William S. Bruce, (1867-1921) Scottish explorer of Antarctica
- Cornelis de Bruijn, (1652-1727), Dutch traveler and artist
- Lafayette Bunnell, (1824-1903), described Yosemite Valley
- Richard Francis Burton, (1821-1890), looking for the source of the Nile, discovered Lake Tanganyika
- Richard E. Byrd, (1888-1957), flew over South Pole

C

- John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto), (c. 1450 – 1499), Italian navigator in English service, crossed the Atlantic Ocean to North America
- Pedro Álvares Cabral, (c. 1467-c. 1520), Portuguese navigator, discovered Brazil and Madagascar
- João Rodrigues Cabrilho (16th century Portuguese discoverer of California)
- Alvise Cadamosto (1432-1488), Portuguese explorer of Venetian origin
- Alvaro Caminha (15th century Portuguese explorer of the Atlantic islands)
- Pêro Vaz de Caminha (15th century Portuguese explorer of the sea route to Brazil)
- Diogo Cão, (15th century), Portuguese navigator, explored the area around the West African coast
- Jan Carstensz, (c.1595—?), Dutch explorer of New Guinea coast, navigated the Gulf of Carpentaria in 1623
- Jacques Cartier, (1491-1557), discovered the St. Lawrence River and sailed up it to Montreal; failed in an attempt to set up a colony
- Thomas Cavendish, (died 1592), English sailor and explorer.
- Samuel de Champlain, (c. 1567-1635), established the French colony in Canada; discovered the Great Lakes
- William Clark, (1770-1838), with Meriwether Lewis led the first American expedition to reach the west coast.
- Gonçalo Coelho (15th century/16th century Portuguese explorer of the South American coast)
- Nicolau Coelho (15th century Portuguese explorer of the sea route to Brazil)
- Christopher Columbus, (1451-1506), reached America looking for a searoute to the Indies; discovered various lands and islands and established a colony on Hispaniola
- Niccolò Da Conti, (1395–1469), Venetian explorer of South and Southeast Asia
- James Cook, (1728-1779), explored the Pacific, discovering or mapping many lands and islands
- Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, (c. 1510-1554), explored New Mexico and American southwest
- João Vaz Corte-Real (15th century Portuguese explorer of North America)
- Gaspar Corte-Real (16th century Portuguese explorer of North America)
- Miguel Corte-Real (16th century Portuguese explorer of North America)
- Hernán Cortés, (1485-1547), conquered the Aztec empire in Mexico; sent out expeditions to Baja California
- Juan de la Cosa
- Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (1910-1997), French marine biologist and explorer
- Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral (20th century Portuguese air pioneers, the first to cross the South Atlantic Ocean by air)
- Pero da Covilhã (15th century/16th century Portuguese diplomat and explorer in Ethiopia)
- Tristão da Cunha (16th century Portuguese naval general and discoverer)

D

- Alexandra David-Néel, (1868-1969), French explorer, visited Lhasa, Tibet in 1924
- Semyon Dezhnev, Russian explorer, first European who sailed through Bering Strait
- Bartolomeu Dias, (1450-1500), Portuguese explorer who first rounded the Cape of Good Hope
- Dinis Dias, 15th century Portuguese explorer, first European to reach Cape Verde
- Diogo Dias (15th century Portuguese explorer of the Atlantic islands, of the African coast and the Indian Ocean, discovered Madagascar)
- Pêro Dias (15th century Portuguese explorer of the African coast)
- Bernal Díaz del Castillo
- David Douglas, Scottish explorer, botanist
- Sir Francis Drake, (c. 1540-1596), pirate, leader of the second circumnavigation
- Jules Dumont d'Urville, (1790-1842), explorer of the Pacific and Antarctica

E

- Gil Eanes (15th century Portuguese explorer of the African coast)
- Juan Sebastián Elcano - completed the first circumnavigation, started by Magellan
- Eric the Red, (c.950-1003), explored and colonized Greenland
- Leif Ericson, (born 970), attempted to colonize Vinland, discovered America
- Pedro Escobar (15th century Portuguese explorer of the Atlantic islands)
- George Everest, (1790-1866)

