Kazakhstan has been inhabited since the Paleolithic period. [10] Pastoralism developed during the Neolithic Period , as the climate and terrain conditions in the region were suitable for a nomadic lifestyle .
The Kazakh region is an important part of the Eurasian trade Steppe Route, the ancestor of the terrestrial Silk Roads . Archaeologists believe that humans first domesticated the horse in the region's great steppes. In recent prehistory, peoples of various cultures such as the Proto-Indo-European Afanasiyevo culture [11] , later the early Indo-Iranian cultures such as the Andronovo culture [12] , and later the Saka and Massagets lived in Central Asia . [13] [14] Nomadic Scythians in the southern region of the country, among other groups and the Persian Empire . In 329 BC, Alexander the Great and his Macedonian Army fought against the Scythians in the Battle of Jaxartes along the Jaxartes River, which stretches to the southern border of modern Kazakhstan , today known as the Syr Darya ( Seyhun ) River.
The name "Kazakh" means "to wander", an Old Turkic word reflecting the nomadic culture of the Kazakhs. [9] The Persian suffix -stan means "land" or "place", so Kazakhstan can literally be translated as "land of travellers".
Популярные вопросы