Description
"Magnificent [and] wondrous." The Spectator "Rich and illuminating." Literary Review "Phenomenally accurate." History Today "Stunning." The Morning Star "Sweeping." The New European "A wonderful book." Current World Archaeology "In a class of its own." The Caspian Post A landscape of high mountains and narrow valleys stretching from the Black to the Caspian Seas, the Caucasus region has been home to human populations for nearly 2 million years. In this richly illustrated 2-volume series, historian and explorer Christoph Baumer tells the story of the region's history through to the present day. It is a story of encounters between many different peoples, from Scythians, Turkic and Mongol peoples of the East to Greeks and Romans from the West, from Indo-European tribes from the West as well as the East, and to Arabs and Iranians from the South. It is a story of rival claims by Empires and nations and of how the region has become home to more than 50 languages that can be heard within its borders to this very day. This first volume charts the period from the emergence of the earliest human populations in the region - the first known human populations outside Africa - to the Seljuk conquests of 1050CE. Along the way the book charts the development of Neolithic, Iron and Bronze Age cultures, the first recognizable Caucasian state and the arrival of a succession of the great transnational Empires, from the Greeks, the Romans and the Armenian to competing Christian and Muslim conquerors. The History of the Caucasus: Volume 1 also includes more than 200 full colour images and maps bringing the changing cultures of these lands vividly to life.
A richly-illustrated history of the Caucasus region
About the Author
Christoph Baumer - a leading explorer and historian of Central Asia, Tibet and the Caucasus - has written many well-received books in the fields of history, religion, archaeology and travel. These include, among others, The Church of the East: An Illustrated History of Assyrian Christianity (2006), Traces in the Desert: Journeys of Discovery across Central Asia (2008), China's Holy Mountain: An Illustrated Journey into the Heart of Buddhism (2011) and the seminal History of Central Asia in four volumes (2012-2018) all published by I.B.Tauris. Dr Baumer is President of the Society for the Exploration of EurAsia, Senior Research Fellow at the Kazakhstan Academy of Sciences, and a member of the Explorers' Club, New York, the Royal Asiatic Society, the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Society for Asian Affairs, London. He is a recipient of the prestigious Sir Percy Sykes Medal, awarded to him by the Royal Society for Asian Affairs in 2015.
Reviews
Baumer sets out the wonders of the past, sometimes doing so valley by valley... This is a real treat: a rare book whose images do justice to the text and vice versa. I cannot recommend it highly enough. -- Peter Frankopan * The Spectator *
This grand and encyclopedic volume will surely become the standard work on this beguiling and important region. -- Bijan Omrani * Literary Review *
The Caucasus has long attracted mountain climbers, bird watchers and lovers and medieval architecture: its appeal, thanks to Baumer's book, will reach a wider audience, from tourists to academics who want to study languages of a region that Arabs called 'the Mountain of Tongues'. The first volume takes us from the dawn of history to the 11th century. It is a miracle of both concentration and clarity. -- Donald Rayfield * History Today *
The largely unknown and historically neglected Caucasus emerges as a land of never-ending fascination... This is writing on a vast his torical scale... Filled with awe-inspiring photography, clear and relevant maps, useful timelines and pic tures of hundreds of artefacts. -- Steve Andrew * The Morning Star *
Sweeping [and] beautifully illustrated. * The New European *
To perform a historical survey of such a long time span, from prehistory to the collapse of the Soviet Union, of a region containing several dozen nations and intersecting with so many of the great world empires would seem to be a foolhardy undertaking... [Baumer] pulls this off through dogged erudition and enthusiasm for his subject. * Asian Review of Books *
This huge sweep of history is handled deftly and intelligently through Baumer's vivid and lucid prose and the accompaniment of magnificent photographs, many taken by the author, which amply illustrate the archaeological discoveries through the ages, from ruined fortifications to wondrous works of art... A wonderful book full of great scholarship. -- John Hare * Current World Archaeology *
"Lavishly illustrated with the author's colour photos taken on various visits to the region over the past decade, the heavy gloss paper gives the feel of a coffee table book. However, the content is that of a rich, old-school history text, fact-heavy and chronologically ordered with a suitably bewildering cast of kings and battles... Baumer's work [is] in a class of its own." -- Mark Elliot * The Caspian Post *
While the book would be worth having for the images alone, the text provides a mostly reliable overview of the vast sweep of human history in the Caucasus and adjacent regions from the earliest signs of hominin habitation more than 1,7 million years ago up to the 13th century. * Iran and the Caucasus *
Impressively informative, profusely illustrated, exceptionally well organized and presented, History of the Caucasus: At the Crossroads of Empires by historian Christoph Baumer is an extraordinary work of regional history that will have enormous appeal for the non- specialist general reader and the academician alike-making this an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, community, college, and university library Asian history collections in general, and supplemental curriculum studies reading lists in particular. * Midwest Book Review *
