First stage:
History of the exploration of Asia - limited information on the geography of Asia was known to the ancient peoples of Mesopotamia. The campaigns of Alexander the Great (IV century BC), the trade of Egypt with India, the presence of a trade route ("silk road") from China to Western Asia contributed to the gradual accumulation of information about Asia. However, deeper knowledge about this part of the land was gained later.

Second phase:
In the VII century. Buddhist monk Xuan-Tsang, who wandered in Central and Central Asia, India, presented information on geography, ethnography and history of the countries he saw in one of his main works "Notes on Western Countries", completed in 648.

Arab traveler and geographer Ibn Khordadbeh (IX-X centuries) described the provinces of Western Asia. Biruni compiled a work about India, Masudi gave a geographical and historical description of the Muslim countries, India, China, Palestine, Ceylon.

In the IX-X centuries. various regions of Central and Western Asia were studied by Mukadassi, Ibn Sina, Ibn Fadlan and Ibn Rust. The Arab traveler Idrisi (XII century), who lived most of his life in Sicily, described Asia Minor, which he visited, in a consolidated geographical work.

In the XIV century. Ibn Battuta, who visited many Asian countries, wrote a long work in which he gave a very colorful and vivid description of these countries, including information about minerals.

In the XII-XIII centuries. Europeans who made the Crusades collect information about the countries of Central and South Asia. In 1253-55, a Flemish traveler, the monk Rubruk, undertook a diplomatic journey to Mongolia. The report on this most significant (before M. Polo) travel of a European to Asia contained valuable information on the geography of Central Asia (in particular, it indicated that the Caspian Sea is not a sea, but a lake).

The traveler M. Polo (1271-1295), who lived in China for about 17 years, made a significant contribution to the development of ideas about Asia. The "Book" (1298), recorded from his words in a Genoese prison, where he ended up during the war between Venice and Genoa, first introduced the Europeans to Persia, Armenia, China, India, etc. She was a reference book for such great navigators as Columbus , Vasco da Gama, Magellan, etc.

The Venetian merchant and traveler M. Conti, who wandered across India in 1424, visited the islands of Ceylon, Sumatra, Borneo, Java, on behalf of the Pope in 1444 dictated an account of this journey.

In 1468-1474 the Russian merchant A. Nikitin undertook a trip to India. His travel notes, containing many-sided observations, were published under the title "Walking the Three Seas."

In the middle of the 15th century. Europeans began to look for sea routes to Asia. Portuguese sailors reached India in 1497-1499 (Vasco da Gama), visited Malacca, Macau, the Philippines, and Japan. In the second half of the XVI-XVII centuries. the Dutch, the British, and the Spaniards continued to penetrate the countries of South Asia.

In 1618-1619 the Siberian Cossack I. Petlin visited Mongolia and China, plotted the route on the map, and outlined what he saw in a book translated into English, French and other languages.

One of the first Europeans in 1690-1692 visited Japan by the German naturalist and physician E. Kempfer, who collected extensive material on the nature, history and life of the people. His book, published in 1728 in London, has long served as the main source of information about Japan.

During this period, the greatest contribution to the study of the northern regions of Asia, where the Europeans did not penetrate, were made by Russian explorers. By the end of the 16th century, after Yermak's campaign, Western Siberia became known in general terms.

In 1639 I. Yu. Moskvitin with a detachment of Cossacks reached the coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. In 1632-1638, a detachment led by E.P. Khabarov explored the Lena River basin. In 1649-1653 he crossed the Stanovoy Range, traveled to the Amur region, and was the first to draw up a map of it. In 1643-1646 on the rivers Lena, Aldan, Zeya and Amur, a detachment of V.D.

In 1648, S. I. Dezhnev's expedition rounded the Chukotka Peninsula and discovered the strait separating Asia from America, and the cape, which is the extreme northeastern point of Asia. Siberian Cossack V.V. Atlasov traveled across Kamchatka in 1697-1699, reached the Northern Kuril Islands and made a description ("skaski") of the discovered lands.

In the XVII century. Russian explorers, despite extremely difficult climatic conditions, overcoming vast spaces, discovered almost all of Siberia. This stage ended with the compilation of the first maps of Siberia, made by the Tobolsk governor P. Godunov and his fellow geographer and cartographer S. Remizov.

Stage three:
During this period, the exploration of the north and northeast of the Asian continent by Russian travelers and navigators continued. By decree of Peter I, Kamchatka expeditions were equipped, led by V. Bering, A. Chirikov was an assistant.

The first expedition (1725-1730) passed by land through Siberia to Okhotsk, and then, after the construction of ships, Bering went to sea, rounded the shores of Kamchatka and Chukotka, discovered the island of St. Lawrence and passed through the strait, which now bears his name.

The Second Kamchatka Expedition (1733-1741), also known as the Great Northern Expedition due to the scale of its work, occupies an outstanding place in the history of the study of the Arctic and northern regions of Asia. The Asian shores of the Arctic Ocean were mapped, the Commander, Aleutian and other islands were discovered, the shores of Alaska were examined.

Separate detachments were led by the Laptev brothers, V.V. Pronchishchev, S. I. Chelyuskin (whose names are immortalized on the map). A great contribution to the study of Central Asia was made by missionaries who gave in the early 18th century. description of China, Mongolia and Tibet.

At the end of the 18th century. Russian traveler and naturalist P. S. Pallas explored Eastern Siberia and Altai. In 1800-1805 Y. Sannikov discovered and described the Stolbovoy and Faddeevsky islands of the Novosibirsk archipelago, suggested the existence of Sannikov land to the north of it.

In 1811, V.M. Golovnin undertook a trip to the Kuril Islands, compiled an inventory and a map. During the expedition, he was captured by the Japanese. His memories of his captivity in 1811-1813, containing information about the country and the customs of the Japanese, became the first description of Japan in Russian.

In 1821-1823, P.F.

Wikipedia

F.P. Wrangel in 1820-1824 headed an expedition to explore the northern shores of Eastern Siberia. According to information received from the Chukchi, in the Chukchi Sea he determined the position of the island, which was later named after him.