F

- Edmund Fanning, (1769-1841), "Pathfinder of the Pacific", discoverer of numerous South Pacific islands
- António Fernandes (15th century Portuguese explorer of the African coast)
- Baltazar Fernandes (17th century Portuguese explorer of Brazil's interior)
- Duarte Fernandes (16th century Portuguese diplomat in Thailand)
- Matthew Flinders, (1774-1814), first to circumnavigate Australia and Tasmania, extensively charted the coastline and named such features as the Great Barrier Reef and the Great Australian Bight.
- Alexander Forbes, Scottish explorer of North American Pacific coast
- John Franklin, (1786-1847), disappeared exploring Arctic Canada in search of the Northwest Passage
- John C. Fremont, (1813-1890), "Pathfinder of the West" explored the Oregon Trail and the Sierra Nevada, first Republican nominee for President of the United States
- Louis de Freycinet, (1779-1842), explored coastal regions of Western Australia

G

- Alfons Gabriel, (1892-1976) Austrian explorer of the Iranian deserts.
- Yuri Gagarin first man in Space and Cosmonaut
- Juan Galindo (1802-1839) explorer of Central American ruins
- Estevão da Gama (16th century Portuguese explorer of the Indian Ocean)
- Paulo da Gama (15th century Portuguese explorer of the sea route to India)
- Vasco da Gama, (1469?-1524), Portuguese navigator, first to reach India from Europe by sea route in 1498
- Thomas Gann, explorer
- Francis Garnier, (1839-1873), Mekong River
- Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de la Vérendrye, (1685-1749), explorer
- Romolo Gessi ( (1831, 1881)), Italian explorer of the Nile and of Sudan
- Ernest Giles, (1835-1897), explorer of central Australia
- André Gonçalves (15th century Portuguese explorer of the sea route to Brazil)
- Antão Gonçalves (15th century Portuguese explorer of the West African coast)
- Lopes Gonçalves (15th century Portuguese explorer of the Atlantic)
- James Augustus Grant, (1827-1892), Scottish officer and explorer, explored the eastern equatorial Africa
- João Grego (15th century Portuguese explorer of the African coast)
- Juan de Grijalva

H

- Hanno the Navigator - Carthageinian who travelled along the coast of Africa
- Hannu, ancient Egyptian explorer (around 2750 BC) and the first explorer of whom there is any knowledge
- Dirk Hartog, (1580—1621), Dutch VOC captain, charted mid-western coast of Australia
- Sven Hedin, (1865-1952), Swedish explorer of Central Asia
- Louis Hennepin - discoverer of Niagara Falls and the Saint Anthony Falls (the only waterfall on the Mississippi)
- Bjarni Herjulfsson - Viking, probable discoverer of North America
- Thor Heyerdahl, (1914-2002), Norwegian explorer
- Sir Edmund Hillary, with Tenzing Norgay was the first person to the summit of Mount Everest
- Himilco the Navigator, Carthaginian navigator
- Clement Hodgkinson - (1818-1893) Australian explorer
- Cornelis de Houtman, (1565—1599), brother to Frederick, established Dutch trading route to the Spice Islands
- Frederick de Houtman, (1571—1627), brother to Cornelis, charted several constellations in the southern skies, explored coast of Western Australia
- William Hovell - Australian explorer
- Henry Hudson, (died 1570), discovered the Hudson River and sailed up it to Albany, discovered Hudson Bay
- Alexander von Humboldt, (1769-1859), German naturalist, explored Central and South America, visited Siberia
- Hamilton Hume - Australian explorer

I

- Ibn Battuta, (1304-1377), Moroccan explorer of Africa and Asia, author of the Rihla
- Ibn Rustah, 10th century Persian explorer of Russia, Scandinavia and Arabia
- João Infante (15th century Portuguese explorer of the African coast)
- Helge Ingstad, (1899-2001) Norwegian-Danish explorer, Governor of Greenland

K

- Thorfinn Karlsefni, (fl 1010), Icelandic explorer
- George Kennan, (1845-1924), Siberia
- Edmund Kennedy, (1818-1848), Australian explorer
- Ferdinand Konščak, (1703-1759), Croatia, California, Mexico
- Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov (1863-1935), Mongolia and Tibet

