ABSTRACT
Central Asian history is replete with accounts of cruel invasions, dramatic catastrophes, and the rising and falling of legions of empires, such as those of Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and Tamurlane. Countless warriors, merchants, and missionaries have claimed the region as their own in endless waves of bloody conquest. Vast armies of Sogdians, Turks, Arabs, Persians, Uzbeks, Mongols, Uighurs, Chinese, Tibetans, Tatars, Russians, and many others have left traces of their religious and cultural values on Central Asia. At times, the exotic accounts of Central Asian history seem more appropriate as stories to be read beside a glowing fire in an Uzbek or Kazakh yurt or while sitting at a teahouse (chaykhana) in Bukhara surrounded by mulberry trees or while resting in the middle of the Jayma bazaar in Osh leisurely savoring a steaming cup of tea. British and North American historical narratives of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries often parade, one after another, a circus menagerie of blurred generalizations and bold assertions. In the final analysis, it may not be possible today to know much of what actually transpired in the past because much of Central Asia’s history remains clouded in uncertainty. Central Asia, however, has always been a contested prize sought by strong neighbors and ruthless enemies. From King Xerxes,1 the master of Persia five centuries before Christ, to the Russian Czars beginning with General Chernayayev’s soldiers and through the Soviet rule of Lenin and Stalin, a parade of powerful despots has conquered the caravan cities along the Great Silk Road.
