Early Medieval Russia
Ukrainian landscape In 500 BC, we might have called the people living in Russia Scythians. But then between about 300 and 800 AD, a lot of people passed through Russia. Most of them were [...]
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08, 2017
2
08, 2017
Huns – Central Asian history
A drawing of a plaque made by Huns Who were the Huns? The Huns probably came from western China, where they were known as the Xiong-nu. They were part of the [...]
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08, 2017
The Avars – Early Middle Ages
Grasslands of Central Asia - the steppe homeland of the Avars Ruled by the Rouran The Avars were a mostly Turkic group of people. We first hear of them living [...]
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08, 2017
Medieval Russian art
Russian Icon of Saint Nicolas, 13th - early 14th century, tempera on wood. Our knowledge of Russian art begins with the Scythians and other Central Asian art. But what most people think of [...]
25
07, 2017
The Mamluks – Medieval Islamic history
Mamluks: A Mamluk inn for merchants in Cairo Mamluks were enslaved soldiers The Mamluks were originally enslaved bodyguards of the Abbasid caliphs of the Islamic Empire (the word "mamluk" just means "slave" in Arabic). Starting around 850 [...]
25
06, 2017
Where are the Ural Mountains?
Ural Mountains in Russia Ural Mountains in Central Asia The Ural Mountains run from north to south through Central Asia. They separate Europe from Asia. Like the Appalachian Mountains, the [...]
23
06, 2017
Where do sunflowers come from? North America
Wild sunflowers or Black-Eyed Susan flowers Where do sunflowers grow wild? Sunflowers grew wild all over North America. From the Paleo-Indian time on, many different groups of people picked sunflowers and [...]
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06, 2017
History of rye bread – Central Asia
A field of rye growing Like barley and wheat, rye's a kind of grass that is a good source of carbohydrates for people. Rye is different from the other grains [...]
31
05, 2017
Rouran – Medieval Central Asia
Tomb of a Rouran princess, Yujiulu Chidilian, and her Chinese husband Xu Xianxiu, 550 AD. Yujiulu Chidilian died when she was 13 years old. About 300 AD, a group of [...]
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05, 2017
Turks and Timur – Central Asian History
The Mongol court (1200s AD) Starting around 300 AD the Indo-Europeans in Central Asia began to lose ground to the Altaic people. The Altaic people divided into the Mongols and the [...]
