Anis H. Bajrektarevic is a Professor and a Chairperson for International Law and Global

INTERESTS & INFLUENCES OF MAJOR EXTERNAL ACTORS IN CENTRAL ASIA
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The Persian and Macedonian Empires also influ-
enced and played a significant role in Central
Asia during this time. The Han Dynasty also
ruled parts of Central Asia during the first mil-
lennium, and the Han Dynasty established the
Protectorate of the Western Regions in 60 B.C.
By 1000 B.C., nomadic pastoralist became a
dominant way of life and influenced the activi-
ties of the tribes in the region. Many of these
groups practiced transhumance, the seasonal
movement of people and their livestock. They
maintained herds of sheep, goats, and camels
and conducted animal migrations. 
During the rule of the Tang Dynasty, along with
the Sui Dynasty, is when the Chinese began
their expansion to Central Asia. The Sui Dynasty
caused internal conflicts among the Central
Asia tribes. The Tang Dynasty also engaged in
conflict over Central Asia with the Tibet Dynasty
over territories in the Tarim Basin from 670–692
A.D. and in 763 A.D.. The Han Dynasty came to
prominence and lasted from 206 BC – 220 A.D..
The Great Silk Road was established during the
Han Dynasty and expanded by the Han Dynasty
around 114 A.D.. The Han Dynasty is the most
memorable and most arguably the most impor-
tant since it marks the Golden Age in Chinese
Culture. The Han Dynasty was the second impe-
rial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin dy-
nasty (221–207 B.C.) and succeeded by the
Three Kingdoms period (220–280 A.D.). The Han
Dynasty can be separated into the Former Han 
(or Western Han) which occurred from 206 B.C.
to 9 A.D.) and the Latter Han (or Eastern Han)
which occurred from 25 AD to 220 A.D. By 100
A.D., four Empires covered the region: The
Roman Empire, the nomadic Parthian Empire
the Kushan Empires, and the Han Empire. All of
these Empires resided along the Great Silk
Roadand all of them fell.
Many of the influences that occurred during
this period of time are visible in the region. At
the end of the 7th century, the religious army
of Islam reached Central Asia. Furthermore, in
the 8th century, Islam was introduced by Arab
rulers and remains a defining characteristic of
the Central Asia peoples as all five countries
practice Sunni Islam with variations of Islam
also practiced. 
During the 10th and 13th centuries the Kyrgyz
people migrated from the Yenisei River region
in central Siberia to the Tian-Shan region. Dur-
ing the 13th century, under Mongol rule, Tajik-
istan was annexed and became part of the
Mongol Empire. Around this time, the ancestors
of the Turkmen, the Oghuz Seljuk tribes, and
Mongols migrated to this area.[4] In the 14th
century, Tajikistan became part of Tamerlane’s
Empire. Tamerlane also annexed present-day
Uzbekistan, and Samarkand was made the cap-
ital. The Kazakhs, as a people, emerged as a
strong and distinct ethnic group in the 15th
century.