From the Silk Road to the Great Game, Central Asia has long been a region of great strategic, political, and economic significance. Currently, Central Asia is home to vast oil reserves, Islamic terrorists, and emerging democracies, and is gaining increasing visibility among Americans. In this atlas, Rafis Abazov presents 50 two-color maps, each accompanied by an opposite page with explanatory text that graphically illuminates the history of the region back to the 8th-7th century BC. From the spread of Islam to the invasion of the Mongols, the area has been at the crossroads of some of the most important developments in the world, which are succinctly explained in this book. Students will find it a useful reference, and general readers will appreciate its clarity and wealth of information.