DASHT-I |_PČA|: A Geographical and Historical Survey

Dasht-i |ip´aÎ is a name used in the Islamic geographical and historical sources for the vast plains of northwest Asia, West Kazakhstan and southern present-day Russia (Eurasian steppes). Research in the Sources indicates that this name appears in various forms. Despite the high frequency of the name in the sources, especially from the fifth/eleventh century onwards, because of the existing brief and concise information, it is not possible to conceive the geographical borers of this plain. However, it is clear that this plains up to the Mongol domination in the early seventh/thirteenth century, inhabited and dominated by the confederation of the |ip´aÎ (Kipchak) tribes. Reasons such as non-existence of a State and the central power with known Territories and clear frontiers in Dasht-i |ip´aÎ, scattering of the |ip´aÎ tribes in the vast plains and the continuation of nomadic life of |ip´aÎ s during nearly two centuries of their domination on the steppes, are the major obstacles that make it difficult to determine exact borders of Dasht-i |ip´aÎ.