I will admit that as a child, I thought that Bactrian camels had something to do with bacteria. After all, the name Bactria does not turn up in everyday conversation anymore.

However, it's a shame that we don't spend more time talking (and thinking) about this fascinating region. Even if you would rather not think about the geopolitics of fossil fuels and Islam, there are always those fabulous ancient golden artifacts to consider...

Photo by Nickmard on Flickr.com.

Being in the middle of Central Asia can be difficult. It is such a key place, geopolitically speaking - the crossroads of all kinds of empires throughout history. Just ask the Afghans today, or at any other time over the past 2,000 years.

However, being the crossroads can also be highly profitable, particularly when overland trade is passing through your country. The ancient Kushan Empire, c. 20 - c. 350 AD, is proof of that. As the Silk Road linchpin between the Han Chinese to the east, and the Sassanid Persians and Romans to the west, the Kushans did very well for themselves over the years.

We have evidence of Kushan wealth in the large number of gold coins that archaeologists have discovered. And then there's Kanishka the Great's stupa - reputed to have been 600 feet high and covered with jewels!

Photo by Paul Lowry on Flickr.com.

Horses have played a key role in history, pretty much wherever they have had room to run (and no tsetse flies to kill them). From the steppes of Central Asia, where Genghis Khan's Mongol hordes depended upon them, to North Africa and the plains of America, nomadic humans and horses have struck fear into the hearts of settled people. On the other hand, highly organized societies have also relied on horses in warfare. Where would the knights of medieval Europe or the Japanese samurai have been without their steeds?

There is one piece of horse-tack that seems almost too simple to mention, but has played a key role in all this horsemanship through the centuries. That piece - the stirrup. While not every equestrian culture has used stirrups, those who have found it really useful for remaining seated, as well as for leverage when shooting with a compound bow or gun, or thrusting with a lance or spear. Learn more about the early development of the stirrup, and give thanks to its inventors the next time you swing yourself up into the saddle!

Photo by Mark Fischer on Flickr.com.

The Iran/Iraq War of 1980-1988 made for some interesting bedfellows.

Not only did the United States ally with Saddam Hussein's Iraq, in order to try to defeat the new Islamic Revolutionary government of Iran, but so did the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, China, North Korea, Libya and (can you imagine?) Israel supported Iran against Iraq.

In the first place, it's hard to imagine the US and USSR ending up on the same side, even this late in the Cold War. Add to that the fact that Israel is allied with Iran, against a US-supported country, and it all seems very "down the rabbit-hole."

Perhaps the most mind-bending part of all is that the US was supporting Saddam Hussein. After all the statue-toppling, shoe-throwing, and spider-hole-hiding of the last decade, it's hard to believe that we ever hated Iran enough to ally ourselves with Saddam.

Photo by Keystone Archive / Getty Images.