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:
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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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