For over 2000 years nomad confederacies from Inner Eurasia, whether Huns, Turks, or Mongols, had invaded settled Outer Eurasian societies and then assimilated into them. Between 16th century Muscovy and 18th century China, the pattern reversed. Outer Eurasian empires successfully invaded Inner Eurasia and brought their own cultures to their new subjects. This unit examines the slow encroachment of Imperial Russia and Qing Dynasty China into the khanates of Central Asia, focusing on how absorption into modernizing empires affected identity structures.