Library Guides: Central Asia: Home

Core Reference Books on Central Asia

History of Civilizations of Central Asia It is a six-volume set dedicated to the in-depth survey of the history of Central Asian civilizations.
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espite the major role played by Central Asia in shaping the history of the past and of today, this vast region, stretching from the Caspian Sea to Mongolia and western China, had not been studied as a whole cultural entity in time and space. This multi-volume History of Civilizations of Central Asia, published in English, is the first attempt to present a comprehensive picture of the cultures that flourished and vanished at the heart of the Eurasian continent from the dawn of civilization to the present day. Based on a wealth of archaeological materials and written by a distinguished team of specialists, many of them native to the region, this History sheds new light on the fabulous cultural heritage of lands that were shaped by the movements of peoples and varied civilizations, and that are at the centre of growing international interest.

Preface by Federico Mayor, Director-General of UNESCO, 1987-1999
Preface by Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, 1999-2009
Volume I: The dawn of civilization: earliest times to 700 B.C.
Volume II: The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizations: 700 BC to A.D. 250
Volume III: The cross-roads of civilizations: AD 250 to 750
Volume IV: The age of achievement AD 750 to the end of the fifteenth century (Part I & Part II)
Volume V: Development in contrast: from the sixteenth to the mid-nineteenth century
Volume VI: Towards contemporary civilization: from the mid-nineteenth century to the present time

The Cambridge History of China: Volume 10, Late Ch'ing 1800-1911, Part 1 by John K. Fairbank (Editor)
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ISBN: 9781139054775
Publication Date: 2008-03-28
The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia by Denis Sinor (Editor)
ISBN: 9780521243049
Publication Date: 1990-03-01
The Cambridge History of Inner Asia by Robert McChesney; Nicola Di Cosmo (Editor); Allen J. Frank (Editor); Peter B. Golden (Editor)
ISBN: 9780521849265
Publication Date: 2009-08-27
Central Asia by Adeeb Khalid
ISBN: 9780691220437
Publication Date: 2021-06-01
Central Asia in World History by Peter B. Golden
ISBN: 9780195159479
Publication Date: 2011-02-02
A critical reader in Central Asian studies : 40 years of Central Asian survey
Call Number: DK851 .C75 2022
ISBN: 9781032060217
Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia.
ISBN: 97814705702
Publication Date: 2019
Eurasian Empires in Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages by Hyun Jin Kim (Editor); Frederik Juliaan Vervaet (Editor); Selim Ferruh Adali (Editor)
ISBN: 9781108115865
Publication Date: 2017-10-12
The History of Central Asia by Christoph Baumer
ISBN: 9781788313513
Publication Date: 2018-08-30
Islamic Central Asia by Scott C. Levi (Editor); Ron Sela (Editor)
ISBN: 9780253221407
Publication Date: 2009-12-23
Macartney at Kashgar by Pamela Nightingale; C. P. Skrine
ISBN: 9780415361712
Publication Date: 2005-04-04
The silk roads : a new history of the world / Peter Frankopan
ISBN: 9781408839973
Turkish literature. A biobibliographical survey. Section III. Moslim Central Asian Turkish literature being in the main a list of Chaghatayan authors and works in Chaghatay as registred in Professor M.F. Köprülü's article: Çagatay edebiyati İA. vol. III ( by Hofman, H. F. (Henry Franciscus), 1917-

E-Books on Central Asia

Jstor: Central Asia
Project Muse" Central Asia One can search for the term, "Central Asia."
Proquest E-books : Central Asia
UC Press E-Books Collection, 1982-2004

Other significant Central Asian Turkic Collections and Manuscripts

British Library Central Asian Turkic collections
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Highlights of the Central Asian Turkic collection include:

A 16th century Sheibānī-nāmah, or history of the Sheibanids, the descendants of Chingiz Khan, with fourteen miniatures in Bukharan style (Or.3222)
Gospels and New Testaments published in Chagatai in Leipzig in 1898
Collections of Batyr stories first transcribed from traditional bards and published in Kazakh in the Arabic script in 1922
A Tatar-language edition of Allahyar Bukhārī's Murād al-ˁārifīn published in Qazan in the 1860s
Six of Mirza Fathallah Axundzadǝ’s plays published in Tblisi in 1860

