Connexions module: m17824 1
Central and Northern Asia: A.D.
1501 to 1600
∗
Jack E. Maxeld
This work is produced by The Connexions Project and licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution License
†
1 CENTRAL AND NORTHERN ASIA
Back to Central and Northern Asia: A.D. 1401 to 1500
1
About 1505 the southern, central area of Samarkand, Bukhara and Tashkent (including the area also
known as Khorezm) was invaded from the northwest by Muslim Uzbeks, formerly called "Sarts" and repre-
senting a remnant of the Golden Horde. Khorezm then became known as the Khanate of Khiva, after its
capital. Kazan and Astrakhan were taken from Islam by Ivan IV, the Terrible, in mid-century, chiey with
the use of artillery. (Ref. 260
2
) Later an Uzbek leader, Abdullah, extended his rule over parts of Persia,
Afghanistan and even Chinese Turkistan, for a short period. The little empire then broke up into separate
khanates and emirates. (Ref. 38
3
, 8
4
)
Farther north a revived Mongol power under Altan Khan (1550-73) was giving the Chinese considerable
pressure. In the west, the rst advance into Siberia by the Cossack chieftan, Yermak, heralded the Rus-
sian eastward migration. Yermak was backed by a rich merchant family, the Poyarskis, although the only
protable occupation in Siberia at that time was fur-trapping. That great land area was occupied sparsely
by a great number of Turko-Mongolian tribes, including the Chukchi, Koryaks and Kamchadali of the far
northeast; Lamuts, Yakuts, Tungusy and Ostyaks north of China; and Samoyeds, more Ostyaks and Tartars
just east of the Ural Mountains. (Ref. 8
5
, 122
6
) In the arctic north of western Siberia around the mouth of
the Yenisey River reindeer herders lived chiey o those animals. They rode and milked the partially tamed
ones and ate the wild ones. (Ref. 288
7
)
In Tibet, the name "Dalai Lama" was given to the Tibetan theocrat by a 16th century Mongol ruler and
∗
Version 1.2: Oct 14, 2008 10:24 pm GMT-5
†
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
1
"Central and Northern Asia: A.D. 1401 to 1500" <http://cnx.org/content/m17836/latest/>
2
"A Comprehensive Outline of World History: Bibliography", reference [260]
<http://cnx.org/content/m17805/latest/#twosixzero>
3
"A Comprehensive Outline of World History: Bibliography", reference [38]
<http://cnx.org/content/m17805/latest/#threeeight>
4
"A Comprehensive Outline of World History: Bibliography", reference [8]
<http://cnx.org/content/m17805/latest/#eight>
5
"A Comprehensive Outline of World History: Bibliography", reference [8]
<http://cnx.org/content/m17805/latest/#eight>
6
"A Comprehensive Outline of World History: Bibliography", reference [122]
<http://cnx.org/content/m17805/latest/#onetwotwo>
7
"A Comprehensive Outline of World History: Bibliography", reference [288]
<http://cnx.org/content/m17805/latest/#twoeighteight>
http://cnx.org/content/m17824/1.2/
