...the Mins in Quqon. These new dynasties…

...the Mins in Quqon.

These new dynasties have established centralized states with standing armies and new irrigation works.

But their rise has coincided with the ascendance of Russian power in the Kazak steppes and the establishment of a British position in Afghanistan.

By the early nineteenth century, the region is caught between these two powerful European competitors, each of which tries to add Central Asia to its empire in what will come to be known as the Great Game.

The Central Asians, who do not realize the dangerous position they are in, continue to waste their strength in wars among themselves and in pointless campaigns of conquest.