This is a short history of the central steppe, an area roughly equivalent to modern Kazakhstan. Because the history of the central steppe is complex, this article mainly serves an outline and index to the more detailed articles given in the links. It is a companion to history of the western steppe and history of the eastern steppe and is parallel to the history of Kazakhstan and the history of Central Asia.

Geography "Central steppe" is an informal term for the middle part of the Eurasian Steppe. It is grassland with some semi-desert, and becomes drier toward the south. On the east, it is separated from Dzungaria and the eastern steppe by the low mountains along the current Chinese border. On the west, it merges into the western steppe along the narrowing between the Ural Mountains and the Caspian Sea. On the north, it is bounded by the forests of Siberia. The southern boundary has three sections. In the east, the Tian Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan extend about 650 kilometres west and give the steppe a sharp southern boundary. The center is approximately the line of the Syr Darya, which runs from the eastern mountains northwest to the Aral Sea. South of the Syr Darya, the steppe grades into semi-desert, but there are cities based on irrigation agriculture which give the area a different history. The western part between the Aral and Caspian Seas is dry and thinly populated. The Syr Darya and the area between the Urals and Caspian were not significant barriers, and the low mountains of Dzungaria were fairly easy to cross. The other boundaries were significant barriers to movement.

General The central steppe is far from the areas of literate civilization and is therefore poorly documented. Most of the "peoples" mentioned were some tribe or clan that gained power over its neighbors and became important enough to be noticed by literate historians. Some were definite ethnic groups and some movements were genuine folk migrations, but in most cases it is uncertain. Most dates are approximate because they were processes or ill-documented. There are two major facts which theorists have not explained. During the last 2,500 years nearly all movements on the steppe have been from east to west. From about 1000 BC all the known peoples of the western and central steppe spoke Iranian languages. From about 500 AD the Turkic languages expanded from Mongolia and replaced most of the Iranian languages.

Before written history

The origins of pastoral nomadism and horse archery are not clearly understood. At some time in the distant past people of European appearance lived in or crossed the central steppe and left the Tarim mummies in the Tarim basin. In the centuries around 3000 BC, the semi-nomadic and probably Indo-European Yamnaya culture emerged west of the central steppe. East of the central steppe was the rather similar Afanasevo culture. The Yamnaya-Afanasevo complex is probably connected to the eastward spread of the Indo-European languages, especially Tokharian. Between them on the central steppe was the horse-using Botai culture. After 2000 BC, the Andronovo Culture complex was southeast of the Urals. They had chariots, fortified towns, spread southeast to much of central Asia and are associated with the rise of the Indo-Iranian languages. The usage of iron appears around 1000 BC. Around 500 BC, Herodotus vaguely described the area as inhabited by Massagetae, Issedoneans and others. Around 200 BC, Chinese reports from the east began to appear.

Eastern third (Zhetysu or Semirechye)

The area north of the Tien Shan needs special treatment because of better documentation and the large number of peoples who moved through it. It is a type of steppe "bay" bounded on the north by the Siberian forests, on the south by the Kyrgyz mountains and on the east by low mountains. Zhetysu is Turkic and Semirechye () is Russian for "seven rivers". Sakas (before 200 BC): The Iranian-speaking nomads in the western and central steppe were called Scythians by the Greeks, Sakas by the Persians and Sai by the Chinese; the three words mean about the same thing. The Sakas also occupied the western Tarim basin. Iranian languages extended south to Persia and Afghanistan. Chinese: Under the Han dynasty the Chinese expanded westward. In 125 BC Zhang Qian returned with the first reports of the Western Regions. Around 100 BC to 100 AD, with interruptions, the Chinese controlled the Tarim Basin southeast of the central steppe. Chinese historians have given us the earliest surviving good written information about the central steppe. Yuezhi ( 162–132 BC): The Yuezhi were originally a major power in Gansu and Mongolia. Around 162 BC, driven west by the Xiongnu, they settled in the Ili valley, driving out the Sakas. About 132 BC, they were driven out by the Wusun and moved south and later formed a major state in Bactria as the Kushans. Wusun ( 133 BC–100 AD): The Wusun from Gansu drove the Yuezhi out of the Ili valley. By 80 BC they had some power in the Tarim basin. After 100 AD, they declined and gradually disappear from the records. Xiongnu ( 40 BC – 155 AD): When the Northern Xiongnu were driven west by the Chinese they occupied Dzungaria and Semirechye, perhaps somewhat north of the Wusun. The Xianbei who defeated them may also have reached this area. Yueban ( 160–490 AD): After the Han lost control of the Tarim basin, written sources become sparse. The Chinese called the local population Yueban or Yuepan. They appear to have been Xiongnu remnants. ?Ephthalites ( 493?–560 AD): The poorly-documented Ephthalites were based in the south and may have extended north of the Tian Shan. Tiele people ( 100–800 AD): Tiele is a vague Chinese term, likely referring to the probably Turkic peoples living mainly on the northern edge of the steppe, from Mongolia westward.

