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Georgetown University Associate Professor James Millward presents the first comprehensive history of Xinjiang, the vast central Eurasian region bordering India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Mongolia, in his new book Eurasian Crossroads (Columbia University Press, 2007).

“I hope to provide an overview to the history of a region that has played an important role in world history, but for which there is no good introduction in English,” writes Millward in the book’s preface.

Forming one-sixth of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Xinjiang stands at the crossroads between China, India, the Mediterranean, and Russia and has played a pivotal role in the social, cultural, and political development of Asia and the world. Xinjiang was once the hub of the Silk Road and the conduit through which Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam entered China. It was also the point at which the Chinese, Turkic, Tibetan, and Mongolian empires communicated and struggled with one another.   

Xinjiang’s population comprises Kazakhs, Kirghiz, and Uighurs, all Turkic Muslim peoples, as well as Han Chinese, and competing Chinese and Turkic nationalist visions continue to threaten the region’s political and economic stability. Besides separatist concerns, Xinjiang’s energy resources, strategic position, and rapid development have gained it international attention in recent decades.  

Drawing on primary sources in several Asian and European languages, Millward presents a thorough study of Xinjiang’s history and people from antiquity to the present and takes a balanced look at the position of Turkic Muslims within China today. The book uncovers fresh material and perspectives, and surveys Xinjiang’s rich environmental, cultural, and ethno-political heritage.

“Eurasian Crossroads is a highly readable history of this vast and crucial region, where China’s high-speed development drive collides with the aspirations of Muslim communities for national identity and cultural preservation,” Rob Gifford, former China correspondent for National Public Radio.

James Millward is associate professor of intersocietal history at the Edmund Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. He specializes in the modern history of China and Inner Asia, including Mongolia and Tibet, as well as Xinjiang. His previous books include New Qing Imperial History: The Making of Inner Asian Empire at Qing Chengde (Routledge, 2004) and Beyond the Pass: Economy, Ethnicity and Empire in Qing Xinjiang, 1759-1864 (Stanford University Press, 1998) and he is the author of numerous scholarly articles and reviews. At Georgetown, Millward teaches courses on world history, China and Central Eurasia.