Central Asia

Central Asia stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to China in the east and from Afghanistan in the south to Russia in the north.

Afghanistan (Pashto/Dari:, Pashto: Afġānistān, Dari: Afġānestān ), officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in South and Central Asia.

Central Asia stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to China in the east and from Afghanistan in the south to Russia in the north.

It is an endorheic basin (a basin without outflows) located between Europe and Asia, to the east of the Caucasus Mountains and to the west of the broad steppe of Central Asia.

The region consists of the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Kyrgyzstan (Кыргызстан Kyrgyzstan ; Киргизия or Кыргызстан ), officially the Kyrgyz Republic, and also known as Kirghizia, is a country in Central Asia.

The region consists of the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Kazakhstan is the dominant nation of Central Asia economically, generating 60% of the region's GDP, primarily through its oil/gas industry.

The region consists of the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan (Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhuriyi Tojikiston), is a mountainous, landlocked country in Central Asia with an area of 143100 km2 and an estimated population of million people as of.

The region consists of the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Turkmenistan ( or ; Türkmenistan, ), formerly known as Turkmenia, officially the Republic of Turkmenistan, is a country in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north and east, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest, and the Caspian Sea to the west.

The region consists of the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Uzbekistan (, ; Ўзбекистон/Oʻzbekiston ; Узбекистан ), officially also the Republic of Uzbekistan (Ўзбекистон Республикаси/Oʻzbekiston Respublikasi; Республика Узбекистан), is a landlocked country in Central Asia.

It is also colloquially referred to as "the stans" as the countries generally considered to be within the region all have names ending with the Persian suffix "-stan", meaning "land of".

It appears in the names of many regions in Iran, Afghanistan, Central and South Asia, but also in the Caucasus and Russia; areas where significant amounts of Persian culture were spread or adopted.

Central Asia has historically been closely tied to its nomadic peoples and the Silk Road.

The Han dynasty expanded the Central Asian section of the trade routes around 114 BCE through the missions and explorations of the Chinese imperial envoy Zhang Qian.

million), which is a part of South Asia, is also sometimes included in Central Asia.

South Asia is bounded on the south by the Indian Ocean and on land (clockwise, from west) by West Asia, Central Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia.

In pre-Islamic and early Islamic times, Central Asia was predominantly Iranian, populated by Eastern Iranian-speaking Bactrians, Sogdians, Chorasmians and the semi-nomadic Scythians and Dahae. An alternative method is to define the region based on ethnicity, and in particular, areas populated by Eastern Turkic, Eastern Iranian, or Mongolian peoples.

The Proto-Iranians are believed to have emerged as a separate branch of the Indo-Iranians in Central Asia in the mid-2nd millennium BCE.

After expansion by Turkic peoples, Central Asia also became the homeland for the Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Tatars, Turkmen, Kyrgyz, and Uyghurs; Turkic languages largely replaced the Iranian languages spoken in the area. An alternative method is to define the region based on ethnicity, and in particular, areas populated by Eastern Turkic, Eastern Iranian, or Mongolian peoples.

The Turkic peoples are a collection of ethno-linguistic groups of Central, Eastern, Northern and Western Asia as well as parts of Europe and North Africa.

It is also colloquially referred to as "the stans" as the countries generally considered to be within the region all have names ending with the Persian suffix "-stan", meaning "land of".

For centuries, Persian has also been a prestigious cultural language in other regions of Western Asia, Central Asia, and South Asia by the various empires based in the regions.

After expansion by Turkic peoples, Central Asia also became the homeland for the Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Tatars, Turkmen, Kyrgyz, and Uyghurs; Turkic languages largely replaced the Iranian languages spoken in the area.

The Kazakhs (also spelled Kazaks, Qazaqs; Қазақ, Qazaq, قازاق, Qazaqtar, Қазақтар, قازاقتار ; the English name is transliterated from Russian) are a Turkic people who mainly inhabit the southern part of Eastern Europe and the Ural mountains and northern parts of Central Asia (largely Kazakhstan, but also parts of Uzbekistan, China, Russia and Mongolia), the region also known as the Eurasian sub-continent.