L

- Richard Lemon Lander (1804-1834)
- Jean François La Pérouse, (1741-1788), French explorer of the Pacific
- René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle, (1643-1687), French explorer of the Mississippi basin
- João Fernandes Lavrador (15th century/16th century Portuguese explorer of North America)
- Albert von Le Coq, (1860-1930), German explorer of Central Asia
- John Ledyard, (1751-1789), American explorer of Russia and sailor with Captain James Cook
- Miguel López de Legaspi, Spanish explorer of the Philippines and Mexico
- Ludwig Leichhardt, (1813-1848), Prussian explorer of Australia
- Gaspar de Lemos (15th century/16th century Portuguese explorer of the Atlantic and of the sea route to Brazil)
- Dragutin Lerman, (1863-1918), Croatia, (Congo, Africa)
- Meriwether Lewis, (1774-1809), leader of the first American expedition to cross the continent
- David Livingstone, (1813-1873), Scottish explorer of south and east Africa, determined the course of the Zambezi, discovered Lake Nyasa

M

- Alexander Mackenzie, (1764-1820), Scottish, Western and Northern Canada to Arctic and Pacific Oceans
- Ferdinand Magellan, (c. 1470-1521), Portuguese navigator, leader of first expedition around the world and the first European to have sailed the Pacific Ocean
- Teoberto Maler (1840-1917) Maya ruins
- Lourenço Marques (16th century Portuguese trader and explorer in East Africa)
- Álvaro Martins (15th century Portuguese explorer of the African coast)
- Pedro Mascarenhas (16th century Portuguese explorer of the Indian Ocean)
- Douglas Mawson - Australian explorer of Antarctica
- Hugh McNeil, Lewis and Clark Party member
- Álvaro de Mendaña
- Archibald Menzies (1754-1852)
- Thomas Mitchell - (1792-1855), Scottish explorer of Australia

N

- Fridtjof Nansen, (1861-1930), arctic explorer, scientist and international statesman
- Nehsi, ancient Egyptian explorer in service of Egyptian queen Hatshepsut
- Jean Nicolet, (1628-1642), early French explorer of the Old Northwest
- Joseph Nicollet, (1786-1843), explorer of the Upper Mississippi River and Missouri River
- Afanasiy Nikitin (the first European to visit India and to document his travels)
- António Noli (15th century Portuguese explorer of the Atlantic islands and of the African coast)
- Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld, (1832-1901), arctic explorer
- Fernão de Noronha (15th century/16th century Portuguese explorer of the Atlantic)
- João da Nova (16th century Portuguese explorer of the Atlantic and of the Indian Ocean)
- Paulo Dias de Novais (16th century Portuguese explorer and colonizer of Africa)
- Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca

O

- Francisco de Orellana - first to navigate down the Amazon River
- John Oxley - Australian explorer

P

- Mungo Park (1771-1806), Scottish explorer of Western Equatorial Africa
- William Parry, (1790-1855), Arctic explorer
- Robert Edwin Peary, (1856-1920), notable Arctic explorer and leader of expedition usually credited as being first to reach the North Pole, actual attainment disputed in some quarters
- Paul Pelliot, French explorer of Central Asia
- Duarte Pacheco Pereira (15th century Portuguese explorer of the Atlantic)
- Bartolomeu Perestrelo (15th century Portuguese explorer of the Atlantic islands)
- Auguste Piccard, (1884-1962), physicist and explorer
- Jacques Piccard, (born 1922), undersea explorer
- Zebulon Pike, (1779-1813), explored Louisiana Purchase, Pikes Peak
- Alonso Alvarez de Pineda, (1494?-1519?)
- Serpa Pinto (19th century Portuguese explorer and soldier in Africa)
- Fernão Mendes Pinto (16th century Portuguese explorer and adventurer, was among the first Europeans to reach Japan)
- Martin Alonzo Pinzón (1441?-1493)
- Vicente Yáñez Pinzón (1460? - after 1523)
- Luís Pires (15th century Portuguese explorer of the sea route to Brazil)
- Francisco Pizarro, (1471-1541), conqueror of the Inca Empire
- Fernão do Pó (15th century Portuguese explorer of the African coast)
- Marco Polo, (1254-1323), Venetian Republic, travelled to China in the 13th century
- Peter Pond, (c. 1739 - 1807), Northwest Canada
- Gaspar de Portolà (fl. 1734-1784), explored California
- John Wesley Powell, (1834-1902), explorer, environmentalist
- Nathaniel Pryor, (c. 1785-1850), US explorer
- Nikolai Przhevalsky, (1839-1888), Russian explorer in central and eastern Asia
- Pytheas, Greek explorer who visited Britain and other north and northwest European countries

