The History of Central Asia: The Age of Islam and the Mongols

Christoph Baumer - a leading explorer and historian of Central Asia, Tibet and China - has written several well-received books in the fields of history, religion, archaeology and travel. These include The Church of the East: An Illustrated History of Assyrian Christianity, Traces in the Desert: Journeys of Discovery across Central Asia and China's Holy Mountain: An Illustrated Journey into the Heart of Buddhism, all published by I.B.Tauris. His magisterial four-volume study of Central Asia began in 2012 with volume 1, The History of Central Asia: The Age of the Steppe Warriors, and continued in 2014 with volume 2, The Age of the Silk Roads. The final volume will publish in 2018.

A rarity - a labour of love, scholarship and high-class publishing ... an astounding achievement.
Many have written about Genghis Khan and his successors' national and international military campaigns. But seldom has the prose been so lucid and the illustrations so illuminating ... Under Baumer's expert guidance and firm hand, historians, religious scholars and the non-specialist can follow Genghis Khan's Islamic predecessors and the Mongols along the surface of the earth.

Introduction1. Early Empires and Kingdoms in East Central Asia 2. Early Buddhism in Central Asia and the Gandhara School3. The Migration of Hunnic Peoples to Northern China, Central Asia and Eastern Europe 4. The Kingdoms of the Tarim Basin and their Schools of Buddhist Art5. The First Turkic Khaganate 6. Turkic Kingdoms of Eastern Europe7. The Sogdians8.The Second Turkic Khaganate and the Turgesh 9. China, Tibet and the Arabs: The Struggle for Supremacy in Central Asia 10. The Uyghurs11. OutlookAppendixNotesBibliographyList of MapsPhoto CreditsAcknowledgements Index ConceptsPeoplePlaces