Nomads and Bukhara: A Study in Nomad Migrations, Pasture, and Climate Change (11th century CE)
This article takes a new look at the Seljuq migration into Transoxiana, and in doing so, discusses the theses recently put forward by Richard Bulliet in his Cotton, Climate, and Camels. In particular, it raises the question of where the Seljuq Ghuzz – pastoral nomads after all – had their pasture gr...
| Published in: | Der Islam |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Review |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
De Gruyter
2016
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| In: |
Der Islam
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| Further subjects: | B
Book review
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) |
| Summary: | This article takes a new look at the Seljuq migration into Transoxiana, and in doing so, discusses the theses recently put forward by Richard Bulliet in his Cotton, Climate, and Camels. In particular, it raises the question of where the Seljuq Ghuzz – pastoral nomads after all – had their pasture grounds and which animals they herded. The result is that they had only limited access to pasture (in particular summer pasture) and were looking for new places. Their herd was a mixed herd of the well-known Central Asian type, with sheep, horses, and camels; cows were largely absent. This is contrasted with one element in Bulliet’s argument about the reasons for the Ghuzz-Seljuq migration: Bulliet sees the Seljuq Ghuzz as camel breeders. In a second step, the question of the relation between this migration and climatic conditions in northern Transoxiana are discussed, in contrast to another element in Richard Bulliet’s argument. Paleoclimatic evidence is adduced, showing that there was climate change in the 10th-11th centuries, notably a cooling of the summer temperature and a marked desiccation. But winter temperatures remained more or less constant – no marked chilling of the winters took place. In all, the article rejects Bulliet’s causation chain and proposes that the Ghuzz-Seljuq migration into Transoxiana was due to political reasons rather than induced by climate change. |
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| ISSN: | 1613-0928 |
| Contains: | In: Der Islam
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1515/islam-2016-0039 |