Using essays from renowned archaeologists, historians and scholars as the core of each chapter, this book explains Kazakhstan s long and complex history as a single flowing narrative, complemented by a range of beautiful maps and images, from exquisite museum pieces to landscapes that place you within the hauntingly beautiful environment that molded the region s rich social fabric. The reader is taken on a fascinating journey, from pre-history when changing climate and habitats opened up new areas to human migration, through the globally significant era of the warrior nomads and city-states along the trading routes between East and West, to the colonization of Central Asia by Imperial Russia and the chaos of the Soviet period. Independence for the Central Asian states has seen Kazakhstan take a leading role in the region, and the exciting prospects of this modern state suggest a future as rich and engaging as its past."