Covering the 4th century B.C. to the present, the maps show the various political entities, their approximate borders, the major ethnic groups and their migrations, military campaigns and battles, etc. Each map is accompanied by a text which gives a concise survey of the main events of the political and ethnic history of the respective period.

This atlas offers relevant background information on the region's place in the contemporary political and economic world. Features include: Profiles of the constituent countries of Central Asia, namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan Profiles of Mongolia, western China, Tibet, and the three Caucasus states of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.

This atlas graphically illuminates the region's history tracing back to the 8th-7th century B.C. From the spread of Islam to the invasion of the Mongols, the area has been at the crossroads of some of the world's most important developments.