After expansion by Turkic peoples, Central Asia also became the homeland for the Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Tatars, Turkmen, Kyrgyz, and Uyghurs; Turkic languages largely replaced the Iranian languages spoken in the area.

The Uzbeks (Oʻzbek/Ўзбек, pl. Oʻzbeklar/Ўзбеклар) are a Turkic ethnic group; the largest Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia.

After expansion by Turkic peoples, Central Asia also became the homeland for the Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Tatars, Turkmen, Kyrgyz, and Uyghurs; Turkic languages largely replaced the Iranian languages spoken in the area.

Turkmens (Türkmenler, Түркменлер, IPA: ; historically also the Turkmen) are a nation and Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, primarily the Turkmen nation state of Turkmenistan.

In pre-Islamic and early Islamic times, Central Asia was predominantly Iranian, populated by Eastern Iranian-speaking Bactrians, Sogdians, Chorasmians and the semi-nomadic Scythians and Dahae.

Other Scythian groups documented by Assyrian, Achaemenid and Chinese sources show that they also existed in Central Asia, where they were referred to as the Iskuzai/Askuzai, Saka (Old Persian: Sakā; New Persian/ساکا; Sanskrit: शक Śaka; Greek: Σάκαι; Latin: Sacae), and Sai (Old Chinese: *), respectively.

After expansion by Turkic peoples, Central Asia also became the homeland for the Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Tatars, Turkmen, Kyrgyz, and Uyghurs; Turkic languages largely replaced the Iranian languages spoken in the area.

The Uyghurs, Uighurs, or Uygurs (as the standard romanisation in Chinese GB 3304-1991) are a Turkic ethnicity who live in East and Central Asia.

In pre-Islamic and early Islamic times, Central Asia was predominantly Iranian, populated by Eastern Iranian-speaking Bactrians, Sogdians, Chorasmians and the semi-nomadic Scythians and Dahae.

The Dahae, also known as the Daae, Dahas or Dahaeans (Dahae; Dahan; Dáoi, Dáai, Dai, Dasai; Sanskrit: Dasa; 大益 Dayi) were a Scythian people of ancient Central Asia.

After expansion by Turkic peoples, Central Asia also became the homeland for the Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Tatars, Turkmen, Kyrgyz, and Uyghurs; Turkic languages largely replaced the Iranian languages spoken in the area.

The name "Tatar" first appears in written form on the Kul Tigin monument as 𐱃𐱃𐰺 (Ta-tar). Historically, the term "Tatars" was applied to anyone originating from the vast Northern and Central Asian landmass then known as the Tartary, which was dominated by various mostly Turco-Mongol semi-nomadic empires and kingdoms.

However, the Russian culture has two distinct terms: Средняя Азия (Srednyaya Aziya 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 (Tsentralnaya Aziya or "Central Asia", the wider definition, which includes Central Asian lands that have never been part of historical Russia). Soon after independence, the leaders of the four 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.

Soviet Central Asia refers to the section of Central Asia formerly controlled by the Soviet Union, as well as the time period of Soviet administration (1918–1991).

Soon after independence, the leaders of the four 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.

Tashkent (Toshkent, Тошкент, تاشكېنت, ; Ташкент, ) is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan, as well as the most populated city in ex-Soviet Central Asia (though the larger urban centers of Urumqi in China and Kabul in Afghanistan lie well within the geographic region of Central Asia) with a population in 2018 of 2,485,900.

An alternative method is to define the region based on ethnicity, and in particular, areas populated by Eastern Turkic, Eastern Iranian, or Mongolian peoples.

The Mongols (Монголчууд, Mongolchuud, ) are an East-Central Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia and to China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Central Asia is sometimes referred to as Turkestan.

Turkestan, also spelt Turkistan (literally "Land of the Turks" in Persian), refers to an area in Central Asia between Siberia to the north and Iran, Afghanistan, and Tibet to the south, the Caspian Sea to the west and the Gobi Desert to the east.

Central Asia is an extremely large region of varied geography, including high passes and mountains (Tian Shan), vast deserts (Kyzyl Kum, Taklamakan), and especially treeless, grassy steppes.

The Tian Shan, also known as the Tengri Tagh, meaning the Mountains of Heaven or the Heavenly Mountain, is a large system of mountain ranges located in Central Asia.