New research from University of Lincoln experts challenges this long-held view
The team investigated Otrar oasis, a former Silk Road trade hub in Kazakhstan
Climate change – not Genghis Khan – was to blame for wiping out Central Asia's medieval river civilisations 700 years ago, a new study claims.
UK researchers investigated the river channels around the Aral Sea in Central Asia, which was historically a vast body of water but is now a fraction of its former size.
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Hundreds of years ago, the Aral Sea and its major rivers were the centre of advanced river civilisations that used floodwater irrigation to farm.