Author Biography

Christoph Baumer – a leading explorer and historian of Central Asia, Tibet and the Caucasus – has written many well-received books in the fields of history, religion, archaeology and travel. These include, among others, The Church of the East: An Illustrated History of Assyrian Christianity (2006), Traces in the Desert: Journeys of Discovery across Central Asia (2008), China's Holy Mountain: An Illustrated Journey into the Heart of Buddhism (2011) and the seminal History of Central Asia in four volumes (2012-2018) all published by I.B.Tauris.Dr Baumer is President of the Society for the Exploration of EurAsia, Senior Research Fellow at the Kazakhstan Academy of Sciences, and a member of the Explorers' Club, New York, the Royal Asiatic Society, the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Society for Asian Affairs, London. He is a recipient of the prestigious Sir Percy Sykes Medal, awarded to him by the Royal Society for Asian Affairs in 2015.

Table of Contents

I At the edge of Europe and Asia - An Introduction1. A Time of Conflict2. A Special Geography3. Peoples and Languages4. Objectives and SourcesII The Formation of the Landscape and Early Humans of the Palaeolithic1. The Origin of the Caucasus Mountains and the History of the Adjacent Seas - Black Sea and Caspian SeaExcursus: Did the Flood take place near the Black Sea?2. Homo Georgicus: First Early Humans Outside Africa3. Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens in the North and South CaucasusIII Prehistoric Cultures: From the Neolithic to the Iron Age1. The Southern Caucasus1.1 The Shulaveri-Shomu-Aratashen culture1.2 The Chalcolithic cultures of Sioni and Leila Tepe1.3 The Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age Kura-Araxes Culture1.4 The Kurgan Cultures of the Middle Bronze AgeExcursus: The invention of wheel and cart1.5 Late Bronze Age and Iron Age1.6 Early Tribal Organizations, War Alliances and Confederations1.7 The Colchis in Prehistoric Times2. The Northern Caucasus2.1 Chalcolithic Settlements and Early, Flat Tumuli2.2 The Early Bronze Age Cultures of Maikop2.3 The Middle and Late Bronze Age Dolmen Culture2.4 The Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age Pri-Elbrus CultureIV. A First Caucasian state, Greek Empires and Northern Equestrian Peoples1. Urartu/Biainili: The First Caucasian State1.1 The Creation of Biainili1.2 Biainili Struggles with Assyria for Supremacy in the Middle East1.3 Rise of Assyria and Weakening of Biainili1.4 Biainili's Decline2. Equestrian Peoples from the North and Greek Trading Colonies2.1 The Cimmerians2.2 Immigrant Scythians and Autochthonous Maiotes2.3 Greek Emporia in the North-western Caucasus2.4 Sarmatians, Alans and the Hun InvasionV. The South Caucasus under Achaemenid Sovereignty, Armenian Kingdoms and Pontos1 The Achaemenid Sovereignty2 The Hellenization of the Colchis3. Early Kingdoms of Armenia3.1 Armenian Dynasties of the Orontides/Yervanduni and Early Artaxiad3.2 Tigranes the Great, Pontos and the Mithridaic WarsExcursus: The eight deities of the Armenian pantheon3.3 Late Artaxiad: Armenia between Rome and Parthia3.4 Roman Patronage of PontosVI Roman-Parthian Condominiums in the South Caucasus1. Comments on Early Historiography in the Southern Caucasus2. The Kingdom of Kartli (Iberia) and Lazica2.1 Legendary Ancestors and the Parnavazids2.2 Iberia in the Orbit of Rome3. Caucasian Albania in pre-Islamic Time4. Armenia4.1 Armenia as a Roman-Parthian Condominium4.2 Armenia between Sasanid and Roman SovereigntyVII The Introduction of Christianity as a State Ideology and the Political Division of the South Caucasus1. Legends of Apostolic Missionary Work2. Armenia and the Tradition of Gregori the Enlightener2.1 Syrian-Mesopotamian and Greek-Cappadocian Impulses2.2 King Trdat IV and Gregori the Illuminator2.3 Characteristics of Early Armenian Christianity2.4 A power struggle between King and Catholics and the division of ArmeniaExcursus: Mesrop Mashtots and the invention of the Armenian script3. Kartli: From King Mirian III to the Abolition of the Monarchy3.1 The Legend of St. Nino and the Christianization of Kartli3.2 Kartli Under Persian Sovereignty4 The Conversion of Albania and the Apostolic Church of Caucasian Albania5 Lazica and a First Christianization of the North Caucasian Alans5.1 The Lazican Wars5.2 The Christianization of Lazica, Alania and Svanetia and the veneration of military saints6. The Persian Hegemony in Armenia, Georgia and Albani7. The Alienation Between the Caucasian Church HierarchiesVIII Between Caliphate, Byzantium and Khazars1. Southern Caucasian Principalities under Islamic Rule until the Battle of Bagravand in 7722. The Rise of the Bagratid dynasties2.1 The Emergence of the Armenian KingdomExcursus: Paulikians and Tondrakians2.2 The Formation of the Georgian Kingdom of Sakartvelo3. The Empire of the Khazars in the Northern Caucasus4. The Kingdom of Alanya in the North-western Caucasus5. Muslim Dynasties of Albania and the Invasion of the Seljuks5.1 The Sayids5.2 The Sallarids5.3 The Rawwadids5.4 The Shaddadids5.5 The Yazidids and Hashimids6. The Kingdoms of Armenia, Byzantium and the Seljuk Conquest6.1 The Armenian Kingdoms6.2 The Byzantine Annexation of Armenia6.3 The Seljuks Conquer Armenia6.4 Ani under the Rule of the ShaddadidsIX. OutlookAppendicesI. Population statistics by countryII Ancient established languages of the Caucasus by language familiesIII Chronology of the most important Caucasian dynastiesNotesBibliographyList of MapsPhoto creditsAcknowledgementsIndexConceptsPeoplePlaces