In 1829, at the invitation of the Russian government, A. Humboldt undertook a trip to the Urals, Altai, to the southwestern part of Siberia, to the shores of the Caspian Sea, to the Kyrgyz steppes, the results of which were highlighted in the works "Central Asia" and "Fragments on the geology and climatology of Asia. ". F.P. Litke, while traveling around the world in 1826-1829, explored the eastern coast of Asia and Kamchatka.

Fourth stage:
From the middle of the XIX century. the role of systematic research carried out by scientific institutes, geographical societies and topographic services in England, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Japan and China is sharply increasing. The number of monographic descriptions of Asia has increased.

The Russian Geographical Society, created in 1845, is expanding work in Siberia and the Far East. In 1856-1857, P.P.Semenov-Tyan-Shansky traveled to the Tien Shan (gave his first orographic scheme), explored the western spurs of the Zailiyskiy Alatau, and was the first of the Europeans to climb the slopes of the Khan-Tengri massif. In memory of his achievements in the study of the Tien Shan in 1906, "Tien Shan" was added to his surname.

A.P. Fedchenko in 1868-1871 made several trips to Turkestan, the first Russian traveler to visit the Alai Valley, discovered the Trans-Alai Range, explored the lower reaches of the Syr Darya River.

In 1872-1876 A.I. Voeikov visited South and Front Asia, China, Japan, India, Central Asia, collecting valuable information about the climate of various regions of Asia. In 1877-1880, I. D. Chersky gave a detailed geographical and geological description of the Baikal coast.

In 1870-1885, four expeditions to Central Asia were organized under the leadership of N.M. Przhevalsky, which discovered many previously unknown remote areas - Kunlun, Nanshan, Tibet, etc. His research was continued by Russian travelers - M.V. Pevtsov, G.E. Grumm -Grzhimailo, G. Ts. Tsybikov. V. A. Obruchev, who worked a lot in Central Asia, made three expeditions to the Trans-Caspian region (1886-1888), discovered a number of ridges in the Nanshan mountains, the Daursky ridge, etc., explored the Beishan highlands.

In the late XIX - early XX centuries. Russian scientists (I. V. Mushketov, L. S. Berg) continue systematic studies of Asia. The construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway also stimulated regular surveys of the adjacent territories.

For the first time, the northeastern passage from Europe to the Far East was carried out in 1878-1879 by N. Nordenskjold, later (1911-1915) this route, only from east to west, was repeated by the expedition of BA Vilkitsky. During this period, in-depth geographical research by scientists from Asian countries (Japan, China, India, Indonesia) began.

Since the middle of the XX century. Intensified research in the Russian part of Asia related to the national economic development of a huge territory, regional scientific centers and institutes are being created to carry out work on mapping (including large-scale) and comprehensive study of Siberia and the Far East. Regular sailings along the Northern Sea Route are being established. Systematic research is being conducted by international expeditions.

author Victor Kuznentsov asked a question in the section Other about cities and countries

The opening of the Paths to Asia, how many were there? when did they open it and who? (meaning the most ancient discoveries by Man.) and got the best answer

Answer from Helga [guru]
The initial stage of the exploration of Asia.
Campaigns of Alexander the Great (4th century BC), trade between Egypt and India, the presence of a trade route ("silk road") from China to Western Asia
The second phase of the study of Asia. Study of Asia by scientists and travelers of the East (7-17 centuries).
Buddhist monk Xuan-Tsang, presented information on geography, ethnography and history in the "Notes on the Western Countries." Ibn Khordadbeh (9-10 cc.), Biruni, Masudi. 9-11 cc. - Mukadassi, Ibn Sina, Ibn Fadlan and Ibn Rusta, Idrisi (12th century), Ibn Battuta.
Exploration of Asia by Europeans.
Rubruk, undertook a trip to Mongolia for diplomatic purposes. M. Polo (1271-95), who lived in China for about 17 years. The Venetian merchant and traveler M. Conti, who wandered across India in 1424, visited the islands of Ceylon, Sumatra, Borneo, Java. In 1468-74 the Russian merchant A. Nikitin undertook a trip to India.
in 1497-99 (Vasco da Gama), visited Malacca, Macau, Philippines, Japan. In 1618-19 the Siberian Cossack I. Petlin visited Mongolia and China, in 1690-92 the German doctor E. Kempfer visited Japan. The study of Asia by Russian explorers.
By the end of the 16th century. After Yermak's campaign, Western Siberia became known. In 1639 I. Yu. Moskvitin with a detachment of Cossacks reached the coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. In 1632-38, a detachment led by E.P. Khabarov explored the Lena River basin. In 1649-53, he crossed the Stanovoy Range, traveled to the Amur region, and was the first to draw up a map of it. In 1643-46 on the rivers Lena, Aldan, Zeya and Amur a detachment of V.D. In 1648, S. I. Dezhnev's expedition rounded the Chukotka Peninsula and discovered the strait separating Asia from America, and the cape, which is the extreme northeastern point of Asia. Siberian Cossack V.V. Atlasov traveled through Kamchatka in 1697-99, reached the Northern Kuril Islands and made a description ("skaski") of the discovered lands.
The third stage in the study of Asia (18th - mid 19th centuries).
By decree of Peter I, Kamchatka expeditions were equipped, led by V. Bering, A. Chirikov was an assistant. The first expedition (1725-30) passed by land through Siberia to Okhotsk, and then, after the construction of ships, Bering went to sea, rounded the shores of Kamchatka and Chukotka, discovered the island of St. Lawrence and passed through the strait, which now bears his name. The Second Kamchatka Expedition (1733-41), also known as the Great Northern Expedition due to the scale of its work, occupies an outstanding place in the history of the study of the Arctic and northern regions of Asia. The Asian shores of the Arctic Ocean were mapped, the Commander, Aleutian and other islands were discovered, the shores of Alaska were examined. Separate detachments were led by the Laptev brothers, V.V. Pronchishchev, S. I. Chelyuskin (whose names are immortalized on the map). A great contribution to the study of Central Asia was made by missionaries who gave in the early 18th century. description of China, Mongolia and Tibet. At the end of the 18th century. Russian traveler and naturalist P. S. Pallas explored Eastern Siberia and Altai. In 1800-05, Y. Sannikov discovered and described the Stolbovoy and Faddeevsky islands of the Novosibirsk archipelago, and suggested the existence of Sannikov land to the north of it. In 1811, V.M. Golovnin undertook a trip to the Kuril Islands, compiled an inventory and a map. During the expedition, he was captured by the Japanese. In 1821-23, P.F. F.P. Wrangel in 1820-24 led an expedition to explore the northern shores of Eastern Siberia. According to information received from the Chukchi, in the Chukchi Sea he determined the position of the island, which was later named after him. In 1829, at the invitation of the Russian government, A. Humboldt undertook a trip to the Urals, Altai, to the southwestern part of Siberia, F. P. Litke, during a round-the-world trip in 1826-29, explored the eastern coast of Asia and Kamchatka.
The fourth stage of the Study of Asia (mid-19th - early 20th centuries).
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Victor Kuznentsov
Sage
(19099)
Helga helga I think that for many users, this question will be a Discovery. Once again, thank you. Come to visit Me, on the page. I will be very glad. Victor Kuznetsov. Seaman.

