Customer Reviews

The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I first read this book twelve years ago and have been fascinated with the history of the Central Asian steppes ever since. Rene Grousset was one of those rare writers who could infect the reader with the same enthusiasm and interest that he himself possessed. Naomi Walford did a fantastic job translating from the original French text and retaining the spirit of the work. The 600+ pages cover in chronological order the history of steppe tribes from the Scythians to the Dzungar realm in the late 18th century. Throughout the work Grousset conveys to the reader a detailed picture of the various Turkic, Mongol, and Manchu tribes (and to a lesser extent Indo-Eurpoean tribes), and how political and military control of the steppe regions shifted between these tribes over the centuries. There is also a great deal of coverage on the more well-known known conquerors (Genghis and Kublai Khan, Tamerlane) and their empires. The book contains a great number of quotes from passages recorded by many civilizations throughout history which had come in contact with these Central Asian peoples, and these coupled with Grousset's writing style portray the events and personalities of that distant age in a more intimate light. The fact that Indo-Europeans had co-existed in close proximity to Turkic-Mongol tribes and Chinese peoples long before recorded history was a fascinating revelation to me. In addition to documenting the geographic parameters of the more significant empires and their direct contact with cultures from Poland to Iraq to India to Japan, Grousset also shows how events in Central Asia have indirectly affected distant regions by causing a chain of population displacements that resulted in military conquests far away from Central Asia. Although Grousset often resorted to speculations which have proved in time to be inaccurate, the detraction from the book's overall quality is minimal. One can read one of the many up-to-date books on this subject to clean up Grousset's inaccuracies, but I personally have yet to find one that has been of comparable pleasure to read.

A work of historical research is certainly a well-respected classic when it is used as a primary reference in just about every subsequent book on the subject. Rene Grousset's history is truly monumental, covering the vast steppe region from Korea to Hungary, and over the course of around 1500 years, and incorporates several different realms of knowledge that each would require a lifetime of work by most historians. Of course this book offers in-depth coverage of the famous conquerors of the era, such as Attila and Tamerlane, and obviously Jenghiz (Genghis) Khan and his many descendents, but there is also rewarding coverage of many more intriguing (if often bloodthirsty and genocidal) leaders and a great many enigmatic ethnic groups. Note that this book is an especially difficult read, as Grousset's prose often operates in the form of lists, crushed by voluminous references to obscure tribes and individuals, not to mention a continuous parade of geographic locations under names that usually are no longer current. A historical atlas, or several of them, would be of great assistance while you read, while this book would benefit immensely from many, many more maps. Meanwhile, the sheer vastness of the regions and periods covered by Grousset made it structurally impossible for him to cover his subjects in chronological order.

You often despair that it would help to have multiple PhD's in ancient history in order to be able to truly understand this immense tome. But in the end, all of the imposing detail remains truly fascinating, and Grousset offers much food for thought in his underlying themes of human geography. We ultimately learn about the how the geographical and physical characteristics of the steppe environment ensured the emergence of brutal but glorious nomads, who always had a very complex relationship with the settled cultures they were continually conquering. But eventually, the conquerors became the conquered, as the rewards of sedentary civilization brought a slow end to nomadic conquest. Grousset's work is a classic of both minute historical detail and vast human themes. [~doomsdayer520~]

Of the 50+ books I have read on Central Asia, this book is by far the most insightful. This is more than a history of Central Asia -- it is a whole treatise on the impact of the nomads on the sedentary peoples. The book also places a heavy emphasis on the origins of various peoples (Turks, Mongols, etc.) and their relationships. The displacement of the Indo-Europeans by the Turks in Central Asia (from western China to present-day Uzbekistan) also makes for facsinating reading. There is also detailed discussions about Genghis Khan and the Mongols -- frankly much better than most other books I've read that deal with only that topic.
On the negative side, the book focuses too much on Genghis Khan and generally has a pro-Mongol bias. Some of the maps are also quite unhelpful and do not correspond to the text too well.
Nonetheless, this old book is still the best around after all these years.

This book is truly a "work of historical art". It provides comprehensive text concerning many different groups residing in Central Asia, not only the Mongols. This book is a masterpiece and is a must-read for any history enthusiast. If you are looking for a book that tells you everything about Central Asian/Inner Asian/Mongol History, then you will strike oil with this one. It is the best thing close to an encyclopedia on Central Asian history and it has been a wonderful addition to my home library.

