In this episode of History 102, 'WhatIfAltHist' creator Rudyard Lynch and co-host Austin Padgett examine Inner Asia as the overlooked crossroads between China, Islam, Europe, and India, tracing ancient migrations through modern geopolitics in this forgotten spine of Eurasian civilization.

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FOLLOW ON X:

@whatifalthist (Rudyard)

@LudwigNverMises (Austin)

@TurpentineMedia

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TIMESTAMPS:

(0:00) Introduction: Defining Inner Asia as the Forgotten Crossroads

(1:37) Geographic Scope: From Transoxiana to Tibet and Zomia

(3:25) James C. Scott and "The Art of Not Being Governed"

(5:05) Zomia: Southeast Asian Anarchist Borderlands

(9:24) Burma's Capital Move and State Control Strategies

(13:00) Reframing Inner Asia as Central Hub vs. Periphery

(14:33) The Continental Divide of Eurasia

(18:00) Sponsors: Zcash | NetSuite

(19:54) Lord Miles and the Wakan Corridor Adventure

(23:42) Rudyard Kipling and "The Man Who Would Be King"

(28:00) Marx vs. Kipling: Comparing Views on Race and Colonialism

(31:24) World War I's Impact on European Colonial Prestige

(35:07) Sponsor: Oracle Cloud Infrastructure

(36:34) Prehistoric Settlement: East Asian Population Formation

(40:22) The Aryan Invasions and Bronze Age Civilizations

(47:24) Genetic Mixing: Europeans, Persians, and Indians

(57:15) Scythians vs. Persian Empire: Cyrus the Great's Death

(1:02:00) Alexander the Great: Conquering Beyond Persia

(1:08:04) The Hubris Trap and Christianity's Solution

(1:10:53) Chinese Discovery of the Western World (150 BC)

(1:15:05) Central Asian Christianity and Nestorian Civilization

(1:20:48) Islamic Conquest and Religious Transformation

(1:27:00) Tibet's Warrior Empire vs. China

(1:30:30) Amira Ghurko's Journey: Meeting Tibet's Buddhist Elite

(1:38:00) Islamic Golden Age: Arab Cotton Boom in Transoxiana

(1:44:53) Genghis Khan's Destruction of Central Asian Civilization

(1:51:01) The Great Game: British vs. Russian Imperial Competition

(1:58:00) Modern Central Asian Dictatorships and Soviet Legacy

(2:02:34) Belt and Road Initiative: China's Failed Infrastructure Push

(2:06:00) Contemporary Challenges: MMA Fighters and Cultural Impact

(2:07:33) Wrap

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