EAP630: Manuscripts from Kokand Khanate (1710- 1876) court library from the museum sources of Kokand and Fergana valley and private collections

Afghanistan Digital Collections Includes: ACKU Digital Collection Unique collection of documents related to Afghanistan history, culture, and its development during the Jihad period and more. Anis (1946 - 1984) Anis is one of the oldest newspapers in Afghanistan. Initially, it was published by Mohayyuddin Anis in Kabul on May 6, 1927. Currently, it is published by the Ministry of Information and Culture. Around 80% of the news is published in Dari and 20% in Pashto. The daily prints around 2,200 to 2,500 copies daily and being circulated in Kabul and other provinces. It is funded by the government with around 43 employees. Kabul Times (1962 - 1980) The Kabul Times, established in 1962, was the first English language printed newspaper in Afghanistan. Following the 1978 coup, the Kabul Times was renamed New Kabul Times, and began to print Communist rhetoric that was reminiscent of days during the Cold War and was highly confrontative to the Western culture. Afghanistan Kalany / Almanac Da Afghanistan Kalanay also known as the Salnamah-i Afghanistan is an almanac and yearbook published by the Government of Afghanistan from 1932-1990 (1311-1369). This government publication covers major government activities including economic and agricultural plans. Each volume covers political and economic history and activities of the country. Text are mostly in Dari/Persian and Pashto languages. Some issues have added title and some notes in English or French. Ludwig W. Adamec Collection - Selected Titles Professor Emeritus Ludwig W Adamec's collection, who has provided multiple important titles for digitization. He has written and edited numerous books, including the monumental Historical and political gazetteer of Afghanistan. Professor M. Mobin Shorish Collections - Selected Titles A collection of materials spanning [1950s - 1990s] from the personal archives of University of Illinois Professor M. Mobin Shorish, who was an advocate for the rights and dignity of the Afghan people during almost 40 years of uninterrupted conflict.
Afghanistan Digital Library
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Hosted by NYU Library
Books on Turkic Academy (Kazakhstan)
Catalogue of the Turkish manuscripts in the British museum
Central Asia at Russian State Library
LOC: Central Asia Book printing came to the Turkic and Iranian peoples of Central Asia only after the Russian conquest of the area. Yet by the beginning of the twentieth century a number of presses were operating in Tashkent in two traditions. Following the Russian tradition, some presses used the post-Kufi Naskh script in a type font developed during the eighteenth century at the behest of Catherine II of Russia. Others worked in the Nastaliq lithograph tradition imported from Iran. A particularly pleasing example of lithographed Nastaliq works is a copy of Zakariya Qazwini's Ajaib al-makhluqat (The wonders of creation) (Tashkent, 1917). In the Russian Naskh tradition are numerous works held in a separate collection of Muslim printed materials from the Russian Empire and Soviet Union dating from before 1946. Of note among these are a number of children's books printed in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and the Crimea. Sumptuously illustrated and printed on excellent paper, they are indicative of a new conception of childhood in the Muslim societies of the Soviet Union.
LOC: Persian Rare Materials Collection

Map of Central Asia

Source: https://www.loc.gov/item/2002623916/

UC Library Search (short version)

UC Library Search is the University of California's unified discovery and borrowing system.

Access it directly or from the Library homepage to find most UC books, articles, media, archival collections, and more.

See the UC Library Search User Guide and ask for research help 24/7 for more information.

