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The first volume of this series, The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia, edited by Denis Sinor, was published in 1990. It covered the period from the earliest times to the eve of the Mongol invasions of the thirteenth century ad. One further volume is still forthcoming. Traditionally, Cambridge Histories tend to take their time in achieving complete publication (the forthcoming New Cambridge History of Islam, whose six volumes are to be published simultaneously, will be an exception to this rule). I have in my possession the typescript of a fine chapter by Joseph Fletcher, on "Western Turkestan: the emergence of the Uzbeks", which was originally written for the present volume; and Fletcher died in 1984. It is not included in this volume, though Fletcher is well represented in the bibliography. The volume deals, as its subtitle indicates, with the Chinggisid age, that characterization being interpreted very broadly: the final chapter concludes in 1886.
It is divided into five parts. After an introduction by the editors, part 1, "The rise of the Chinggisids", commences with a survey of Inner Asia in 1200 by Peter Golden. There follow chapters on "The Mongol age in Eastern Inner Asia" (Peter Jackson), "The Mongols in Central Asia" (Michal Biran), and "The Jochid realm", i.e. the "Golden Horde" (István Vásáry). Part 2, "Legacies of the Mongol conquests", has "Institutional developments, revenues and trade" (A. P. Martinez), "Migrations, ethnogenesis" (Golden), "Islamization in the Mongol Empire" (Devin DeWeese), and "Mongols as vectors for cultural transmission" (Thomas Allsen). Part 3, "Chinggisid decline: 1368-c. 1700", has "The eastern steppe: Mongol regimes after the Yuan (1368-1636)" (Veronika Veit), "Temür and the early Timurids to c. 1450" (Beatrice Manz), and "The later Timurids c. 1450-1526" (Stephen Dale). Part 4, "Nomads and settled peoples in Inner Asia after the Timurids", has "Uzbeks, Qazaqs and Turkmens" (Yuri Bregel), "The western steppe: Volga-Ural region, Siberia and the Crimea" (Allen Frank), "Eastern Central Asia (Xinjiang): 1300-1800" (James Millward), "The Chinggisid restoration in Central Asia: 1500-1785" (R. D. McChesney), and "The western steppe ... under Russian rule" (Christian Noack). Part 5, "New imperial mandates and the end of...