1. Central Asia
Chapter 18
Section 5

2. The People
Pashtun – largest ethnic group within the Central Asian sub-region. There are over 50 different ethnic groups within this area due to centuries of migration and invasion.
Georgians and Armenians are the other large ethnic groups in this region.
Most Turks living outside of Turkey live within the Central Asia Sub Region.

3. Density & Distribution
Due to its extremely mountainous terrain, the majority of the population within this sub region is pretty spread out. Since the only large body of water within this sub region is the Caspian sea, which is salty, you do not have large population centers along the coast like the other sub regions.
Tajikistan has a large portion of its population living along river valleys of the Amu Dar’ya and the Syr Dar’ya. Due to the availability of fresh water.

4. History & Government
This sub region has been influenced by many conquering groups dating back as far as 2,500 years ago. The Roman Empire, Ottoman Empire, and the Mongol Empire all had significant impact in this region.
The Ancient Silk roads, a trade route that connected China to the Mediterranean Sea ran along this region. Many present day cities in the region were founded due to their proximity to the Silk Road routes.
One group that has resisted conquest are the Armenians. They have kept their culture and even today most practice Christianity, while the surrounding areas mostly practice Islam.

5. Independence
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, many Central Asian nations claimed their Independence. Most of the countries in this region were under the control of the Soviet Union.
1979, Russia attempted to enter Afghanistan and bring it under its control. They were pushed back by a group of freedom fighters known as the Mujahedeen. Aided by U.S. weapons, the Mujahedeen defeated the Russians and set up their own political organization to rule, this party was known as the Taliban.

6. Culture
Most of the languages spoken in this region are Turkic languages. Other Indo-European languages such as Afghan Persian and Arminian are also spoken.
The Soviet Era left an imprint in some areas of this region. One example being that Russian remains the official language of Kazakhstan and is still spoken in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Islam is the most practiced religion in the region, although there are some countries whose religious majority is made up of Christians, Armenia and Georgia being 2 of them.