ARH 382 - ID List 1

ARH 382
ART OF THE SILK ROAD
WINTER 2004

ID Lists

ID List 1

Countries and Geography:
Bactria - (600 BCE - 600 CE) An ancient country that occupied present-day Uzbekistan, Tadjikistan and Afghanistan; known as an Asian center of Hellenistic culture.

Ferghana A fertile valley stretching from present-day Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Pamirs A mountain range in Tajikistan and northeastern Afghanistan.

Parthia - (247 BCE - 224 CE) An ancient empire centralized in present-day Iran and founded by nomadic peoples from Central Asia.

Tarim Basin The great sand depression of the Taklamakan Desert located in China's Xinjiang province. The northern and southern routes surrounding this basin were key routes along the Silk Road.

Tien Shan A mountain range extending through Kyrgyzstan, southeastern Kazakhstan, and western China.

Transoxiana The region of Central Asia between the Oxus (Amu Darya) and Jaxartes (Syr Darya) rivers.

Groups:
Hephthalites - (400 - 565 CE) A Central Asian nomadic people who brought the Kushan Empire to an end.

Kushans - (1st c. BCE - 1st c. CE) The Central Asian nomadic group, originally known as the Yuezhi, that invaded North India. They are credited with adopting Buddhism as their state religion.

Sakas - (mid 2nd c BCE - mid 1st c. CE) Central Asian nomads who were the descendents of their powerful early nomadic predecessors by the same name. They migrated into present-day Afghanistan.

Sogdians - (1st c. - 8th c. CE) A long-lived group with Iranian roots who carved out a kingdom in the region of present-day Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Their main city-states were Bukhara and Samarkand, and they were known as the merchants of the Silk Routes.

Xiongnu - (5th c. BCE - 1st c. CE) A North Central Asian nomadic group on the boarders of China who controlled the Eurasian steppe

Yuezhi - (1st c. BCE - 1st c. CE) The North Central Asian nomadic group that migrated to Bactria in the late 2nd c. BCE and eventually invaded north India as the Kushans.

Individuals:
Alexander the Great - (356 - 323 BCE) The Macedonian ruler who penetrated Central Asia and established an eastern capital, Markanda (Samarkand). His empire marks the domination of Hellenism in the eastern Mediterranean and western Central Asian world.

Asoka - (d. 232 BCE) The king and son of Chandragupta Maurya who established Buddhism as a state religion in the 3rd c. BCE.

Chandragupta Maurya Leader of the North Indian dynasty of the 4th c. BCE named after him (Mauryan dynasty)

Chang Ch'ien (Zhang Qian) - (d. 114 BCE) The first explorer to bring back information on the Yuezhi for the emperor Wu-ti. He explored Central Asia from 139 to 126 BCE.

Kanishka Ruler of North India during the mid-2nd c. CE whose lineage was nomadic (Yuezhi/Kushan). He was a patron of Buddhism, but followed a Theravada form of Buddhism. He is believed to have encouraged the emergence of the Mahayana doctrine of Buddhism.

Wu-ti - (141 - 87 BCE) The Han dynasty emperor who sent Chang Ch'ien on his mission to contact the Yuezhi

Bactria - (600 BCE - 600 CE)	An ancient country that occupied present-day Uzbekistan, Tadjikistan and Afghanistan; known as an Asian center of Hellenistic culture.
Ferghana	A fertile valley stretching from present-day Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
Pamirs	A mountain range in Tajikistan and northeastern Afghanistan.
Parthia - (247 BCE - 224 CE)	An ancient empire centralized in present-day Iran and founded by nomadic peoples from Central Asia.
Tarim Basin	The great sand depression of the Taklamakan Desert located in China's Xinjiang province. The northern and southern routes surrounding this basin were key routes along the Silk Road.
Tien Shan	A mountain range extending through Kyrgyzstan, southeastern Kazakhstan, and western China.
Transoxiana	The region of Central Asia between the Oxus (Amu Darya) and Jaxartes (Syr Darya) rivers.

Hephthalites - (400 - 565 CE)	A Central Asian nomadic people who brought the Kushan Empire to an end.
Kushans - (1st c. BCE - 1st c. CE)	The Central Asian nomadic group, originally known as the Yuezhi, that invaded North India. They are credited with adopting Buddhism as their state religion.
Sakas - (mid 2nd c BCE - mid 1st c. CE)	Central Asian nomads who were the descendents of their powerful early nomadic predecessors by the same name. They migrated into present-day Afghanistan.
Sogdians - (1st c. - 8th c. CE)	A long-lived group with Iranian roots who carved out a kingdom in the region of present-day Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Their main city-states were Bukhara and Samarkand, and they were known as the merchants of the Silk Routes.
Xiongnu - (5th c. BCE - 1st c. CE)	A North Central Asian nomadic group on the boarders of China who controlled the Eurasian steppe
Yuezhi - (1st c. BCE - 1st c. CE)	The North Central Asian nomadic group that migrated to Bactria in the late 2nd c. BCE and eventually invaded north India as the Kushans.

Alexander the Great - (356 - 323 BCE)	The Macedonian ruler who penetrated Central Asia and established an eastern capital, Markanda (Samarkand). His empire marks the domination of Hellenism in the eastern Mediterranean and western Central Asian world.
Asoka - (d. 232 BCE)	The king and son of Chandragupta Maurya who established Buddhism as a state religion in the 3rd c. BCE.
Chandragupta Maurya	Leader of the North Indian dynasty of the 4th c. BCE named after him (Mauryan dynasty)
Chang Ch'ien (Zhang Qian) - (d. 114 BCE)	The first explorer to bring back information on the Yuezhi for the emperor Wu-ti. He explored Central Asia from 139 to 126 BCE.
Kanishka	Ruler of North India during the mid-2nd c. CE whose lineage was nomadic (Yuezhi/Kushan). He was a patron of Buddhism, but followed a Theravada form of Buddhism. He is believed to have encouraged the emergence of the Mahayana doctrine of Buddhism.
Wu-ti - (141 - 87 BCE)	The Han dynasty emperor who sent Chang Ch'ien on his mission to contact the Yuezhi