Answer from Їupanka[guru]
Personally, I only remember the Silk Road

Answer from Laziz Baratov[guru]
why to Asia and not Europe? usually America is discovered, Asia is the cradle of humanity, humanity was born in Africa, and it grew in Asia. and no one in Asia opened the road, it was Asia that paved the road to Europe. messopotamia, interfluve, babylon, persia, china, india - these are the most ancient countries with a high civilization, and Europe slept at that time, but spilled out in time and overtook Asia

Answer from Yergey Safonov[guru]
and why were they opened when no one closed them? - the continent is called Eurasia - it is one since the split of Gondwana: no one forbids walking back and forth ... and the ancients were not at all so stupid - they knew all the paths ...

Answer from Dmitry Borisov[guru]

History of the study Initial stage Limited information on the geography of Asia was known to the ancient peoples of Mesopotamia. The campaigns of Alexander the Great (4th century BC) - trade between Egypt and India, the presence of a trade route ("silk road") from China to Western Asia contributed to the gradual accumulation of information about Asia. However, deeper knowledge about this part of the land was gained later. The second stage (7-17 centuries) Study of Asia by scientists and travelers of the East Buddhist monk Xuan-Tsang, wandering in Central and Central Asia, India, presented information on geography, ethnography and history of the countries he saw in one of his main works "Notes on Western Countries", completed in 648. Arab traveler and geographer Ibn Khordadbeh (9 -10 centuries) described the provinces of Asia Minor. Biruni compiled a work about India, Masudi gave a geographical and historical description of the Muslim countries, India, China, Palestine, Ceylon. In the 9-11 centuries. various regions of Central and Western Asia were studied by Mukadassi, Ibn Sina, Ibn Fadlan and Ibn Rust. The Arab traveler Idrisi (12th century), who lived most of his life in Sicily, described Asia Minor, which he had visited, in a consolidated geographical work. In the 14th century. Ibn Battuta, who visited many Asian countries, wrote a long work in which he gave a very colorful and vivid description of these countries, including information about minerals. study of Asia by Europeans In the 12-13 centuries. Europeans who made the Crusades collect information about the countries of Central and South Asia. In 1253-55, a Flemish traveler, the monk Rubruk, undertook a diplomatic journey to Mongolia. The report on this most significant (before M. Polo) travel of a European to Asia contained valuable information on the geography of Central Asia (in particular, it indicated that the Caspian Sea is not a sea, but a lake). The traveler M. Polo (1271-95), who lived in China for about 17 years, made a significant contribution to the development of ideas about Asia. The "Book" (1298), recorded from his words in a Genoese prison, where he ended up during the war between Venice and Genoa, first introduced the Europeans to Persia, Armenia, China, India, etc. It was a reference book for such great navigators as Columbus , Vasco da Gama, Magellan and others. The Venetian merchant and traveler M. Conti, who wandered across India in 1424, visited the islands of Ceylon, Sumatra, Borneo, Java, on behalf of the Pope in 1444 dictated an account of this journey. In 1468-74 the Russian merchant A. Nikitin undertook a trip to India. His travel records, containing many-sided observations, were published under the title "Walking the Three Seas". In the middle of the 15th century. Europeans began to look for sea routes to Asia. Portuguese sailors reached India in 1497-99 (Vasco da Gama), visited Malacca, Macau, the Philippines, and Japan. In the second half of the 16th and 17th centuries. the Dutch, the British, and the Spaniards continued to penetrate the countries of South Asia. In 1618-19 the Siberian Cossack I. Petlin visited Mongolia and China, plotted the route on the map, and outlined what he saw in a book translated into English, French and other languages. One of the first Europeans in 1690-92 visited Japan by the German naturalist and physician E. Kempfer, who collected extensive material on the nature, history and life of the people. His book, published in 1728 in London, has long served as the main source of information about Japan. exploration of Asia by Russian explorers During this period, the greatest contribution to the exploration of the northern regions of Asia, where Europeans did not penetrate, were made by Russian explorers. By the end of the 16th century. , after Yermak's campaign, Western Siberia became known in general terms

The territory of Central Asia for science was discovered by researchers of the 18th century. Step by step information about oases, deserts and foothills became the property of the learned world. The path to the mountainous areas was paved by P.P. Semyonov. A large band of travelers followed him.

An outstanding explorer of Central Asia was Nikolay Alekseevich Severtsov(1 827 - 1 885). V 1 857-1 858 BC he studied the areas of the Aral Sea region, the lower reaches of the Syr Darya, the northern part of the Kyzylkum Desert. He was attracted by the prospect of Penetrating the mysterious Tien Shan. But on this path, Severtsov had to overcome serious trials. Once, in the valley of the Syr Darya, Severtsov became the object of an attack by a robber squad of Kokand people, with a blow of a spear in the chest he was knocked down from his horse and almost hacked to death. Later he recalled: “The Kokand man hit me on the nose with a saber and cut only the skin, the second blow to the temple, which split the cheekbone, knocked me off my feet, and he began to cut off my head, struck a few more blows, deeply cut my neck, split my skull .. I felt every blow, but strangely, without much pain. " Severtsov spent a month in captivity, threatened to be impaled if he did not accept Islam ... He was released as a result of an ultimatum issued by the Russian military authorities.

