The Heart of Asia

A time when Russia's movements in the East are being watched by all with such keen interest seems a fitting one for the appearance of a work dealing with her Central Asian possessions. "That eternal struggle between East and West," to quote Sir William Hunter's apt phrase, has made Russia supreme in Central Asia, as it has made England mistress of India: and thus it has come to pass that two of the greatest European Powers find themselves face to face on the Asiatic Continent. On the results of that contact depends the future of Asia. Ten years have elapsed since Lord Curzon of Kedleston published his work entitled Russia in Central Asia, and in the interval no book on this subject has appeared in English. The intervening period has been one of changealmost of transformationin the countries so brilliantly described by the present Viceroy of India. The authors of the present work have visited independently the land of which they write, and each may claim to have had exceptional facilities for studying those questions in which they were most interested. Professor Ross is responsible for the greater part of the research in the historical chapters. He has laid under contribution many Persian, Arabic, and Russian authorities hitherto inaccessible to persons unacquainted with those languages; and has aimed at offering, for the first time in any language, a consecutive history of Central Asian events from the earliest days. His task has been lightened by the generous help of Sir Henry Howorth, M.P.; Mr. Percy Gardner, of Oxford; M. Drouin, of Paris; and especially of Mr. E. G. Browne, of Cambridge. The historical portion does not claim to be exhaustive, but rather introductory, and, such being the case, certain omissions were perhaps inevitable. Thus, for example, the engrossing subjects of Mediæval travel and Christianity in Central Asiawhich have already been exhaustively dealt with by Colonel Yule and othershave been but lightly touched on. If, again, such famous men as Chingiz Khn and Tamerlane have been somewhat briefly dismissed, less known figures, such as Kutayba ibn Muslim, have been brought from comparative oblivion into a prominence more worthy the important parts they played in Central Asian history. It has been Mr. Skrine's province to describe the mechanism of government, the development of railways and commerce, and the social life in the great cities. He owes much to the help of Monsieur P. Lessar, Chancellor of the Russian Embassy; Colonel C. G. Stewart, C.S.I., our Consul-General of Odessa; Monsieur de Klemm, of the Turkestn Staff; Colonel Brunelli, Commandant of Transcaspian Railway Rifles; and Colonel Arandarenko, District Officer of Merv. He is also indebted to the proprietors of the Standard and Pioneer for the permission to use literary matter which has already appeared in their journals. In the important matter of illustrations the authors desire to acknowledge the generous kindness which prompted M. Verestchagin to consent to the reproduction of his admirable drawings. They have to thank, too, Sir Archibald Buchan Hepburn, Bart. of Smeaton Hepburn, and Mr. A. Adam of Steeton Hall, for lending them a series of most interesting photographs of Central Asian scenes.

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