COVID in Central Asia

The links below were provided by my colleague, Andy Spencer, the librarian for Slavic, Eastern European, Central Asian, and Middle Eastern Studies Collections at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Kazakhstan

Ситуация с коронавирусом: https://www.coronavirus2020.kz/ru

Министерство здравоохранения Республики Казахстан (Republic of Kazakhstan Ministry of Health): https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/dsm/press/article/details/chasto-zadavaemye-voprosy-po-koronavirusnoy-infekcii?lang=ru

Kyrgyzstan

Кыргыз Республикасынын Саламаттык сактоо министрлиги (Kyrgyz Republic Ministry of Health): http://www.med.kg/index.php/kg/

English version: http://www.med.kg/en/koronavirus-3.html

Mongolia

Монгол улсын засгийн газар - Эрүүл мэндийн яам (Mongolian Ministry of Health) Коронавируст (COVID-19): https://covid19.mohs.mn/

Tajikistan

Вазорати тандурустӣ ва ҳифзи иҷтимоии аҳолии Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон (Republic of Tajikistan - Ministry of Health and Social Protection of Population) - Covid-19: http://moh.tj/covid-19

Uzbekistan

Ўзбекистон Республикаси Соғлиқни сақлаш вазирлиги (Ministry of Health of the Republic of Uzbekistan): https://coronavirus.uz/uz