Q

- Pedro Fernandes de Queiroz (1565-1614), Portuguese seaman and explorer of the southwest Pacific, some have claimed he discovered Australia

R

- John Rae, (1813-1893), travelled widely through the Canadian Arctic
- Walter Raleigh, (1554?-1618), English explorer
- Diogo Rodrigues (16th century Portuguese explorer of the Indian Ocean)
- Cândido Rondon, (1865-1958), Explored the Amazon Basin with Teddy Roosevelt
- James Clark Ross, (1800-1862), Scottish explorer

S

- René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, (1643-1687) French merchant and explorer, explored Great Lakes, navigated Mississippi and looked for its delta
- João de Santarém (15th century Portuguese explorer of the Atlantic islands)
- Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa
- Robert Falcon Scott, (1868-1912), reached the South Pole less than one month after Amundsen, but died on the return voyage
- Scylax of Caryanda - a Greek explorer sent by the king of Persia to sail down the Indus River and around Arabia to Egypt
- Tibor Sekelj Croatia, South America
- Mirko Seljan (1821-1912?(3)), Croatia,( Ethiopia, South America)
- Stjepan Seljan (1873-1936), Croatia, (Ethiopia, South America)
- Ernest Shackleton, (1874-1922), attempted to reach the South Pole and went further south than anyone before him
- Eric Shipton, (1907-1977), explored Himalayas & Patagonian icecap with Harold William Tilman
- Diogo Silves (15th century Portuguese explorer of the Atlantic islands)
- Pêro de Sintra (15th century Portuguese explorer of the African coast)
- William Smith (born around 1775), discovered South Shetland Islands
- Hernando de Soto, (died 1542), explorer
- Martim Afonso de Sousa (16th century Portuguese explorer and soldier in India)
- John Hanning Speke, (1827-1864), discovered the main source of the Nile River, Lake Victoria
- William Stairs, (1863-1892), Victorian explorer, discovered one source of the Nile River, first non-African to ever climb in the Ruwenzori.
- Henry Morton Stanley, (1841-1904), successfully searched for Livingstone in Africa; later explored Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika and the Congo River
- Marc Aurel Stein, Hungarian explorer of Central Asia
- John Lloyd Stephens (1805-1852) explored Middle East, Central America
- Sir Paul Edmund Strzelecki, (1793-1873), Polish explorer and geologist
- John McDouall Stuart (1815-1866), Scottish explorer of inland Australia
- Charles Sturt - Australian explorer
- Ignacije Szentmartony (1718-1793), Croatia (Jesuit, astronomer), Amazon River, Brazil

T

- Abel Tasman, (1603-1659), discovered Tasmania and New Zealand
- Pedro Teixeira (17th century Portuguese explorer of the Amazon river)
- Tristão Vaz Teixeira (15th century Portuguese explorer of the Atlantic islands)
- Tenzing Norgay, with Sir Edmund Hillary was the first person to the summit of Mount Everest
- Harold William Tilman (Bill Tilman) (1897-1977), explored Himalayas & Patagonian icecap with Eric Shipton
- Yermak Timofeyevich, Russian cossack, explored West Siberia and claimed it for Russia
- Luis Váez de Torres (16th century/17th century Portuguese explorer of southwest Pacific)
- Nuno Tristão (15th century Portuguese explorer of the West African coast)

U

- Andrés de Urdaneta, Spanish geographer who discovered the Urdaneta Route, giving so way to the Manila Galleon.

