HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF CENTRAL ASIA IN ORIENTAL NARRATIVE SOURCES OF THE 17TH TO THE BEGINNING OF THE 20TH CENTURY

The article provides an overview of narrative works written in Oriental languages from the 17th to the beginning of the 20th century, containing information on the historical geography of the Central Asian region. Alongside Russian and Western written sources, Arabic-script and Chinese texts represent an important foundation for researching the historical geography of this region during the modern period. Oriental sources provide diverse information about the places of residence of various ethnic groups, administrative systems, cities, roads, and economic activities of local populations, as well as details about the climate, wildlife, and natural resources of the region. Official chronicles and private works by Kokand, Bukharan, and Khivan authors contain data on state organization, ethnic composition, and administrative-territorial changes in the Uzbek Khanates and Desht-i Kipchak during the modern period. Travel notes offer historical and ethnographic insights into local populations in border areas with Russia and China. Valuable information on the historical toponymy of Kazakhstan, caravan trade routes, and river crossings is presented in the memoirs of the 19th-century officials and travelers. Numerous written monuments from Mawarannahr and Qing China contain original materials on the physical, political, and socio-economic geography of the Central Asian region in the modern centuries, many of which still await further study, scholarly incorporation, or re-translation in accordance with contemporary academic standards. Acknowledgments: This article was prepared as part of the research program Historical Geography of Central Asia, funded by the Science Committee of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan (grant No. BR21882416).