Despite this incident, which nearly cost Severtsov his life, his interest in studying the Central Asian region did not fade away. In 1964, he made a trip from the fortification of Verny (the future city of Alma-Ata) to Tashkent with forays into the mountains of the Zailiyskiy Alatau, Karatau, Talas ridge. The next year, the Turkestan scientific expedition began to work, represented by two groups: the mathematical (topographic) one headed by K.V. Struve, the natural history one - Severtsov. In 1866, reconnaissance was carried out in the Karatau ridge, interesting materials of a botanical and zoological nature were collected, a number of manifestations of non-ferrous metal ores were discovered. In 1867, Severtsov completed the first in the history of the circular route through the inner regions of the Tien Shan. Coming out of Verny, Severtsov crossed the Zailiyskiy Alatau, went to the eastern shores of Issyk-Kul, crossed the Terskey-Alatau, and penetrated the surface of the syrts that made a strong impression. The high-mountain hilly plain is occupied by steppe and even desert vegetation. Meadows are distinguished only in the most humid areas. “How anyone,” Severtsov recalled, “but I had a bewitching charm in these autumn views of the Tien Shan, without a forest and without greenery, but with austere majestic beauty of bold outlines of mountains and hot sunny colors in the frosty, wonderfully transparent autumn air ; the charm is partly in the very contrast of these colors of the sultry steppe scorched by the sun and with the mountain lines of the landscape and with ice on the brook ... ”(Quoted from: Andreev, Matveev, 1946, p. 45). In 1873, Severtsov's book "Vertical and horizontal distribution of Turkestan animals" was published, in which six vertical natural belts were identified: salt licks (up to 500 m); cultural (600-1000 m) with a predominance of undulating steppe with oases; deciduous forest with an upper limit of 2600 m and below; conifers, spruce and junipers, their upper limit is 3000 m; alpine herbs; eternal snow.

Since 1869, research in Central Asia began Alexei Pavlovich Fedchenko(1844-1873), botanist, entomologist with a very large natural geographic erudition. In the first two years, field work was carried out in the Zeravshan basin and in the Kyzyl Kum desert. In 1871, a trip to the high-mountainous zone was made, the first visit to the Zeravshan glacier took place. Then the Alai ridge was crossed, and the panorama of the grandiose ridge, named by Fedchenko Zaalayskiy, was opened before the traveler. Fedchenko named the outstanding peak of this ridge after the Governor-General of Turkestan K.P. Kaufman, who contributed a lot to the development of research in the newly annexed region to Russia. In Soviet times, this peak was renamed Lenin Peak. Fedchenko failed to penetrate the “roof of the world,” as the Pamir is called; followed by a harsh ban of the governor of the Kokand khan.

In 1873 Fedchenko died in the Alps on the slope of Mont Blanc. Evaluating the scientific contribution of Fedchenko, the outstanding scientist and traveler I.V. Mushketov emphasized that his research “is distinguished not by the vastness of the routes, but by the extraordinary thoroughness and amazing variety of observations; the spaces he covered are not large, but the results obtained are so significant and important that they would have done honor to a long and numerous expedition. "

Ivan Vasilievich Mushketov(1850-1902), the first professional geologist in these parts, who brought invaluable services to the study of the geography of Turkestan, began a multifaceted study of the nature of Central Asia in 1874. Having received an invitation to take the position of an official on special assignments under the Governor-General, the first assignment for Mushketov the search for combustible minerals began. Mushketov explored a number of coal occurrences in the Karatau ridge, identified deposits of ores of polymetals and salts, but realized that the success of the case was impossible without extensive geological mapping of the territory. Systematic studies of the Ili River basin, the Northern Tien Shan ridges - Zailiyskiy, Kungei-Alatau and Terskey-Alatau have begun, a route to the Dzhungarskiy Alatau has been completed. In the report of 1875, he gave a general orographic and geological outline of the Tien Shan, compiled a map of the location of mineral deposits in the vicinity of the city of Kulja.

In 1877, Mushketov climbed the Alai ridge through the Fergana Valley and descended into the Alai Valley. Compared to the wooded ridges of the Northern Tien Shan, the area was striking in its desolation. “All these mountain valleys,” wrote Mushketov, “are literally devoid of any vegetation, not to mention a forest ... Stones, stones and snow ... There was something oppressive, disheartening in this terrible desert ... »The return was no less difficult than the ascent to the mountains. Whoever knows what ovringas are will understand what people and animals felt when they passed.

In 1878 Mushketov took part in Severtsov's Pamir expedition, although their parties worked independently of each other. The first attempt to penetrate the Pamir was made by Severtsov in 1877, but it was unsuccessful. In 1878. Severtsov crossed the Trans-Alai Range and penetrated to Lake Karakul on the East Pamir Plateau, then went to Lake Rangkul and Lake Yashilkul. A number of other lakes were discovered. Severtsov was the first to single out the Pamirs as a special mountain system, the "orographic center of the entire Asian continent" - a combination of syrts and mountain ranges. At the same time, Mushketov conducted research in another region of the Pamirs, went to the valley of the Kashgar Kyzylsu and discovered Lake Chatyrkul, about whose surroundings Mushketov said that “I have never seen a place more lifeless ...”. Even fish was not found in the lake. In the mountains of Turkestan, Mushketov became interested in the study of glaciers. And soon he became one of the greatest experts in this natural phenomenon. Descending from the Gissar ridge along the gorge of the Surkhandarya river, Mushketov made a boat rafting down the Amu Darya to Turtkul, from where he crossed the Kyzylkum desert to Karalinsk (Kyzyl-Orda). From the abode of snowstorms, the members of the expedition got into the hot embrace of a houndstorm. The result of Mushketov's research in Central Asia was the first geological map of the entire territory of Russian Turkestan, compiled together with Professor G.D. Romanovsky, and the first volume of the essay “Turkestan. Geological and orographic description based on data collected during travels from 1874 to 1880 ”. Mushketov visited Central Asia more than once. The cycle of Central Asian studies by Mushketov was awarded a prize by the Academy of Sciences, and the highest award by the Geographical Society: the Konstantinov medal.

In 1877 - 1878. in the Fergana Valley, A.F. Midden Dorf. He studied loess deposits and a sandy massif in the central part of the valley, changes in nature that occurred during the historical period under the influence of long-term economic activity, and gave advice on the further development of irrigated agriculture. Observations and scientific conclusions of Middendorf are stated in his book "Sketches of the Fergana Valley" (1882).