Social Sciences related Article Databases

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window A multi-disciplinary database of scholarly and general interest journals, books, and reports. [1865 - present]
Articles from broad array of peer-reviewed journals, popular and trade magazines and news sources for nearly all areas of study; available in English, Spanish, German, French, Italian and Portuguese.
Amnesty International Archives This link opens in a new window Explore the growth of the human rights movement during the second half of the twentieth century through the International Secretariat records of Amnesty International. 1961 - 1991
"This collection covers a wide range of human rights concerns and issues including:
Activism and Campaigning, Global Politics, Mass Atrocities, Migrants and Refugees, Minority Rights, Mistreatment and Disappearances, Political Prisoners and Prisoners of Conscience (POCs), Structure and Administration of Amnesty International, Torture and Death Penalty."
Cambridge Histories Online This link opens in a new window
Explore American and British history, ancient history, Islamic history, economic history, the histories of philosophy, science, music, literature, religion, social histories, and much more. "My Histories" allows you to create and share a personalized library with your own bookmarks and notes.
Central Asia, Persia and Afghanistan, 1834-1922 This link opens in a new window Explores the history of Persia (Iran), Central Asia and Afghanistan from the decline of the Silk Road in the first half of the nineteenth century to the establishment of Soviet rule over parts of the region in the early 1920s.
This resource is comprised of correspondence, intelligence reports, agents’ diaries, minutes, maps, newspaper excerpts and other materials from the FO 65, FO 106, FO 371 and FO 539 series at the UK National Archives.
Digital National Security Archive (DNSA) This link opens in a new window Indexes declassified documents spanning fifty years of US national security policy. [1945 - present]
Also includes a chronology, glossary of names, events, special terms, and a bibliography for each collection developed around a specific event, controversy, or policy decision.
Early Arabic Printed Books from the British Library This link opens in a new window
"The databases consists of three modules: Module 1) Religion and Law. Module 2) Sciences, History, and Geography. Module 3) Periodicals, Literature, Grammar, Language, Catalogues and General Works." Search in Arabic or Roman scripts.
EIU Viewpoint This link opens in a new window Reports, analysis, data and forecasts covering economics and politics for more than 200 countries. (Previously EIU Country Profiles and Reports).
Includes commodity and industry forecasts as well as data at the global and country level in the areas of business and political risk, market opportunities, economic policy, demographics, energy, telecommunications. and macroeconomic indicators. Information is browsable by geography, industry, topic, and current theme.
Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports This link opens in a new window The Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Report includes radio and television broadcasts, newspapers and periodicals, government statements, books, and other sources of unrestricted information such as databases and gray literature from non-English sources around the world. The original mission of the FBIS was to monitor, record, transcribe and translate intercepted radio broadcasts from foreign governments, official news services, and clandestine broadcasts from occupied territories. [1941 - 1996]
Information from thousands of foreign media sources, including political speeches, television and radio broadcasts, newspapers, periodicals, and more, offering an extensive collection of military, political, scientific and technical reports from countries around the world, translated into English. The original mission of the FBIS was to monitor, record, transcribe and translate intercepted radio broadcasts from foreign governments, official news services, and clandestine broadcasts from occupied territories. Coverage is global with the exception of the FBIS Annexes (a supplementary publication created by the U.S. intelligence community to benefit analysts and policy makers from April 1974 through September 1996) and Western European regional broadcasts.
Izvestiia Digital Archive This link opens in a new window
Completely digitized archive of Izvestiia, one of the longest-running Russian newspapers founded in March 1917; during the Soviet period Izvestiia was the official organ of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window Full-text access to over 1000 scholarly journals, including more than 2 million articles, from a wide range of disciplines. Current issues from journals (the most recent 3-5 years) are generally not available in JSTOR. [dates vary].
For more sophisticated search capabilities, go directly to JSTOR advanced search.
Leningradskaia Pravda Digital Archive (1918-1991) This link opens in a new window Leningradskaia Pravda was a prominent Soviet newspaper published in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) from 1924 to 1991.
It was established in 1918 as Petrogradskaia Pravda, the official organ of the local Communist Party committees and soviets in Petrograd (former name of Leningrad).
It is best known for continuously publishing throughout the Siege of Leningrad (1941-1944) during World War II, with only a single issue not appearing during that period. This demonstrated its resilience and commitment to informing the besieged city. Following the failed Soviet coup attempt in August 1991, the newspaper ceased publication.
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Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies Access to this resource will be discontinued effective 06/30/2024 due to library budget cuts.  "Combines sources from: School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS) Library Catalogue (1900-present), Middle East Bibliography (1946-2001), Middle East Book Bibliographies, Theses & Dissertations and MECAS Citations Database." [1881 to the present]
Moscow News Digital Archive This link opens in a new window
"From a mouthpiece of the Communist party to an influential advocate for social and political change, the pages of Moscow News reflect the shifting ideological, political, social and economic currents that have swept through the Soviet Union and Russia in the last century. "
Nexis Uni (formerly LexisNexis Academic) This link opens in a new window Full-text access to international, national, local newspapers, and wire services, as well as radio and television transcripts. Database also includes business, medical, industry, and legislative magazines, journals, and newsletters. Also includes laws from the U.S., all 50 states, and law reviews. Wide geographic coverage and translations from foreign-language sources, as well as news services like the Associated Press, Agence France Press, El Pai.
Nexis Uni allows users to set up personal accounts to personalize your research experience. Nexis Uni has replaced LexiNexis Academic. [dates vary]
OECD iLibrary This link opens in a new window Full-text publications and statistical data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Publications and data are open access since July 2024.OECD publications are also Open Access on the OECD web site under "publications". Statistical data is also available at the new OECD data explorer https://data-explorer.oecd.org/
Full-text publications and statistical data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), including country studies, forecasting publications, reports, and socioeconomic datasets and an interactive Health data database. The statistics section includes data in the areas of international trade, telecommunications, foreign aid, migration, and many other categories. Includes data from 1983 to the present. (source oecd)
ProQuest Dissertations and Theses This link opens in a new window Index and full text of graduate dissertations and theses from North American and European schools and universities, including the University of California. (Dissertations & Theses - Proquest Digital Dissertations and Theses (PQDT) - Dissertation Abstracts - ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global) [1861 - present]
Indexes graduate dissertations from over 1,000 North American, and selected European, graduate schools and universities. Dissertations published since 1980, and master's theses since 1988, include brief abstracts written by the authors. Offers full text of most of the dissertations added since 1997 . It is possible to search a subset of dissertations produced by UC students by going to Dissertations and Theses @ University of California (available in full text).