Baumer's book is a milestone in the long, complex and hitherto obscure history of the Caucasus: he deals adroitly and convincingly with questions of palaeontology, archaeology, myth, legend as well as the historical records to be retrieved from Armenian, Georgian, Latin and Greek sources. He shows due scepticism about national legends and etymological claims. Baumer writes with admirable clarity. His book is magnificently illustrated, and all the reader can want is for volume 2, covering the next thousand years, to appear as soon as possible. * Professor Donald Rayfield, Emeritus Professor of Russian, Queen Mary University of London, UK *
A fascinating book with glorious photography. * Irish Tech News *
Book Information
ISBN 9781788310079
Author Christoph Baumer
Format Hardback
Page Count 392
Imprint I.B. Tauris
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Weight(grams) 2398g
A richly-illustrated history of the Caucasus region
About the Author
Christoph Baumer - a leading explorer and historian of Central Asia, Tibet and the Caucasus - has written many well-received books in the fields of history, religion, archaeology and travel. These include, among others, The Church of the East: An Illustrated History of Assyrian Christianity (2006), Traces in the Desert: Journeys of Discovery across Central Asia (2008), China's Holy Mountain: An Illustrated Journey into the Heart of Buddhism (2011) and the seminal History of Central Asia in four volumes (2012-2018) all published by I.B.Tauris. Dr Baumer is President of the Society for the Exploration of EurAsia, Senior Research Fellow at the Kazakhstan Academy of Sciences, and a member of the Explorers' Club, New York, the Royal Asiatic Society, the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Society for Asian Affairs, London. He is a recipient of the prestigious Sir Percy Sykes Medal, awarded to him by the Royal Society for Asian Affairs in 2015.
Reviews
Baumer sets out the wonders of the past, sometimes doing so valley by valley... This is a real treat: a rare book whose images do justice to the text and vice versa. I cannot recommend it highly enough. -- Peter Frankopan * The Spectator *
This grand and encyclopedic volume will surely become the standard work on this beguiling and important region. -- Bijan Omrani * Literary Review *
The Caucasus has long attracted mountain climbers, bird watchers and lovers and medieval architecture: its appeal, thanks to Baumer's book, will reach a wider audience, from tourists to academics who want to study languages of a region that Arabs called 'the Mountain of Tongues'. The first volume takes us from the dawn of history to the 11th century. It is a miracle of both concentration and clarity. -- Donald Rayfield * History Today *
The largely unknown and historically neglected Caucasus emerges as a land of never-ending fascination... This is writing on a vast his torical scale... Filled with awe-inspiring photography, clear and relevant maps, useful timelines and pic tures of hundreds of artefacts. -- Steve Andrew * The Morning Star *
Sweeping [and] beautifully illustrated. * The New European *
To perform a historical survey of such a long time span, from prehistory to the collapse of the Soviet Union, of a region containing several dozen nations and intersecting with so many of the great world empires would seem to be a foolhardy undertaking... [Baumer] pulls this off through dogged erudition and enthusiasm for his subject. * Asian Review of Books *
This huge sweep of history is handled deftly and intelligently through Baumer's vivid and lucid prose and the accompaniment of magnificent photographs, many taken by the author, which amply illustrate the archaeological discoveries through the ages, from ruined fortifications to wondrous works of art... A wonderful book full of great scholarship. -- John Hare * Current World Archaeology *
"Lavishly illustrated with the author's colour photos taken on various visits to the region over the past decade, the heavy gloss paper gives the feel of a coffee table book. However, the content is that of a rich, old-school history text, fact-heavy and chronologically ordered with a suitably bewildering cast of kings and battles... Baumer's work [is] in a class of its own." -- Mark Elliot * The Caspian Post *
While the book would be worth having for the images alone, the text provides a mostly reliable overview of the vast sweep of human history in the Caucasus and adjacent regions from the earliest signs of hominin habitation more than 1,7 million years ago up to the 13th century. * Iran and the Caucasus *
Impressively informative, profusely illustrated, exceptionally well organized and presented, History of the Caucasus: At the Crossroads of Empires by historian Christoph Baumer is an extraordinary work of regional history that will have enormous appeal for the non- specialist general reader and the academician alike-making this an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, community, college, and university library Asian history collections in general, and supplemental curriculum studies reading lists in particular. * Midwest Book Review *
Baumer's book is a milestone in the long, complex and hitherto obscure history of the Caucasus: he deals adroitly and convincingly with questions of palaeontology, archaeology, myth, legend as well as the historical records to be retrieved from Armenian, Georgian, Latin and Greek sources. He shows due scepticism about national legends and etymological claims. Baumer writes with admirable clarity. His book is magnificently illustrated, and all the reader can want is for volume 2, covering the next thousand years, to appear as soon as possible. * Professor Donald Rayfield, Emeritus Professor of Russian, Queen Mary University of London, UK *
A fascinating book with glorious photography. * Irish Tech News *
Book Information
ISBN 9781788310079
Author Christoph Baumer
Format Hardback
Page Count 392
Imprint I.B. Tauris
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Weight(grams) 2398g
