CENTRAL ASIA
Th e region west of Persia (modern Iran) and the Caspian
Sea encompasses a variety of terrains. Th e southern coast of
modern Pakistan lies along the Arabian Sea. Just north of the
coast is the Central Makran Range. Th e central area is a large,
fl at plateau. Most of this area is extremely dry with almost
no rainfall. To the west the Indus River fl ows south from the
Himalayas. Th e river creates an extremely fertile valley that
was a center of human settlement in ancient times. Th e Hin-
du Kush Mountain Range runs through northern Pakistan
and most of modern Afghanistan. Th ese mountains are high
and snow covered, and they prevented ancient people from
moving freely in this area. Th e same mountain chain contin-
ues north into modern Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Th is entire
region is prone to earthquakes.
Th e Caspian Sea coast drew ancient human settlers who
caught fi sh, such as sturgeon, in its waters; the northern coast
where the Volga River enters the sea was especially attractive.
To the west of the Caspian Sea and north of Persia lies a huge,
fl at area of deserts and steppes. Th e Amu Darya River crosses
this region from the Pamir Mountains to the Aral Sea, a large
body of freshwater. Aside from this water, this area (modern
Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) has been arid desert with lit-
tle rainfall for many centuries. Th e ancient Chinese Silk Road
passed through this region, going north of the mountains
to the southeastern end of the Caspian Sea in Persia. North
and northeast of the desert is a large area of grassland pocked
with small lakes and salt fl ats. Th e Syr Darya River fl ows from
the Kyrgyz Range to the Aral Sea; in ancient times, it had a
wide, well-watered delta that could support agriculture.
INDIA
Th e Indian subcontinent is a giant triangular peninsula
that juts southward into the Indian Ocean. Th e Arabian
Sea forms its west coast, and the Bay of Bengal lies to the
east. Narrow mountain ranges called Ghats run down both
coasts, the Eastern Ghats in the east and the Western Ghats
in the west. Between the Ghats and the ocean are fertile, wet
coastal plains.
Th e Th ar Desert lies to the east of the Indus River;
though historians are not sure exactly when it formed, it was
certainly a dry, rocky desert by ancient times. Th e Ganges
River runs from west to east across northern India and drains
into the Bay of Bengal. Th e river drains a large, fl at area that
has very fertile soil, is easily irrigated, and has been inten-
sively farmed and densely populated for thousands of years.
Th e Brahmaputra River joins the Ganges just above the delta.
It fl ows through the Assam valley, one of the wettest and most
fertile places on earth.
Th e Himalayas, the Th ar Desert, and the Indian Ocean
rule India’s climate. Th e mountains block cold winds from
central Asia, keeping winters warm in India south of the Hi-
malayas. Th e Th ar Desert attracts rain-bearing clouds that
bring the seasonal monsoon. Th e monsoon is a wind pattern
that follows the same course every year; the Indian monsoon
blows out of the Arabian Sea in early summer, causing heavy
rains on the subcontinent aft er about June 1, and reverses di-
rection in the fall, taking the rain with it. Th e monsoon rains
can also be dangerous, causing fl oods and thunderstorms.
Ancient farmers did their best to time plantings with the mon-
soons. Although the monsoon rains were generally predict-
able, some years they came later or failed entirely, devastating
crops. Droughts plagued India as they did most of the ancient
world. Th e people looked to their kings to end droughts by
placating the gods. One ruler, Chandragupta, abdicated his
throne in 301 b.c.e., hoping to end a drought by dedicating his
life to prayer; he is said to have fasted to death.
All of India was fairly accessible to the outside world. Th e
northeast was close to Persia, facilitating commerce as well as
cultural and religious exchange with the Middle East. It was
also vulnerable to invasion from northern cultures, includ-
ing the Persians and the Scythians, because of its proximity
to central Asia. Th e southern part of the subcontinent was
well positioned to trade with other ancient empires, especial-
ly once sailors mastered sailing with the monsoons around
the fi rst century c.e. Th e Dravidian people of southern In-
dia used this ability to trade with the Middle East and even
the Roman Empire, sailing around Arabia to get close to the
Mediterranean. Many Indians emigrated east from south In-
dia during the fi rst 500 years c.e., settling in Th ailand, on the
Malay Peninsula, and in Indonesia, and even reaching as far
as Taiwan or the Philippines.HIMALAYAS
Th e Himalayas lie to the north of the Indian subcontinent.
Th e southern edge of the range stretches 1,500 miles north-
west to southeast from the Hindu Kush to the headwaters
of the Brahmaputra River. Th e Himalayas are the world’s
highest mountains; 14 of the peaks, including Mount Ever-
est, are over 26,427 feet high. Th e Indus, the Ganges, the
Brahmaputra, and the Yangtze rivers all originate in the
Himalayas. Th e Himalayas were formed by the collision
of the Indo-Australian plate with the Tibetan plateau; this
geological plate has been moving slowly northward for the
past 70 million years and keeps the Himalayan region geo-
logically active. Earthquakes were common in ancient times.
Ancient peoples in the Himalayas and India certainly expe-
rienced earthquakes; ancient texts such as the Vedas (per-
haps written around 3000 b.c.e.) oft en mention them and
suggest supernatural causes.
Th e terrain of the Himalayas varies more by altitude
than by latitude. Th e lower slopes of the southern Himalayas
are fertile lands with deciduous forests. Above this area is a
region called the Terai belt, an area of clay, sandy soils, and
seasonal fl oods that turn the terrain into marsh. Indian rhi-
noceros were plentiful here in ancient times. Above the Terai
is a zone of rocky soils and subtropical pine and broadleaf for-
ests. Next come temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, and
above them subalpine conifer (trees with needles for leaves)248 climate and geography: Asia and the Pacific