In 1878 an expedition headed to the upper reaches of the Amu Darya Vasily Fedorovich Oshanin(1844-1917). He discovered the ridges of Peter I, Darvaz, Karategin and the tongue of the grand glacier, which he named in memory of his untimely deceased friend by the name of Fedchenko.

In 1884-1887. In the Tien Shan, Alai and especially in the Pamirs, he conducted interesting research Grigory Efimovich Grumm-Grzhimailo(1860-1936). “In the Pamirs, including Alai (meaning only the valley),” the traveler noted, “there is no woody vegetation. If it exists, then as an exception, and then it is tal and tamarisk ”(Grumm-Grzhimailo, 1896). Juniper, poplar, rarely birch, mountain ash, rhododendron are found only on the northern slopes of the Alai Range. In the valleys there are huge thickets of hawthorn, sea buckthorn, apricots, wild almonds, rose hips. Grumm-Grzhimailo described animals - inhabitants of the Pamir-Alai mountains, among which he mentioned tigers. But they kept in tugai off the banks of the Amu Darya. Scientists were given apt descriptions of local residents - Kara-Kyrgyz and Tajiks.

In 1886. on the initiative of P.P. Semenov, an expedition was carried out to the central regions of the Tien Shan under the leadership of I.V. Ignatiev. The members of the expedition from the shores of Issyk-Kul went to the valley of the Sary-Jaza river. In its upper reaches, the Semenov and Mushketov glaciers were discovered. In the upper reaches of the Inylchek river, we examined the largest glaciers of the Hantengri massif. From under the water of Issyk-Kul, Ignatov removed a number of objects, testimonies of the inhabitants of the region at that time when the level of the lake was much lower.

An independent route in this expedition was completed by Andrey Nikolaevich Krasnov(1862-1914). Investigations were carried out along the southern coast of Balkhash and Alakol lakes, along the Ili river valley. Krasnov climbed the slopes of the Zailiyskiy Alatau, visited the Sary-Dzhaz gorge, examined part of the Tien Shan on Chinese territory. On the basis of the collections and observations made, Krasnov prepared the basic work "Experience in the history of the development of flora in the southern part of the Eastern Tien Shan" for 413 pages of text (1888), defended as a master's thesis in botany in 1889. Krasnov's scientific method clearly manifested the ability to highlight typical features. He singled out high-altitude vegetation belts, touched upon the problems of speciation with the leading role of the influence of the conditions of existence. The process of evolution of vegetation in the course of mountain building from the primordial desert is shown (Aleksandrovskaya, 1996). The return of Krasnov to St. Petersburg took place through the deserts of Central Asia, and their types were allocated to them: sandy, clayey, stony and solonetz.

V. Obruchev and K.I. Bogdanovich, pupils of I.V. Mushketov. Obruchev established the genesis of sands associated with river accumulation and aeolian processing, identified three types of sandy relief: hilly, ridge and sandy steppe. On the maps of the Transcaspian lowland, part of the territory was called the Obruchevskaya steppe for many decades. Recommendations on measures to combat fluttering sands have been prepared. Obruchev's scientific results were published in 1890 in the book "Trans-Caspian Lowland". Bogdanovich established that the Turkmen-Khorasan mountains, of which the Kopetdag ridge is a part, go down strongly to the east, abruptly breaking off to the valley of the Tejen river, and also go down to the north-west, where their connection with the Elbur ridge is formed. Bogdanovich gave the first description of the orography of these mountains.

It must be said that Bogdanovich was not the first Russian traveler to this region. In 1837-1839. Ivan Viktorovich Vitkevich passed through the north of the Iranian highlands up to Kabul with a diplomatic mission. He visited the Deshte-Lut and Deshte-Kevir deserts, discovered the system of the East Iranian mountains. In 1843-1844. on behalf of the Shah's government in the north of Iran, geologist Nikolai Ivanovich Voskoboinikov conducted surveys. He gave a description of the Elburz ridge, made an orographic scheme of Northern Iran and topographic maps of a number of investigated places. In 1858-1860. the expedition of Nikolai Vladimirovich Khanykov worked fruitfully in the Iranian Highlands. From the Caspian Sea, the members of the expedition went to Mashhad, examined the southern slopes of the Turkmen-Khorasan mountains, and reached Herat. Botanist A.A. Bunge made an excursion to Tebes and plotted the northern end of the East Iranian Mountains on the map. Later, Khanykov also visited the East Iranian mountains. The expedition crossed the Deshte-Lut desert, reached Kerman, mapped the Kuhrud ridge, went through Isfahan to Tehran and completed the research. In 1861, Khanykov published the book "Expedition to Khorasan" in French.

Since 1901, the life and work of an outstanding traveler was connected with Central Asia Nikolai Leopoldovich Korzhenevsky(1879-1958). First, he made sorties to the Tien Shan, then within the Gissar-Alai, in 1904. a trip to the Pamirs took place. Along the valley of the Muksu River, Korzhenevsky climbed the slopes of the Peter I ridge. The first of the open glaciers Korzhenevsky named after Mushketov. Six years later, Korzhenevsky again visited the area. From the Mushketov glacier, a view of a slender peak opened up, and Nikolai Leopoldovich named it after his wife Eugenia. This is one of the three 7-thousanders located in the Pamirs. The name of the peak survived all the periods of renaming and has survived to this day. Korzhenevsky discovered an unknown ridge and gave it the name of the Academy of Sciences. Korzhenevsky named one of its main peaks in honor of Academician Karpinsky. On account of Korzhenevsky there are 70 open and studied glaciers of the Pamir-Alai. He compiled the first catalog of glaciers in Central Asia.

L.S. Berg.

How people discovered their land Tomilin Anatoly Nikolaevich

Chapter three. How Asia was discovered

How did Asian dating begin?

The regions of ancient civilizations in Asia were separated from each other by barren deserts and high mountains. And there were no roads at all. Even on the flat steppe, rarely did anyone dare to set out on a journey. There are nomads in the steppe. You will meet - do not expect mercy. Perhaps that is why it was so difficult to travel from state to state, from one historical region to another.

True, archaeologists rarely find things in Western countries, for example, from Ancient China or from India, but how they got to Europe is difficult to say. The ancient Chinese traded with Greece and Rome through intermediaries, in a chain. From one hand to another, from another to a third. And these mediators were different peoples.

