Readers will discover through this six-volume work cultures that flourished and vanished from the dawn of civilization to the present time and how the history of the ancient and medieval world was shaped by the movements of peoples in this heartland of Eurasia, stretching from the Caspian Sea to the borders of China. Based on a wealth of archeological materials and written by a distinguised team of specialists, Volume I studies the origin of humankind and culture in Central Asia, from the Palaeolithic beginnings to circa 700 B.C., when foundations were laid for the constitution of the great Archaemenid Empire.The Bronze Age wirtnesses the first process of urbanization from the Indus to the Oxus, as well as intensive trading between the different areas. No less important are the nomadic pastoral tribes, such as the Aryans, whose history can, for the first time, be seen in true perspective in the light of recent archaeological research.
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Volume II: The Development of Sedentary and Nomadic Civilizations: 700 B.C. to A.D. 250
Volume III: The Crossroads of Civilization: A.D. 250 to 750
Volume IV: The Age of Achievement: A.D. 750 to the End of the Fifteenth Century
Part One: The Historical, Social and Economic Setting
Part Two: The Achievements
Volume V: Development in Contrast: from the Sixteenth to the Mid-nineteenth Century
Volume VI: Towards the Contemporary Period: From the Mid-nineteenth to the End of the Twentieth Century