Outside influences ( 500–800 AD): Turkic-speaking peoples spread from Mongolia and occupied the central steppe. The Chinese returned under the Tang dynasty of 618–907. Islam arrived about 750. Meanwhile, Sogdian merchants controlled most of the long-distance trade. Gokturks ( 558–657): The Gokturks became the first Turkic-speakers to found an empire and the first to rule both the eastern and central steppe (the only other case being the Mongols). In 552 they took over Mongolia, 558 they reached the Volga and they reached the Oxus. By 603, the Western Turkic Khaganate had definitely split from the Eastern Khaganate in Mongolia. Circa 657, they were defeated by the Chinese. Chinese again ( 657–756): the Tang dynasty restored Chinese power. The Tang took over the Tarim basin and the mountains of Kyrgyzstan, captured Tashkent, subjugated what was left of the western Turks and lost a battle to the Arabs in 751. Around 756 they withdrew because of the An Lushan rebellion. Muslims ( 750–present): After the Arab conquest of Merv in 651, there were raids northward. From 705, Muslims expanded into the area between the Oxus and Syr Darya. Muslims in Central Asia soon became more Persian than Arab. From around 750, Islam expanded slowly north of the Syr Darya and into the Tarim Basin and Gansu. Sogdian Merchants ( 300–840): Merchants from Sogdia controlled most of the trade between China and the west. They had settlements all the way from Bukhara to northern China. Dulu Turks ( 603–659): The Dulu formed the semi-independent eastern half of the Western Turkic Khaganate. Chinese vassals ( 658–756): After the defeat of the Gokturks the Chinese had some limited control of the peoples west and north of the mountains, but the matter remains poorly documented. Turgesh ( 699–766): The Turgesh were Dulu who restored a kind of Turkic Khaganate. They fought against the Arabs and the Chinese. Karluks ( 766–840): The Turkic Karluks drove the Turgesh out of Semirechye and later evolved into the Karakhanids. As a tribe they originated in Dzungaria and existed from at least 644 into Mongol times. Karakhanids ( 850–1134): Karluks and others founded the Karakhanid Khaganate. Around 960 the Karakhanids adopted Islam; they conquered Transoxiana. About 1041 they split into an eastern group in Semirechye and a western group in Transoxiana. By 1081 they were Seljuk vassals, at least in theory. Following their defeat in 1134, many Karakhanids remained as local rulers.

Karakitai (1134–1220): The Karakitai rulers were refugees from north China. The Manchurian Khitans ruled north China as the Liao dynasty (907–1125). After the Jurchens overthrew them, Khitan remnants fled west, conquered Semirechye in 1134, and by 1141, held most of the lands of the Karakhanids. They were non-Muslim, had some degree of Chinese culture and generally left the former rulers in place as vassals. In 1211, a Naiman prince who had fled the Mongols usurped power. The Mongols pursued him and by 1220 conquered most of the Karakitai lands. Mongols After the Mongol conquest of the area in 1220 the eastern third of the central steppe does not need separate treatment: see the "Mongols and after" section below. Subsequent Zhetysu history involved the following: Chagataids: When the Mongol empire split up, central Asia fell to the Chagataids in 1266, but they never formed a strong state and soon adopted Islam and the local language. Moghulistan ( 1450–1500): Moghulistan emerged from the declining Chagatai Khanate. Zhetysu became split between Mogulistan in the east and the emerging Kazakhs. Kazakhs (1465–present) first appeared in Zhetysu and soon spread their name all over the central steppe. Semirechye was under the Senior Horde. Dzungar Khanate ( 1680–1758) held the area until it was destroyed by the Chinese. Russians conquered the area from the north in 1847–68. See Russian conquest of Turkestan.

Western two-thirds and Turkic migrations

This area is far from areas of literate civilization and sources are scattered. Greek and Persian reports began to appear from circa 500 BC. The so-called "Pointed-Hat" Sakas may have lived along the upper Syr-darya and may have some connection to Ptolemy's Sacaraucae. The Dahae lived between the Caspian and Aral Seas. The Massagatae probably lived east of the Aral Sea. Herodotus speaks vaguely of Issedones, Arimaspi, Hyperborians and others. The first Chinese reports emerged in 125 BC. The Kangju lived along the Syr Darya and the Yancai probably north of the Aral Sea. The Yancai were possibly the Greek's Sarmatians, and specifically the Alans. The above peoples were all independent of the Persian and Macedonian Empires to the south. Huns (before 370 AD): The Huns formed somewhere in Central Asia, crossed the Volga about 370 AD and raided the Roman Empire. They were probably a mixture of Xiongnu and other peoples.

The Bulgars, originally a nomadic group from Central Asia, occupied the Pontic steppe north of Caucasus since the 2nd century and formed Old Great Bulgaria (632–668). Later, pushed by the Khazars, the majority of them migrated west and dominated Byzantine territories along the lower Danube from the 7th century, forming Bulgaria.Fine, John Van Antwerp (1983), The Early Medieval Balkans, University of Michigan Press, , p. 31.The Miracles of Saint Demetrius First Turkic Khaganate (552–659 AD): The first Turkic Khaganate formed in Mongolia and quickly spread to the Volga. It soon split and the central steppe became the Western Turkic Khaganate. It developed two factions, with the Dulu Turks south of lake Balkhash and the Nushibi between them and the Kangars east of the Aral Sea.