This talk was first given at the Royal Society for Asian Affairs on 19 March 2014


Central Asia had become a backwater of world history by the early 19th century, but the British-Tsarist Russian rivalry soon made it a focal point of European geostrategic politics. After falling behind the Iron Curtain in the 20th century, the region has since returned to the limelight. Global powers have set their sights on the now independent, landlocked Central Asian republics due to their resources, geographical position between China and Europe and their proximity to Afghanistan.

Christoph Baumer has undertaken more than 20 expeditions and journeys to Central Asia since 1985, which have led to several major archaeological discoveries. The results of his research culminated in the comprehensive four-volume book History of Central Asia. The final volume, The Age of Decline and Revival, was published in April 2018.



Baumer was in 2015 awarded the RSAA’s Sir Percy Sykes Memorial Medal for his research on Central Asian cultural history.