ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the reader to a history of Central Asia up to its direct rule under the Russian Empire. Intended for students unfamiliar with the millennia of history prior to Russian control and influence, this history synthesises some major secondary works supplemented by a selection of groundbreaking newer publications. Covering some political, cultural, military, religious and economic changes allows the reader to connect modern Central Asia with some of its historical dynamism. The synthesis presented was written without nationalist intentions and does not enter into arguments of how closely related historical figures and populations are to current ones. In other words, Scythians may be the ancestors of the modern Kazakhs, but corralling evidence for that argument is not the goal of this chapter. It is for the reader to decide how much contemporary identity in the region is a continuation of past trends or novel and unprecedented.
