What is Tartary?

"Tartary" is a historical term that referred to a vast region in Central Asia and parts of East Asia, particularly in the context of European maps and literature from the Middle Ages to the early modern period. The name was used to describe a largely undefined area inhabited by various nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples, including Mongols and Turks. It was often depicted as a mysterious and exotic land populated by "Tartars." The concept of Tartary can be traced back to the writings of ancient historians, but it gained prominence during the Mongol Empire in the 13th century, which expanded across a significant part of Asia and Eastern Europe. As European explorers and cartographers began to map the new world and better understand the geography of Asia, the term "Tartary" became less common, eventually falling out of use as the regions within it were more accurately defined. Today, the term is considered outdated and not used in modern geography, but it may still appear in historical contexts, literature, and discussions of how Europeans once viewed and categorized the vast and diverse regions of Asia.