But gradually, little by little, more and more information was accumulated among the peoples. First, they learned about the closest neighbors, then about those who lived next to their neighbors, and so on ... Even before the beginning of our era, the Chinese knew, for example, the Korean Peninsula in the east, knew the Japanese islands, the islands of Taiwan and Hainan in East China and South -Chinese seas. And in 138 BC, the first Chinese trip to the far West took place. And it happened like this ...

For a long time, the Chinese, who lived between the Yellow and Yangtze rivers in the lands of the North China Plains, suffered from the raids of the cruel nomad Huns. No matter how hard the military leaders tried, the Chinese soldiers, recruited from the poor, could not cope with the Hunnic cavalry. And the Huns seemed to be born on horseback. With a whoop and shout they flew into the villages and just as suddenly disappeared, leaving behind them blood, death and ruin.

The Chinese emperors tried to conclude alliances of "peace and kinship" with the Huns. Married off pampered princesses to wild Hunnic leaders. We tried to pay tribute. They built Wan-li-chan-cheng - the Great Stone Wall more than four thousand kilometers long ... Nothing helped.

The Huns took away the beautiful princesses. They took tribute. And the raids did not stop. No walls were a hindrance to them ...

The advisers of the Chinese emperors thought for a long time: what to do? Probably, only natural-born nomads are able to fight the Huns. Therefore, you need to look for allies. It was then that the decision arose to send an embassy to the neighboring people - the Yuezhi. The Yuezhi were in many ways similar to the Huns. They also roamed, spoke in an incomprehensible language. But like the Chinese, they suffered a lot of grievances from the Huns.

Early in the morning on the appointed day, a hundred horsemen set out in pairs from the gates of the imperial palace. Ahead of all, a man in rich clothes pranced on a magnificent steed. He was accompanied by a short Hun, who tenaciously sat on a nondescript, fluffy horse. They were the imperial ambassador Zhang Qian, an officer of the palace guard and his servant and bodyguard of Tanya. Tanya was really a Hun by birth. But he had lived in China for a long time, served as a translator and helped the owner in everything.

The horsemen rode past rice fields and flowering plains until they appeared on the hills of the Wan-li-chan-cheng tower. Seeing the imperial seal, the watchmen opened the iron gates, and the emperor's envoys, one after another, got out of the Celestial Empire. But it is clear that happiness has turned away from them. No sooner had the tops of the watchtowers disappeared from sight, as ... the Huns swooped down. The resistance was useless. Obeying the order, Zhang Qian turned his horse after the leader of the detachment.

Addition

Asia is the largest part of the world, almost a third of all land. In the north, it begins far beyond the Arctic Circle. The Arctic Ocean, clad in a white shell, guards its northern borders.

In the south, the Asian islands go beyond the hot equator, and the green waves of the warm Indian Ocean wash over their shores.

In the east, the borders of Asia are guarded by the formidable waves of the Pacific Ocean. In the west - the Ural Mountains.

The Chinese embassy would have been badly if not for Tanya. He talked with the Chanyu - the Hunnic leader - and soon his master and all his companions were released from custody. Moreover: the leader of the Huns ordered the young Zhang Qian to marry the daughter of one of his associates and gave him almost complete freedom. Almost - because the imperial ambassador could no longer return home or continue his journey ...

Zhang Qian lived among the Huns for ten long years. During this time, he spent a lot of time with them, learned their language and collected a lot of information not only about the nomads themselves, but also about those who lived next to them and who had never been heard of in China before him. He learned that the Huns defeated the Yuezhi and drove them back to Central Asia.

The day came when Zhang Qian, together with his wife and little son, accompanied by part of his retinue and faithful Tanya, nevertheless fled from the Huns. With great difficulty, he found, passing from one people to another, the leader of the Yuezhi and offered him a military alliance on behalf of his emperor. But the Yuezhi did not want to hear about a new war. Trading is another matter. And they told Zhang Qian about the ancient trade routes that passed north and south of the Tien Shan.

Zhang Qian waited a whole year to see if the stubborn leader would change his mind. Not wait. But he studied the country well, and when it came time to pack back, he could consider himself the most knowledgeable person in the geography of Central and Central Asia.

On the way back, Zhang Qian decided to go through the northern border of the Pamirs. He called these places the Onion Mountains - so many wild onions grew there.

However, the Huns again blocked the way for the thinning embassy. Only a year later, the faithful Tanya brought his master and his family out of captivity. Without funds and supplies, they wandered east again. It's good that Tanya had a bow and arrow in her hands. He beat uninhibited birds and animals without a miss, getting food for a small caravan.

Tears welled up in Zhang Qian's eyes as he saw a jagged wall made of wild stone around the last bend. The homeland began here.

His journey lasted almost thirteen years. The young officer was completely forgotten both at home and at court. But the more joyful was the meeting. Zhang Qian received the title of prince. The emperor appointed him the head of a large detachment and ... immediately sent him to fight against the Huns.

At first, Zhang Qian was lucky. But military happiness is changeable, and with it the mercy of the emperor also changes. The envious courtiers tried to slander the traveler. And now, demoted and disgraced, he was sentenced to death.

All the accumulated wealth was spent to buy off death. Until recently, rich and noble, Zhang Qian turned out to be a poor man, deprived of titles and privileges. However, such a life did not last long. Soon, the emperor again needed a knowledgeable person to lead an embassy to the western lands. He summoned Zhang Qian, hastily "forgiven" and sent him out of the state. The imperial ambassador once again toured the places he had visited. He explored the Central Tien Shan and sent his assistants to India.

Almost ninety years old Zhang Qian returned to the Chinese capital. Here he finally found peace after a stormy life.

Years passed, and the power of the Huns was broken. Travel through the lands of Central and Central Asia has become safer. In the footsteps of Zhang Qian, Chinese merchants, ambassadors and scouts were drawn to the west. The Chinese discovered the Roman Empire and began to lively trade with the Romans in silk and other goods. The Great Silk Road stretched from the shores of the Pacific Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea.

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GREAT GEOGRAPHICAL DISCOVERIES, a conventional term adopted mainly in historical literature, denoting the largest geographical discoveries of European travelers in the 15th - mid-17th centuries. In foreign literature, the period of the Great Geographical Discoveries is usually limited to the mid-15th - mid-16th century. In Russian literature, the Great Geographical Discoveries are divided into two periods: the first is the middle of the 15th - the middle of the 16th centuries, the second is the middle of the 16th - the middle of the 17th centuries.