V

- George Vancouver, (1757-1798), British Royal Navy captain; explored the Pacific coast of North America, naming many locations in the Pacific Northwest.
- Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye (1685-1749), French Canadian military officer, fur trader and explorer, explored Western Canada
- Gonçalo Velho (15th century Portuguese explorer of the Atlantic islands)
- Giovanni da Verrazano, (died 1528), sea explorer
- Amerigo Vespucci, (1454-1512), discovered other parts of America and gave his name to the new continents
- Ruy López de Villalobos. Spanish; explored the Pacific and the Philippines, which he named after Philip II of Spain
- Willem de Vlamingh (1640-?). Flemish/Dutch captain; in 1696 and 1697 he charted the coast of northwest Australia.

W

- Jean-Frédéric Waldeck, (1766-1875), French antiquarian, artist, explorer
- Thomas Walker, medical doctor and early explorer of North America west of the Appalachian Mountains
- Langdon Warner, American explorer of Central Asia
- Harry de Windt Explorer, adventurer and author.

Y

- Sir Francis Younghusband, (1863-1942), India and Tibet

Z

- João Gonçalves Zarco (15th century Portuguese explorer of the Atlantic islands)
- Zhang Qian - spent 12 years starting in 138 BC exploring much of Central Asia for Emperor Han Wu Di
- Zheng He, (1371-1435), Chinese admiral who travelled widely over the Indian Ocean and other seas, reaching Africa and Arabia and many other countries

Þ

- Guðríður Þorbjarnardóttir, female explorer of the Middle Ages Explorers Category:Exploration
- ja:探検家

Han Dynasty

The Han Dynasty (; 206 BC - AD 220) followed the Qin Dynasty and preceded the Three Kingdoms in China. The dynasty was founded by the Liu family. The Chinese people consider the Han Dynasty to be one of the greatest periods in the entire history of China. As a result, the members of the ethnic majority of Chinese people to this day still call themselves "people of Han," in honor of the Liu family and the dynasty they created. During the Han Dynasty, China officially became a Confucian state and prospered domestically: agriculture, handicrafts and commerce flourished, and the population reached 50 million. Meanwhile, the empire extended its political and cultural influence over Vietnam, Central Asia, Mongolia, and Korea before it finally collapsed under a combination of domestic and external pressures. The first of the two periods of the dynasty, namely the Former Han Dynasty (Qian Han 前漢) or the Western Han Dynasty (Xi Han 西漢) 206 BC - AD 9 seated at Chang'an. The Later Han Dynasty (Hou Han 後漢) or the Eastern Han Dynasty (Dong Han 東漢) 25 - 220 seated at Luoyang. The western-eastern Han convention is used nowadays to avoid confusion with the Later Han Dynasty of the Period of the Five Dynasties and the Ten Kingdoms although the former-later nomenclature was used in history texts including Sima Guang's Zizhi Tongjian. Intellectual, literary, and artistic endeavors revived and flourished during the Han Dynasty. The Han period produced China's most famous historian, Sima Qian (145 -87 BC?), whose Records of the Grand Historian provides a detailed chronicle from the time of legendary Xia emperor to that of the Emperor Wu ( 141- 87 BC). Technological advances also marked this period. One of the great Chinese inventions, paper, dates from Han times. It is fair enough to state that contemporary empires of the Han Dynasty and the Roman Empire were the two superpowers of the known world. Several Roman embassies to China are recounted in Chinese history, starting with a Hou Hanshu (History of the Later Han) account of a Roman convoy set out by emperor Antoninus Pius that reached the Chinese capital Luoyang in 166 and was greeted by Emperor Huan. The Han dynasty was notable also for its military prowess. The empire expanded westward as far as the rim of the Tarim Basin (in modern Xinjiang-Uyghur Autonomous Region), making possible relatively secure caravan traffic across Central Asia. The paths of caravan traffic are often called the "Silk Road" because the route was used to export Chinese silk. Chinese armies also invaded and annexed parts of northern Vietnam and northern Korea (Wiman Joseon) toward the end of the second century BC. Han control of peripheral regions was generally insecure, however. To ensure peace with non-Chinese local powers, the Han court developed a mutually beneficial "tributary system." Non-Chinese states were allowed to remain autonomous in exchange for symbolic acceptance of Han overlordship. Tributary ties were confirmed and strengthened through intermarriages at the ruling level and periodic exchanges of gifts and goods.

