[muawiyah]

Last note on this ~ you must always remember that the Western Turkic speaking peoples have been moving North and South in and out of the Indus Valley, for THOUSANDS of years.

They usually come in; tax the heck out of everybody; and leave after maybe a short dynasty.

This keeps the Indians all stirred up and probably contributed to their having become so terribly warlike in earlier times.

The Eastern Turkic speaking peoples lived at the Western margins of Chinese civilization. I have no doubt that they maintained linguistic and genetic contact with the Western Turkic speaking peoples through the simple expedient of TRADING BRIDES along the margins of the earliest parts of the Silk Road. But the guys in the East lived in some of the worst climates on Earth.

[Cronos]

But WHY stay on the banks of the Lena if it goes to -60 in winter and +40 in summer? I think the valley must be rich in flora and fauna and have rich alluvial soil