Portuguese exploration of the west coast of Africa.

Great geographical discoveries became possible thanks to the successes of European science and technology. By the 15th century, sailing ships (caravels), sufficiently reliable for ocean navigation, were created, the compass and nautical charts were improved, the experience necessary for long-distance navigation was acquired. An important role in the Great Geographical Discoveries was played by the asserted idea of ​​the sphericity of the Earth, with which the idea of ​​the possibility of a western sea route to India across the Atlantic Ocean was associated. New trade routes forced the search for Turkish conquests, which blocked the traditional merchant ties with the East through the Mediterranean Sea. In the overseas lands, Europeans hoped to find wealth: precious stones and metals, exotic goods and spices, ivory and walrus tusks.

The first systematic expeditions in the Atlantic Ocean were started by the Portuguese. Portugal's activity at sea was predetermined by its geographical position in the far west of Europe and the historical conditions that followed the end of the Portuguese Reconquista. All the strength and energy of the Portuguese kingdom were directed to the search for new lands overseas, on the African coast. It was there that the Portuguese kings saw the source of the future glory and wealth of their state.

Traditionally, the success of Portugal at sea is associated with the name of Prince Henry the Navigator (1394-1460). He was not only the organizer of sea expeditions, but also seriously engaged in the development of open lands. In 1416 the Portuguese sailor G. Velho, following south along Africa, discovered the Canary Islands, in 1419 the Portuguese nobles Zarco and Vaz Teixeira discovered the islands of Madeira and Porto Santo, in 1431 V. Cabral - the Azores.

During the 15th century, Portuguese caravels mastered the sea route along the western coast of Africa, reaching more and more southern latitudes. In 1482-1486 Diogo Kan (Cao) crossed the equator, opened the mouth of the Congo River and went along the coast of Africa to Cape Cross. Kahn discovered the Namibian deserts, thereby refuting the legend of the impassability of the tropics that had existed since the time of Ptolemy. In the years 1487-1488, Bartolomeu Dias made a new unprecedented voyage to the south. He reached the southern tip of Africa and circled it, revealing the Cape of Good Hope. The voyage of Dias opened before the Portuguese the prospect of establishing a sea route to India around Africa.

Opening of sea routes to America and India.

The successes of the Portuguese sparked interest in sea expeditions in neighboring Spain. Based on the idea of ​​the sphericity of the Earth, the navigator Christopher Columbus suggested trying to reach India by sailing westward along the Atlantic Ocean. The Spanish government allocated him three caravels (the largest with a displacement of 280 tons), and in 1492 an expedition led by Columbus reached one of the Bahamas, thereby discovering America. In 1592-1504, he made four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean, discovered the Greater Antilles and part of the Lesser Antilles, the coast of South and Central America. Columbus died in 1506, fully confident that he had opened a new route to India.

The news of the discovery of new lands by the Spaniards in the west stimulated the efforts of the Portuguese. In 1497-1498 Vasco da Gama sailed around Africa on four ships and, with the help of Arab pilots, reached real India. In Spain and Portugal, sea expeditions were equipped annually, which made overseas voyages and discovered new lands. Other European states also became interested in overseas countries. In the years 1497-1498, England equipped expeditions led by the Italian navigator John Cabot, who reached the shores of North America in the area of ​​the island of Newfoundland. In 1500, a Portuguese squadron under the command of Pedro Cabral, heading for India, due to the equatorial current deviated greatly and reached Brazil, which Cabral took for an island. Then he continued his voyage, circled Africa and proceeded through the Mozambique Strait to India. Like previous travelers, Cabral considered the land he discovered in the west as part of Asia.

The travels of the navigator Amerigo Vespucci were of great importance for understanding the essence of the discovery of Christopher Columbus. In 1499-1504, he made four voyages to the shores of America, first as part of a Spanish expedition led by Alonso Ojeda, and then under the Portuguese flag. Comparing the data obtained, and the Spanish and Portuguese navigators discovered the entire northern coast of South America and its eastern coast up to 25 ° south latitude, Vespucci came to the conclusion that the open lands are not Asia, but a new continent, and proposed to call it "New World". In 1507, the German cartographer and publisher Martin Waldseemüller, in the preface to Vespucci's book, suggested calling the New World after Amerigo America (without Vespucci's knowledge) and this name came into use. In 1538 it was applied to the Mercator map and to the Americas.

The conquest of America by the conquistadors. Swimming of Magellan.

John Cabot's research in North America was continued by his son Sebastian Cabot. In 1506-1509, leading British expeditions, he tried to find the so-called Northwest Passage to India and managed to get out into Hudson Bay. Finding no shortcut to India, England did not show much interest in the open lands overseas.

In 1513, the Spanish expedition of Vasco Nunez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama and reached the shores of the Pacific Ocean. Fernand Magellan finally confirmed the difference between America and Asia, who carried out the first circumnavigation of the world (1519-1521), which became a practical evidence of the sphericity of the Earth. The expedition led by Magellan explored the southeastern part of South America, discovered the strait between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans (Strait of Magellan) and sailed through the South Pacific. Magellan visited the Mariana and Philippine Islands (where he died in a skirmish with the natives). Of the 239 people who went on a voyage with him, 21 returned to Europe. This expedition established the presence of a huge ocean between America and Asia, gave an idea of ​​the relative size of land and sea on the globe.

In 1513-1525, the Spanish conquistadors J. Ponce de Leon, F. Cordova, H. Grihalva discovered the entire eastern coast of South and Central America, the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, and the Florida peninsula. Hernan Cortez conquered Mexico, the Spanish king's power was established in the Caribbean and Central America. The search for gold, the mythical country of El Dorado, led the conquistadors far into the depths of the American continent. In 1526-1530, Sebastian Cabot, who joined the Spanish service, explored the lower course of the Parana River and discovered the lower course of the Paraguay River. In the second quarter of the 16th century F. Pizarro, D. Almagro, P. Valdivia conquered Peru and Chile; Francisco Orellana sailed across the Amazon from the Andes to the mouth in 1542. By 1552, the Spaniards explored the entire Pacific coast of South America, discovered the largest rivers of the continent (Amazon, Orinoco, Parana, Paraguay), explored the Andes from 10 ° north latitude to 40 ° south latitude.