The Emergence

Within the first three months after Qin Dynasty emperor Qin Shi Huang's death at Shaqiu, widespread revolts by peasants, prisoners, soldiers and descendants of the nobles of the six Warring States sprang up all over China. Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, two in a group of about 900 soldiers assigned to defend against the Xiongnu, were the leaders of the first rebellion. Continuous insurgence finally toppled the Qin dynasty in 206 BC. The leader of the insurgents was Xiang Yu, an outstanding military commander without political expertise, who divided the country into 19 feudal states to his own satisfaction. The ensuing war among those states signified the 5 years of Chu Han Contention with Liu Bang, the first emperor of the Han Dynasty, as the eventual winner. Initially, "Han" (the principality as created by Xiang Yu's division) consisted merely of modern Sichuan, Chongqing, and southern Shaanxi and was a minor humble principality, but eventually grew into an empire; Han Dynasty was named after the principality, which was itself named after Hanzhong (漢中) -- modern southern Shaanxi, the region centering the modern city of Hanzhong. The beginning of the Han Dynasty can be dated either from 206 BC when the Qin dynasty crumbled and the Principality of Han was established or 202 BC when Xiang Yu committed suicide. __NOTOC__

Taoism and Feudal System

The new empire retained much of the Qin administrative structure but retreated a bit from centralized rule by establishing vassal principalities in some areas for the sake of political convenience. After the establishment of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Gao (Liu Bang) divided the country into several "feudal states" to satisfy some of his wartime allies - but planned to get rid of them once he had consolidated his power. After his death, his successors from Emperor Hui to Emperor Jing tried to rule China combining Legalist methods with the Taoist philosophic ideals. During this "pseudo-Taoism era", a stable centralized government over China was established through revival of the agriculture sectors and fragmentations of "feudal states" after the suppression of the Rebellion of the seven states.

Emperor Wu and Confucianism

During the "Taoism era", China was able to maintain peace with Xiongnu by paying tribute and marrying princesses to them. During this time, the dynasty's goal was to relieve the society of harsh laws, wars, and conditions from both the Qin, external threats from nomads, and early internal conflicts within the Han court. The government reduced taxation and assumed a subservient status to neighboring nomadic tribes. This policy of the government's reduced role over civilian lives (與民休息) started a period of stability, which was called the Rule of Wen and Jing (文景之治), named after the two emperors of this particular era. However, Under Emperor Wu's leadership, the most prosperous period (140-87 BC)of the Han Dynasty, the Empire was able to fight back. At its height, China incorporated the present-day Qinghai, Gansu, and northern Vietnam into its territories. Emperor Wu decided that Taoism was no longer suitable for China, and officially declared China to be a Confucian state; however, like the emperors before him, he combined Legalist methods with the Confucian ideal. This official adoption of Confucianism led to not only a civil service nomination system, but also the compulsory knowledge of Confucian classics of candidates for the imperial bureaucracy, a requirement that lasted up to the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912. Confucian scholars gained prominent status as the core of the civil service.