Humanities and Literature Related Databases

Literature Online (LION) This link opens in a new window Includes works of English and American poetry, drama and prose, full-text literature journals, and other key criticism and reference resources. [600 - contemporary]
Literature Resource Center (LRC) This link opens in a new window Indexes biographies, bibliographies, and critical analyses of more than 120,000 novelists, poets, essayists, journalists, and other authors. (Twayne English - Twayne US - Scribner - Twayne World Authors) [dates vary]
Provides access to content of numerous print counterparts including Contemporary Authors, Contemporary Literary Criticism Select, and Dictionary of Literary Biography.
RIPM: Retrospective Index to Music Periodicals and Online Archive This link opens in a new window Indexes selected music journals published 1800-1950 in Europe, Eastern Europe, and the US. Also includes over 70 full-text, full-image periodicals, with new titles added every six months. (International Index to Nineteenth-Century Music Periodicals) [19th century]
Indexes selected music journals published 1800-1950 in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Germany, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and the US. Offers a cumulative index to chronologies and authors appearing in over 65 volumes of the print version. The online archive contains 70 full-text, full-image periodicals, with new titles added every six months.

Open Access Sources

Institutions around the world with some degree of focus on Central Asia/Eurasia/Silk Road Acta Via Serica has a directory of Silk Road Studies related centers and institutions.
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty Archives at Indiana University
Held by Inner Asian and Uralic
National Resource Center.
UN Economic and Social Comission for Asia and Pacific Data Explorer The Statistics Division maintains the ESCAP online statistical database providing a regional perspective on development issues in Asia and the Pacific. The database, containing approximately 630 data series, is updated twice a year (March and September) and made available online for users. Includes Central Asia.
United Nations Digital Library Primary index to United Nations documentation published since 1979 (or earlier for selected major documents) and indexed by the Dag Hammarskjold Library or the Library of the UN Office in Geneva. It includes the catalogue of the non-UN collections of both libraries and also provides access to detailed voting records of resolutions adopted by the General Assembly and the Security Council.
United Nations Official Document System The United Nations Official Document System (ODS) supplies copies of documents published by the United Nations. Full text is available for all documents published since 1993 and select documents published from 1946-1993.
United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia : Publications The documents and publications of the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia serve as a rich source for information on various current issues in Central Asia.

Maps of Central Asia

Old Maps Online Digital historical maps from library collections around the world.
Central Asia maps from Library of Congress The Library of Congress has custody of the largest and most comprehensive cartographic collection in the world.
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The online map collections represents only a small fraction that have been converted to digital form of the LOC's map collections numbering over 5.5 million maps, 80,000 atlases, 6,000 reference works, over 500 globes and globe gores, 3,000 raised relief models, and a large number of cartographic materials in other formats, including over 19,000 cds/dvds.
David Rumsey Map Collection Focus on rare 18th and 19th century North and South American cartographic history materials. Includes historic maps of the World, Europe, Asia, and Africa. (Luna Insight)
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Contains to date over 8,000 maps online and focuses on rare 18th and 19th century North and South America cartographic history materials. Historic maps of the World, Europe, Asia and Africa are also represented. [Note: This collection is also part of the UC Image Service and can be viewed in two ways: the Insight Browser allows users to view the collection using a web browser; the Luna Insight software provides greater functionality but must be downloaded.]
Perry-Castaneda Library Map Collection Extensive collection of scanned international topographic maps including those of Central Asia.

Selected Journals

Acta Via Serica: Archive Acta Via Serica focuses on past and present human exchange (mutatio) within the Silk Road region, examining the history of relations conducted along the Silk Road and functioning as a modern information Silk Road, promoting cooperation by disseminating knowledge of contemporary Central Asia throughout the world.
Akademik araştırmalar dergisi
Asia major [electronic resource].
Cahiers d’Asie centrale
Central Asia and the Caucasus.
Central Asian survey

Subject Guide

Liladhar R. Pendse

Contact:

510-768-7610
lpendse (at) library (dot) berkeley (dot) edu

Subjects: Latin American Studies, Slavic and Eastern European Studies

Q-R Code for the guide

RSS Feed from Brookings Institute

Hathi Trust

Relevant Subject Terms

Asia, Central -- History.

News from Central Asia (in English): Radio Free Europe

Archives in Central Asia

The Central State Archive of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Центральный государственный архив Республики Казахстан / Қазақстан Республикасы Орталық мемлекеттік мұрағаты),

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Introduction