History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Volume IV. The Age of Achievement : A.D. 750 to the End of the Fifteenth Century, Part II

Contents: Description of the project/M.S, Asimov. Introduction/C.E. Bosworth. I. The development of education: maktab, madrasa, science and pedagogy: 1. The Islamic lands and their culture/A.K. Mirbabaev. 2. The search for knowledge through translation: translations of Manichaean, Christian and Buddhist literature into Chinese, Turkic, Mongolian, Tibetan and other languages/P. Zieme. 3. Early Buddhism in Tibet and the educational role of the monasteries/Wang Furen. II. Religions and religious movements: Introduction/H.J. Klimkeit. 1. Religions in the Central Asian environment/R. Meserve. 2. Manichaeism and Nestorian Christianity/H.-J. Klimkeit. 3. The advent of Islam: extent and impact/E.E. Karimov. 4. Non-Islamic mystic movements in Hindu society/C. Shackle. III. Works on hadith and its codification, on exegesis and on theology: 1. The contribution of eastern Iranian and Central Asian scholars to the compilation of hadiths/A. Paket-Chy. 2. Qur\'anic exegesis/C. Gilliot. IV. Legal, political and historical sciences: 1. Legal and political sciences in the eastern Iranian world and Central Asia in the pre-Mongol period/C.E. Bosworth. 2. Arabic, Persian and Turkish historiography in the eastern Iranian world/C.E. Bosworth. 3. Arabic, Persian and Turkish historiography in Central Asia/R.N. Frye. 4. Historiography among the Mongols/Sh. Bira. V. Philosophy, logic and cosmology/M. Dinorshoev. VI. Mathematical sciences: 1. Introduction: the mathematicians and their heritage/Q. Mushtaq. 2. The mathematical sciences/J.L. Berggren. VII. Astronomy, astrology, observatories and calendars/A. Akhmedov. VIII. Geodesy, geology and mineralogy, geography and cartography, the silk route across Central Asia: 1. Geodesy, geology and mineralogy. Geography and cartography/S. Maqbul Admad. 2. The silk route across Central Asia/K. Baipakov. IX. Alchemy, chemistry, pharmacology and pharmaceutics: 1. Alchemy and chemistry in Islamic Central Asia/A. Abdurazakov. 2. Tibetan and Mongolian pharmacology/Ts. Haidav. X. Physics and mechanics. Civil and hydraulic engineering. Industrial processes and manufacturing and craft activities/D.R. Hill. XI. Natural life and the manmade habitat in Central Asia/A.R. Mukhamejanov. XII. Medical and veterinary sciences: 1. Medicine, pharmacology and veterinary science in Islamic eastern Iran and Central Asia/L. Richter-Bernburg. 2. Medicine and pharmacology: Chinese, Indian, Tibetan and Graeco-Arab influences/H.M. Said. XIII. Language situation and scripts: 1. Iranian languages/A. Tafazzoli. 2. Old Turkic and middle Turkic languages/D. Sinor. 3. Pre-Mongol and Mongol writing systems/G. Kara. 4. The Tibetan script/G. Kara. 5. Arabic/S. Blair. XIV. The linguistic sciences: 1. Lexicography/V.A. Kapranov. 2. Encyclopedias/Z. Vesel. XV. Oral tradition and the literary heritage: 1. Persian literature/A. Afsahzod. 2. Literature of the Turkic peoples/A. Kayumov. 3. Tibetan and Mongolian literature/G. Kara. 4. The literatures of north-western India/C. Shackle. 5. The Kyrgyz epic Manas/R.Z. Kydyrbaeva. XVI. Arts and crafts: 1. Arts and crafts in Transoxania and Khurasan/A.A. Hakimov. 2. Turkic and Mongol art/E. Novgorodova. 3. Hindu and Buddhist arts and crafts: tiles, ceramics and pottery/A.H. Dani. XVII. Arts of the book and painting: 1. Arts of the book and miniatures/M.M. Ashrafi. 2. The development of calligraphy/P. Soucek. XVIII. Urban development and architecture: 1. Transoxania and Khurasan/G.A. Pugachenkova. 2. Southern Central Asia/A.H. Dani. 3. Eastern Central Asia/Liu Yingsheng. XIX. Music and musicology, theatre and dance: 1. Music in the Buddhist and pre-Buddhist worlds/B. Lawergren. 2. Music in the Islamic environment/E. Neubaucer. 3. Festivals, drama and the performing arts in Khurasan and Transoxania/M.H. Kadyrov. Conclusion/C.E. Bosworth. Bibliography and references. Glossary. Index.

"Volume IV, Part One, of this History covered the dynastic, political and military history of Central Asia. Part Two covers the cultural achievements of the various peoples of this immense region: arts and crafts, languages, scripts, literature, architecture, music, science, medicine and technology. The borders of the Central Asian heartland of steppes, desert and forests fluctuated over the period 750-1500. At first, the Islamic faith and culture had to compete with older established faiths in Central Asia such as Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, Christianity and Buddhism. For over four centuries, the advance of Islam was gradual, but it was to have far-reaching consequences as it extended north-eastwards. During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, Islam and Islamic culture achieved dominance over all its rivals in Transoxania and the area to its north and also established a firm footing in north-western India and southwards through the subcontinent.

"Thus arose a unique moment in history for the interchange of ideas and aspects of material culture, in which Central Asia acted as an intermediary. The faiths of the West and the South, of the Near East, of the Iranian world and the Indian, now had an impact on the lands further east and north. In the reverse direction, commerce, highly skilled crafts such as ceramics, and technological achievements such as silk production and wood-block printing, spread from China to the Islamic world and thence to Europe." (jacket)