Beginning of the Silk Road

1912 travels of Zhang Qian to the West, Mogao Caves, 618-712 AD mural.]] From 138 BC, Emperor Wu also dispatched Zhang Qian twice as his envoy to the Western Regions, and in the process pioneered the route known as the Silk Road from Chang'an (today's Xi'an, Shaanxi Province), through Xinjiang and Central Asia, and on to the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Following Zhang Qian' embassy and report, commercial relations between China and Central as well as Western Asia flourished, as many Chinese missions were sent throughout the 1st century BC, initiating the development of the Silk Road: :"The largest of these embassies to foreign states numbered several hundred persons, while even the smaller parties included over 100 members... In the course of one year anywhere from five to six to over ten parties would be sent out." (Shiji, trans. Burton Watson). China also sent missions to Parthia, which were followed up by reciprocal missions from Parthian envoys around 100 BC: :"When the Han envoy first visited the kingdom of Anxi (Parthia), the king of Anxi dispatched a party of 20,000 horsemen to meet them on the eastern border of the kingdom... When the Han envoys set out again to return to China, the king of Anxi dispatched envoys of his own to accompany them... The emperor was delighted at this." (Shiji, 123, trans. Burton Watson). The Roman historian Florus describes the visit of numerous envoys, included Seres (Chinese), to the first Roman Emperor Augustus, who reigned between 27 BC and 14 AD: :"Even the rest of the nations of the world which were not subject to the imperial sway were sensible of its grandeur, and looked with reverence to the Roman people, the great conqueror of nations. Thus even Scythians and Sarmatians sent envoys to seek the friendship of Rome. Nay, the Seres came likewise, and the Indians who dwelt beneath the vertical sun, bringing presents of precious stones and pearls and elephants, but thinking all of less moment than the vastness of the journey which they had undertaken, and which they said had occupied four years. In truth it needed but to look at their complexion to see that they were people of another world than ours." ("Cathey and the way thither", Henry Yule). Henry Yule In 97 AD the Chinese general Ban Chao went as far west as the Caspian Sea with 70,000 men and established direct military contacts with the Parthian Empire, also dispatching an envoy to Rome in the person of Gan Ying. Several Roman embassies to China soon followed from 166 AD, and are officially recorded in Chinese historical chronicles. Good exchanges such as Chinese silk, African ivory, and Roman incense increase the contacts between the East and West. Contacts with the Kushan Empire led to the introduction of Buddhism to China from India in the first century. See also: Silk Road, Silk Road transmission of Buddhism

Rise of landholding class

To draw funds for his triumphant campaigns against the Xiongnu, Emperor Wu relinquished land control to merchants and the riches, and in effect legalized the privatization of lands. Land taxes were then drawn based on the sizes of fields. It was no longer on their income(harvest), which could not guarantee to pay their taxes completely. Incomes from selling harvest were often market-driven - a stable amount could not be guaranteed especially after harvest-reducing natural disasters. Merchant and prominent families then lured peasants to sell their lands since land accumulation guaranteed living standards of theirs and their descendants' in the agricultural society of China. Lands were hence accumulating into a new class of landholding families. The Han government in turn imposed more taxes on the remaining independent servants in order to make up the tax losses, therefore encouraging more peasants to come under the landholding elite or the landlords. Xiongnu Ideally the peasants pay the landlords certain periodic (usually annual) amount of income, who in turn provide protection against crimes and other hazards. In fact an increasing number of peasant population in the prosperous Han society and limited amount of lands provided the elite to elevate their standards for any new subordinate peasants. The inadequate education and often complete illiteracy of peasants forced them into a living of providing physical services, which were mostly farming in an agricultural society. The peasants, without other professions for their better living, compromised to the lowered standard and sold their harvest to pay their landlords. In fact they often had to delay the payment or borrow money from their landlords in the aftermath of natural disasters that reduced harvests. To make the situation worse, some Han rulers double-taxed the peasants. Eventually the living conditions of the peasants worsened as they solely depended on the harvest of the land they once owned. The landholding elite and landlords, for their part, provided inaccurate information of subordinate peasants and lands to avoid paying taxes; to this very end corruption and incompetence of the Confucian scholar gentry on economics would play a vital part. Han court officials who attempted to strip lands out of the landlords faced such enormous resistance that their policies would never be put in to place. In fact only a member of the landholding families, for instance Wang Mang, was able to put his reforming ideals into effect despite failures of his "turning the clock back" policies.

Interruption of Han rule

After 200 years, Han rule was interrupted briefly during AD 9–24 by Wang Mang, a reformer and a member of the landholding families. The economic situation deteriorated at the end of Western Han Dynasty. Wang Mang, believing the Liu family had lost the Mandate of Heaven, took power and turned the clock back with vigorous monetary and land reforms, which damaged the economy even further.

