Yu. N. ROERICH. HISTORY OF CENTRAL ASIA. In 3 volumes, vol. II. Moscow: International Center of the Roerichs, 2007. 446 p.: ill., map. The second volume of Yu. N. Roerich's three-volume, fundamental work "History of Central Asia" is a logical continuation of the presentation of the main historical events that took place in the nomadic world of the Eurasian steppe belt in a broad chronological and territorial scope, which was started by the author in the first volume 1. The series of historical events and successive state formations in the vast region of the Eurasian steppe belt considered in the reviewed book covers the periods of the early and developed Middle Ages, up to the formation of the Mongol Empire of Genghis Khan. However, in one case Roerich goes beyond the chronological framework of the medieval period, when he analyzes the ancient, "pre-Muslim" monuments of Eastern Turkestan (p. 155). He himself assessed the features of the historical era he considered in this way: it "was marked by three major events in the life of the Central Asian peoples: the rise of the Turkic people, the spread of Islam in the western part of Central Asia, and the revival of Iranian statehood in this part of Central Asia" (p.7). At the turn of this turbulent historical era, all the nomadic peoples of the Eurasian steppe belt were united under one of the most powerful nomadic empires of the Middle Ages - the First Turkic Khaganate. Being a widely erudite orientalist-philologist, Yu. N. Re- 1 For a review of the first volume, see [Khudyakov, 2007]. page 193Prior to presenting the history of the ancient Turks and their statehood, Rich thoroughly considered the etymology of the term "Turk" itself. He supported the opinion of V. Thomsen and F. V. K. Muller, according to which "the word Turk (turuk) in the Old Turkic language meant "strength, might""], and noted that initially this term was "the name of the horde founded by the Khan's family of Ashin (Ashen)", but over time it spread to ... Read more