Central Asia: 1,000 - Present

The main forces of the Hephthalites were defeated by the Turks in 587 near Bukhara. This was a tribe who spanned from the Caspian sea to northern India and Eastern Turkestan. Between 561 and 563, with the shared desire of eliminating the Hephtthalites, the Turks alliance with Iran.This union brought on its intended goal.

Arabs conquer Central Asia and convert inhabitants to Islam.

Nomadic Oghuz Seljuk tribes - the ancestors of present-day Turkmens - and Mongols immigrate from northeast; Genghis Khan conquers the region.

The Kyrgyz migrate south from the Yenesei River in Siberia to the Tian-Shan region.

Batu Khan and his Mongols sweep into Russia, where they and their descendants become known as the Golden Horde

They cross the Amu Darya River under Hulagos command.

The area that is now Tajikistan falls under the rule of Turkic Emperor Tamerlane.

After two hundred years of being ruled by first the Mongols, then their discenents the Golden Horde and the Oriot, Kyrgyzstan was freed.

The Kyrgyz people settle in the region that is now Kyrgyzstan. it is conquered by the Mongols.

Modern state of Afghanistan founded by Ahmad Shah Durran, who was formerly a bodyguard of the assassinated Persian ruler Nadir Shah.

The Mongols are overthrown by Chinese Manchus and the Kyrgyz become subjects to China.

He moves in to Kyrgyz territory to the northeast of his own kingdom. This ushers in a period of prosperity for the khanate, and a new mosque, many madrasas, and a palace are built in Kokand.

Russians gradually take control of the region that is Tajikistan.

Peasants from Russia and the Ukraine settle in Kazakhstan and start industrial enterprises.

Russia conquers Kyrgyzstan and makes it part of the Russian empire.

Area of present-day Turkmenistan was incorporated into Russian Turkestan after the Battle of Gok Tepe.

This finalizes the establishment of czarist Russia’s southern borders. The region is unified under the name of the “Turkestan Government-General” with Tashkent as its capital and Konstantin Petrovich von Kaufman (1818–1882) as its first governor.

More than 300,000 people fled the country while 150,000 where killed in this revolt against the Russian Czar.

The Kyrgyz attempt to rebel against the Soviet government, but they are violently repressed. Many Kyrgyz flee to the mountains and China to escape.

This civil war quickly followed the Bolshevik revolution in Russia.

Russians purge Tajikistan in an ethnic cleanse of 10,000 people, making room for Russians, who take over most positions of power.

Tajikistan is promoted to the the status of a Soviet Socialist Republic

USSR Premier Stalin ordered mass deportation of hundreds of thousands of Koreans, Crimean Tatars, and Germans to Kazakhstan.

Nikita Khrushchev, the soviet leader, initiated a campaign to develop virgin lands in Kazakhstan that moved nearly 2 million people, and reduced ethic Kazakhs to a minority population.

More than five millions Afghans were forced to migrate out of their country during the Soviet war and invasion in Afghanistan, 1979-1989.

Islam Karimov becomes leader of Uzbekistan and remains in office even after Uzbekistan declares independence.

The rumor that Armenian refugees were being housed during a time where there was a shortage of housing led 13,000 Tajiks to two days of violent riots, killing 26 people and injuring more than five hundred more.

Uzbekistan gains independence from Russia.

Tajikistan becomes independent from Russia.

Turkmenistan declares its independence from Russia after 69 years as part of the Soviet Union.

The civil war, which started over economic and political issues, caused an extreme increase in unemployment (0.6% to 30%) and destroyed much of Tajikistan's development. This resulted in over 250,000 people fleeing the country.

Protests lead Kygyzstan's President, Askar Akayev, to resign. He flees to Russia and is quickly replaced by Kurmanbek Bakiyev.

Karimov had to use brutal force in Andijan in 2005 to quash threats to his rule; it took the current president a long time to establish his control.

Five central Asian countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan signed nuclear-free zone treaty

Despite the Global Economic Crisis, the rate of labor migration from Central Asia remained stable.

Islam Karimov, dictator of Uzbekistan, dies in office, ending his era of harsh ruling.

For centuries, the nomads of Central Asia lived a migratory lifestyle. They traveled, explored new land, and were not tied down to farms or an agricultural lifestyle. This behavior can be explained with ideas Harari presented about human nature in Sapiens: humans have a need to explore and make new things, as well as expanding their population. They also tend to follow their food sources; by migrating around, the nomads never really used up any particular plant or animal.

This continued with few changes until the modern era, when the Soviet Union decided to expand into Central Asia. With ethnic cleansings reducing native citizens to a minority in most of the countries, Russia was able to expand its power. They also forced Central Asia to become more like the Western world, by having nomads settle down on farms instead of constantly migrating.

Ultimately, this take over had a negative impact on Central Asia. Even now, when they are all independent countries, they are having issues with corrupt elections and politicians, poverty, and damaged infrastructures. But that's not to say that all was lost; in many parts of Central Asia, especially in rural areas, people continue to carry on the nomadic traditions and celebrations of their ancestors.