Ancient Turks and Climate Disasters in Central Asia (534–679 AD)

Abstract

This paper is the first to analyse the effect climate disasters (AD 536, 581, 626, 679) had on the historical processes in the east of Central Asia in the Early Middle Ages. Climate disasters are abrupt, severe, and sometimes protracted periods of cooling and drought that produce a negative effect on the economy of a nomadic society, the reason for this being large explosive volcanic eruptions. Cooling and drought brought famine to the nomads and caused illnesses. In addition to that, all the natural catastrophes were accompanied by plague pandemics among the eastern Turks. The Turkic Empire can be split into several chronological periods characterised by significant events that changed the course of history of the nomadic state, namely, AD 534–545 — the rise of the Turkic Empire; AD 581–583 — the division of the Turkic Empire into the Western and the Eastern Empires; AD 627–630 — the Eastern Turks are conquered by China; AD 679–687 — the second rise of the Eastern Turkic Empire. The research carried out shows that there is a certain connection between the important historical events and climate disasters in the history of the Turkic Empire (AD 534–745), this factor making it possible for the author to come forth with the proposition that the climatic factor did have an effect on the historical processes in the east of Central Asia, especially on the territories that had a nomadic economy.