Rise and Fall of Eastern Han Dynasty

A distant relative of Liu royalty, Liu Xiu, led the revolt against Wang Mang with the support of the landholding families and merchants. He "re-established" the Han Dynasty at Luoyang, which would rule for another 200 years, and became Emperor Guangwu. In 105, During Eastern Han Dynasty, an official and inventor named Cai Lun invented the technique for making fine paper. The invention of paper is considered a revolution in communication and learning, dramatically lowering the cost of education. Cai Lun).]] Nevertheless the Eastern Han emperors failed to put forward any groundbreaking land reforms after the failure of its precedent dynasty. Rife bureaucratic corruption and bribery contributed into lingering adverse consequences of land privatizations throughout the dynasty. Prestige of a newly founded dynasty during the reigns of the first three emperors was barely able to hinder the corruption; however Confucian scholar gentry turned against eunuchs for their corrupted authorities, while consort clans and eunuchs struggled for power in subsequent reigns. None of these three parties was able to improve the harsh livelihood of peasants under the landholding families. Land privatizations and accumulations on the hands of the elite affected the societies of the Three Kingdoms and the Southern and Northern Dynasties that the landholding elite held the actual driving and ruling power of the country. Successful ruling entities worked with these families, and consequently their policies favored the elite. Adverse effects of the Nine grade controller system or the Nine rank system were brilliant examples. Taiping Taoist ideals of equal rights and equal land distribution quickly spread throughout the peasantry. As a result, the peasant insurgents of the Yellow Turban Rebellion swarmed the North China Plain, the main agricultural sector of the country. Power of the Liu royalty then fell into the hands of local governors and warlords, despite suppression of the main upraising of Zhang Jiao and his brothers. Three overlords eventually succeeded in control of the whole of China proper, ushering in the period of the Three Kingdoms. The figurehead Emperor Xian reigned until 220 when Cao Pi forced his abdication. In 311, around one hundred years after the fall of the Eastern Han, its capital Luoyang was sacked by Huns.

Sovereigns of Han Dynasty

External links

- [http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/early_imperial_china/han.html Han Dynasty by Minnesota State University] Category:History of China Category:Iron Age
- ko:한나라 ja:漢

Central Asia

Central Asia (Russian: Среднaя Азия/"Srednaya Azia" for "Middle Asia" or Центральная Азия/"Tsentrallnaya Azia" for "Central Asia"; Mandarin Chinese: 中亚/ pinyin: "Zhŏngyà"; Arabic: ﺔﻄﻮﺳﻠﺍ ﺎﺴﻴﺁ/"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. It is also sometimes known as Turkestan.

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. Many text books still refer to this area as Turkestan, which was the name used prior to Stalin's rule. 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: Средняя Азия (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 Центральная Азия (Tsentral'naya 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". 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. 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. 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. Colonization and settlement by Chinese, Iranians, and Russians was to come later.

Geography

Russians Central Asia is an extremely large region of varied geography, including high plateaus and mountains (Tian Shan), vast deserts (Kara Kum, Kyzyl Kum, Taklamakan), and especially treeless, grassy steppes. Much of the land is too dry or too rugged for farming. The Gobi desert extends from the foot of the Pamirs, 77° east, to the Great Khingan (Da Hinggan) Mountains, 116°-118° east. Central Asia has the following geographic extremes:
- The world's northernmost desert (sand dunes), at Buurug Deliin Els, Mongolia, 50°18' north.
- The Northern Hemisphere's southernmost permafrost, at Erdenetsogt sum, Mongolia, 46°17' north.
- The world's shortest distance between desert and permafrost: 770 km (440 mi). A majority of the people earn a living by herding livestock. Industrial activity centers in the region's cities. Major rivers of the region include the Amu Darya, the Syr Darya and the Hari Rud. 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 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. Caspian Sea in the northeast. The arid climates of the Ferghana Valley, Takla Makan and Gobi deserts are also prominently visible.]]

Climate

Since Central Asia is not buffered by a large body of water, temperature fluctuations are more severe. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Central Asia is part of the Palearctic ecozone. 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.

History

:Main article:History of 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 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 peoples in the world, only limited by their lack of internal unity. Periodically great leaders or changing conditions would organize several tribes into to one force, and create an almost unstoppable power. These included the Hun invasion of Europe, the Wu Hu attacks on China and most notably the Mongol conquest of much of Eurasia. The dominance of the nomads ended in the sixteenth century, as firearms allowed settled peoples to gain control of the region. Russia, China, and other powers expanded into the region and had captured t