In the second quarter of the 16th century, French navigators also achieved significant success. G. Verrazano (1524) and J. Cartier (1534-1535) discovered the eastern coast of North America and the St. Lawrence River. In 1540-1542, the Spaniards E. Soto and F. Coronado traveled to the South Appalachians and the South Rocky Mountains, to the basins of the Colorado and Mississippi rivers.

Russian explorers. North-East and North-West passages.

The new period of the great geographical discoveries begins at the end of the 16th century. If earlier the leading role was played by the Spanish and Portuguese seafarers, then since that time representatives of other countries have been on equal terms with them. Holland was especially active, having achieved independence from Spain and in a short time became the leading maritime trading power.

The honor of discovering Northeast Asia, the vast expanses of Siberia, belongs to Russian explorers. Since ancient times, the Pomors who inhabited the coast of the White Sea set off on long voyages on small sailing ships-kochas, discovered the shores of the Arctic, the islands of the Arctic Ocean (Grumant). After the conquest of the Kazan Khanate, the Russian state was able to begin expansion to the east. In 1582-1585, Ermak Timofeevich, crossing the Ural Mountains, defeated the troops of the Tatar Khan Kuchum, thereby starting the development of Siberia. In 1587, the city of Tobolsk was founded, which for a long time remained the capital of Russian Siberia. In the north of Western Siberia on the Taz River in 1601, the city of Mangazeya was founded, a center for trade in furs and a stronghold for further advancement to the east. Russian explorers - Cossacks and service people - discovered the basins of the Yenisei and Lena rivers, passed all of Siberia from west to east, and in 1639 I. Yu. Moskvitin reached the coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. By the middle of the 17th century K. Kurochkin, M. Stadukhin, I. Perfiliev, I. Rebrov traced the course of all the great Siberian rivers. Vasily Poyarkov and Erofei Khabarov in 1649-1653 with their troops went to the Amur. The explorers bypassed the entire northern coast of Asia, discovering the Yamal, Taimyr, and Chukotka peninsulas. The expedition of Fedot Popov and Semyon Dezhnev was the first to cross the Bering Strait, dividing Asia and North America. In 1697-1699, Vladimir Atlasov's campaign to Kamchatka completed the discoveries of Russian explorers in Siberia.

During this period, the minds of sailors in northern European countries were dominated by the idea of ​​opening a direct sea route to Tropical Asia from Northern Europe. It was assumed that such a path must exist somewhere in the east - the Northeast Passage, or in the west - the Northwest Passage. Attempts to find a new route to Asia led to an intensive study of the North Atlantic and the Arctic. The search for the Northeast Passage was led by English and Dutch sailors. The Dutch navigator Willem Barentsz sailed the western coast of Novaya Zemlya to its northern tip in 1594, and in 1596 reached Spitsbergen. During these voyages, the Northern Sea Route showed little promise, but a direct trade route from North-Western Europe to Russia through Arkhangelsk was established.

From 1576 to 1631 the English navigators M. Frobisher, D. Davis, G. Hudson, W. Baffin undertook an energetic search for the Northwest Passage. John Davis in 1583-1587 spent three voyages in the waters of the North Atlantic, discovered the strait between Greenland and America (Davis Strait), explored the coast of the Labrador Peninsula. Henry Hudson made four expeditions to North America in 1607-1611. A hundred years after Sebastian Cabot, he again passed the strait between Labrador and Baffin Land into a vast bay deep in North America. Later, both the strait and the bay were named after the Hudson. A river in the east of North America, at the mouth of which the city of New York later arose, was named after him. The fate of the Hudson ended tragically, in the spring of 1611, the mutinous crew of his ship landed him with his teenage son in a boat in the middle of the ocean, where they disappeared. William Buffin sailed in the Arctic waters in 1612-1616: made expeditions to the shores of Spitsbergen, explored the Hudson the bay and the sea, later named after him, discovered a number of islands in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, moving along the western coast of Greenland, reaching 78 ° north latitude.

In the first quarter of the 17th century, Europeans begin to explore North America. English, Dutch and French settlements appeared on its Atlantic coast. At first, the greatest success in this region was achieved by France, which owes this to a large extent to the activities of the first governor of Canada, Samuel Champlain. In 1605-1616, he not only explored part of the eastern coast of North America, but also traveled inland: he discovered the Northern Appalachians, climbed up the St. Lawrence River to the Great Lakes and reached Lake Huron. By 1648, the French had discovered all five of the Great Lakes.

Discovery of Australia. The significance of the great geographical discoveries.

At the same time, at the beginning of the 17th century, European navigators penetrated the most remote part of the world from Europe - the regions located south of Southeast Asia. The Spaniard Luis Torres in 1606 discovered the southern coast of New Guinea and passed the strait dividing Asia and Australia (Torres Strait). In the same 1606, the Dutch navigator Willem Jansson discovered Australia (the western coast of the Cape York Peninsula). In 1642-1642 the Dutchman Abel Tasman made a number of voyages in this area, discovered Tasmania, New Zealand, Fiji, part of the coast of Northern and Western Australia. Tasman identified Australia as a single land mass and called it New Holland. But Holland did not have enough resources, to develop a new continent, and a century later it had to be rediscovered.

The great geographical discoveries were of world-historical significance. The contours of the inhabited continents were established, most of the earth's surface was explored, an idea was obtained about the shape of the Earth as a huge ball and about its size. The great geographical discoveries gave impetus to the development of not only geography itself, but many other areas of natural science, providing extensive new material for botany, zoology, ethnography. As a result of the Great Geographical Discoveries, Europeans first got acquainted with a number of new agricultural crops (potatoes, maize, tomatoes, tobacco).

As a result of the discovery of new countries and new trade routes by Europeans, trade acquired a global character, and there was a manifold increase in the amount of goods in circulation. The movement of trade routes from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean contributed to the rise of some countries (England, Holland) and the decline of others (trade republics in Italy). The colonial system formed after the Great Geographical Discoveries became one of the levers of the initial accumulation of capital, at the same time the flow of gold, silver and precious metals that poured into Europe from America triggered a price revolution.