~Eurasian Steppe Belt

-Steppe: Similar to a desert, but with grass, or a geological ecoregion
-Eurasian Steppe Belt: Stretches from Moldova to Manchuria
-Has connected Europe, Southern Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Asia economically, culturally, politically, and magically
-Divided into 3 regions/belts

Western Steppe
-Begins near mouth of Danube River, reaches north to Kazan and south to the Ural Mountains
-Black Sea-Caspian Steppe moves from between the Black and Caspian Seas to the Caucasus Mountains
-Many call it the Great Hungarian Plane (island steppe)
-Island Steppe: Normal steppe separated from the main steppe (in this case, mountains)
-Interior steppe: Crimean Peninsula - on south coast, major connecting place for Muggles and magical people, more isolated wizarding people lived there

Central Steppe
-aka Kazakh Steppe
-lies at southern edge of Ural Mountains
-referred to as invisible divider between Asia and Europe
-To north - Kazakh forest, -> Siberian forest
-To south lies Kazakh desert

Eastern Steppe
-Most important
-Composed of 3 steppes (below)
Xinjiang
-northwestern province of China
-In Dzungaria region
-2 regions by Tianshan Mountains
-Tarim Basin: south of mountains, inhabited by Uyghur people who practiced a variety of pagan religions
-We know that a large amount of these people were magical, according to Robert Meddleweb
Mongol Steppe
-lies within Mongolia
-Gobi Desert uninhabited besides a few nomads
Manchurian Steppe
-One of the most culturally diverse
-Many changes in power between Russians, Japanese and Chinese

The Huns
-incredible affinity for magic, despite being savage brutes, destroying empires through extreme force and barbaric massacres
-Magical background not well est. till 1978 Robert Meddleweb, came across the account of a non-magical colleague named Anna Zakowsky
-The account describes Apparition (Huns disappear after attacking)
- Harrision Byproo protested this theory but there is strong evidence for it

~China

-Many Chinese magical folk had official ceremonial rituals for gov.
-Taming of the Yellow River and other important matters
-Hé de fǎshī was the name for a Chinese servant for the imperial family who used magic to make the river stop overflowing
-Both religion and magic were very ritualistic, holistic, and cautious
-magical practitioners there tended to be weaker than the more warlike nomads to the north
-Post-Warring States Period, during the Qin dynasty, Chinese elders met to discuss the "magical threat"
-Magic became more regulated
-Within 100 years magic was illegal

~Assignments

-Study for/take Midterm Exam (Mandatory)