Central Asia

There are many definitions of Central Asia, however, no one definition is universally accepted. We agree only upto the extent that there is a geographical area that does have some important overall characteristics. This area is surrounded by West Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia.

More properly, the Caspian Sea lies in the west, central China in the east, southern Russia in the north and northern Pakistan in the south.

Central Asia has been playing a very important role right from the ancient days. It acted as a crossroads for the movement of people, goods, and ideas between Europe and Asia. It, therefore, has been recognized as Silk Route.

Turkistan has been the at the centre of activities in Cerntral Asia.

Central Asian countries include Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Characteristically, the nations of Afghanistan and Mongolia are sometimes said to be part of Central Asia in addition to the western Chinese provinces of Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Qinghai and Tibet.