This is the first comprehensive, scholarly work on the military history of Inner and Central Asian peoples, including Turks, Uighurs, Mongols and Manchus, over a long period. Based on original documentary sources, this is the only scholarly work specifically devoted to Inner Asian military history.

Nicola Di Cosmo, Ph.D. (1991) Indiana University, has held academic positions at Cambridge, Indiana and Harvard University. He is currently Senior Lecturer in Chinese History at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. His most recent book is Ancient China and Its Enemies: The Rise of Nomadic Power in East Asian History