A friend introduced this book to me. His opinion is you can't understand European history without understanding the history of the steppes. My opinion is that you can't understand the history of China without understanding the Steppes. This book covers both sides admiringly well despite its date (1939). From the time of dim prehistory to the last struggle of the once-great descendants of the Ghengis Khanate, Grousset described the greatest and mostly unknown saga of the peoples of the steppe. We find out the history of the Indo-European cultures in central Asia (Yes, this was decades before the discovery of the blonde mummies in China and Grousset could have predicted their discovery decades ago). We find out about the Kara-Kitai, the greatest enemy the Muslims of Asia ever faced (NOt the Crusaders). We were there when the Dzungars, last heir of Ghengis Khan was caught between the expanding Russian empire and the rising Manchu empire. Buy it, read it and world history will never be the same again.

This book is absolutely complete and authoritative. It exhaustively covers the subject and is a panoramic history of the power of the nomadic peoples for over 2000 years until the sedentary world overtook them. I read it 20 years ago and still remember it with pleasure.

Two caveats, however: (1)Unless you can read it in a shorter time than most of us can afford, the interleaving of the book in geographical (rather than time) segments mean you have to have either a very good memory or a notepad, and (2)The translator did his work with a very academic tone. (I remember the use of the word "autochtonous" rather than "native" in one spot.)

Not an easy read, but worth the trouble.

This wonderful, extensive account remains the standard in its field. Inner or Central Asia, the land of the Steppe peoples has produced countless massive migrations of peoples and an ehtnic and linguistic patchwork stretching from China to Turkey and beyond. An area that comprises Muslims and Buddhists, that was home to the Huns, Genghis Kahn and the Turks, it is fascinating history of a part of the world that few realize is important.

The Huns appeared in Europe in the 2nd century CE. Alexander the Great was in the area in the 5th century BCE. The land of the steppes, stretching from Mongolia to central asia, through tot he Caucuses is an immense land. Conquered by Genghis Kahn, it was ruled by the ancestors of these hordes for hundreds of years. The hordes disintegrated leaving remnants as distant as India. However we see also the Turkic influence on the languages not only of the Xuiguers of China's Xinxiang province but also in the Azeria, Uzbeks and Kazahks.

The Steppes provided a land for Buddhism and Islam as both religions spread through it. Yet we also see Marco Polos journey. This is history on a grand scale, told throuhg conjecture, and eye witness account. it explains culture and vast military conquest, as well as linguistic and archeological evidence. In short this is THE text for the region. It explains the impact on the civilizations of the Persians, Islam and Europe as well as China, Russia and Japan. In Short the heart of the world is the steppe peoples and the regions once ability to produce massive waves of barbarian migrations led not only to the collapse of the Roman empire, but the ethnic and linguistic changes that causes Germany to speak German and the Muslim Ummayid empire to collapse. The horsemen of central asia figured in Tamerlane and Alexanders worlds. They also lived on in their special cultural societies into modern times. This is history at its broadest and best.

Seth J. Frantzman

This book is defintely not for the average curious reader. The depth and detail of this book are amazing, but the prose seems almost to be purposefully difficult to read. Another problem is the lack of maps. An extensive list of maps would greatly improve this book. So would more easily followed style. Unless you are an expert, this book may not be for you.

A must read, if you like History. It is true, our undertanding of central asian history is much better now, but this doesnt change the value of this book. One of the books I re-read different parts of it again and again.

As a decendant of the Central Asian nomads, I was impressed to read this book. It gave such details which made me feel as if the book was about my tribal Turkic nation. There is an expression in Kyrgyz language "to hang one's head on the sadle of a horse (in Kyrgyz: "bashty kanjygaga bailap". In our language this means to risk. I did not search it purposefully, but when I came accross the description of the tradition of nomadic warriers to hang the head of their killed enimies on the head of their saddles, I instantly knew where our expression comes from. For me this book was an exciting reading indeed. There are great authors which are not yet translated into English (as Gumilev for example), but most of English language history books might be too academic for many people. The other book which I found very much related to my own background and culture was Nazaroff's Hunted Through Central Asia, which is still not translated into Russian.