Review

Baumer sets out the wonders of the past, sometimes doing so valley by valley… This is a real treat: a rare book whose images do justice to the text and vice versa. I cannot recommend it highly enough. -- Peter Frankopan * The Spectator *
This grand and encyclopedic volume will surely become the standard work on this beguiling and important region. -- Bijan Omrani * Literary Review *
The Caucasus has long attracted mountain climbers, bird watchers and lovers and medieval architecture: its appeal, thanks to Baumer's book, will reach a wider audience, from tourists to academics who want to study languages of a region that Arabs called 'the Mountain of Tongues'. The first volume takes us from the dawn of history to the 11th century. It is a miracle of both concentration and clarity. -- Donald Rayfield * History Today *
The largely unknown and historically neglected Caucasus emerges as a land of never-ending fascination… This is writing on a vast his­torical scale… Filled with awe-inspiring photography, clear and relevant maps, useful timelines and pic­tures of hundreds of artefacts. -- Steve Andrew * The Morning Star *
Sweeping [and] beautifully illustrated. * The New European *
To perform a historical survey of such a long time span, from prehistory to the collapse of the Soviet Union, of a region containing several dozen nations and intersecting with so many of the great world empires would seem to be a foolhardy undertaking… [Baumer] pulls this off through dogged erudition and enthusiasm for his subject. * Asian Review of Books *
This huge sweep of history is handled deftly and intelligently through Baumer's vivid and lucid prose and the accompaniment of magnificent photographs, many taken by the author, which amply illustrate the archaeological discoveries through the ages, from ruined fortifications to wondrous works of art… A wonderful book full of great scholarship. -- John Hare * Current World Archaeology *
"Lavishly illustrated with the author's colour photos taken on various visits to the region over the past decade, the heavy gloss paper gives the feel of a coffee table book. However, the content is that of a rich, old-school history text, fact-heavy and chronologically ordered with a suitably bewildering cast of kings and battles… Baumer's work [is] in a class of its own." -- Mark Elliot * The Caspian Post *
While the book would be worth having for the images alone, the text provides a mostly reliable overview of the vast sweep of human history in the Caucasus and adjacent regions from the earliest signs of hominin habitation more than 1,7 million years ago up to the 13th century. * Iran and the Caucasus *
Impressively informative, profusely illustrated, exceptionally well organized and presented, History of the Caucasus: At the Crossroads of Empires by historian Christoph Baumer is an extraordinary work of regional history that will have enormous appeal for the non- specialist general reader and the academician alike—making this an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, community, college, and university library Asian history collections in general, and supplemental curriculum studies reading lists in particular. * Midwest Book Review *
Baumer's book is a milestone in the long, complex and hitherto obscure history of the Caucasus: he deals adroitly and convincingly with questions of palaeontology, archaeology, myth, legend as well as the historical records to be retrieved from Armenian, Georgian, Latin and Greek sources. He shows due scepticism about national legends and etymological claims. Baumer writes with admirable clarity. His book is magnificently illustrated, and all the reader can want is for volume 2, covering the next thousand years, to appear as soon as possible. * Professor Donald Rayfield, Emeritus Professor of Russian, Queen Mary University of London, UK *
A fascinating book with glorious photography. * Irish Tech News *

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A richly-illustrated history of the Caucasus region

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Baumer's book is a milestone in the long, complex and hitherto obscure history of the Caucasus: he deals adroitly and convincingly with questions of palaeontology, archaeology, myth, legend as well as the historical records to be retrieved from Armenian, Georgian, Latin and Greek sources. He shows due scepticism about national legends and etymological claims. Baumer writes with admirable clarity. His book is magnificently illustrated, and all the reader can want is for volume 2, covering the next thousand years, to appear as soon as possible.

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A richly-illustrated history of the Caucasus region

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Charts the period from the emergence of the earliest human populations in the region to the Seljuk conquests of 1050AD

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