Download or read book Empires of the Silk Road written by Christopher I. Beckwith and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2009-03-16 with total page 512 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first complete history of Central Eurasia from ancient times to the present day, Empires of the Silk Road represents a fundamental rethinking of the origins, history, and significance of this major world region. Christopher Beckwith describes the rise and fall of the great Central Eurasian empires, including those of the Scythians, Attila the Hun, the Turks and Tibetans, and Genghis Khan and the Mongols. In addition, he explains why the heartland of Central Eurasia led the world economically, scientifically, and artistically for many centuries despite invasions by Persians, Greeks, Arabs, Chinese, and others. In retelling the story of the Old World from the perspective of Central Eurasia, Beckwith provides a new understanding of the internal and external dynamics of the Central Eurasian states and shows how their people repeatedly revolutionized Eurasian civilization. Beckwith recounts the Indo-Europeans' migration out of Central Eurasia, their mixture with local peoples, and the resulting development of the Graeco-Roman, Persian, Indian, and Chinese civilizations; he details the basis for the thriving economy of premodern Central Eurasia, the economy's disintegration following the region's partition by the Chinese and Russians in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and the damaging of Central Eurasian culture by Modernism; and he discusses the significance for world history of the partial reemergence of Central Eurasian nations after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Empires of the Silk Road places Central Eurasia within a world historical framework and demonstrates why the region is central to understanding the history of civilization.
Download or read book The Silk Roads written by Peter Frankopan and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2016-02-16 with total page 688 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • Far more than a history of the Silk Roads, this book is truly a revelatory new history of the world, promising to destabilize notions of where we come from and where we are headed next. "A rare book that makes you question your assumptions about the world.” —The Wall Street Journal From the Middle East and its political instability to China and its economic rise, the vast region stretching eastward from the Balkans across the steppe and South Asia has been thrust into the global spotlight in recent years. Frankopan teaches us that to understand what is at stake for the cities and nations built on these intricate trade routes, we must first understand their astounding pasts. Frankopan realigns our understanding of the world, pointing us eastward. It was on the Silk Roads that East and West first encountered each other through trade and conquest, leading to the spread of ideas, cultures and religions. From the rise and fall of empires to the spread of Buddhism and the advent of Christianity and Islam, right up to the great wars of the twentieth century—this book shows how the fate of the West has always been inextricably linked to the East. Also available: The New Silk Roads, a timely exploration of the dramatic and profound changes our world is undergoing right now—as seen from the perspective of the rising powers of the East.
Download or read book The Silk Road in World History written by Xinru Liu and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2010 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The ancient trade routes that made up the Silk Road were some of the great conduits of cultural and material exchange in world history. In this intriguing book, Xinru Liu reveals both why and how this long-distance trade in luxury goods emerged in the late third century BCE, following its story through to the Mongol conquest. Liu starts with China's desperate need for what the Chinese called "the heavenly horses" of Central Asia, and describes how the traders who brought these horses also brought other exotic products, some all the way from the Mediterranean. Likewise, the Roman Empire, as a result of its imperial ambition as well as the desire of its citizens for Chinese silk, responded with easterly explorations for trade. The book shows how the middle men, the Kushan Empire, spread Buddhism to China. Missionaries and pilgrims facilitated cave temples along the mountainous routes and monasteries in various oases and urban centers, forming the backbone of the Silk Road. The author also explains how Islamic and Mongol conquerors in turn controlled the various routes until the rise of sea travel diminished their importance.
Download or read book Studies on the History and Culture Along the Continental Silk Road written by Xiao Li and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-09-10 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents outstanding articles addressing various aspects related to the ancient Silk Road, in particular the cultural, political, and economic interactions that took place among the civilizations and cultures on the Eurasian continent. In addition, the articles help to reveal the hallmark features of cultural communication in Inner Asia in different historical periods. The book develops a new approach to studying the civilizations of the Silk Road, promotes interdisciplinary and multi-dimensional research, sets a new direction for Chinese ancient classics and western sinology, and presents the latest discoveries, including both archaeological finds and historical documents.
Download or read book Civilizations of the Silk Road written by H. K. Chang and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-06-02 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book describes the interactions between various civilizations and societies along the Silk Road between 500 BCE and 1500 CE, the period from the first encounters of ancient Greek and Persian civilizations to the time when maritime exchanges between Europe and Asia exceeded those on land. Starting with the genesis and features of different civilizations, the book focuses on the history and exchange of different cultures along the Silk Road: Zhang Qian’s successful pioneering feats which inaugurated the opening stretch of the Silk Road; the origins and dissemination of Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Christianity, Manichaeism, Nestorian-Christianity, and Islam; the westward spread of papermaking and printing; and long-distance exchanges of scripts and spoken language, music, architecture, painting, and sculpture. It also outlines the historically significant migrations of various peoples from east to west, such as the Xiongnu, Yuezhi, Han, Qiang, Hephthalites, Turkic groups, Uyghurs, Mongols, and Xibe. The author has interwoven facts, anecdotes, and his own experiences of study throughout the book, making it a fascinating history reader and cultural primer. This book thus will be an essential read for students and scholars of Eurasian Studies and Chinese History and those who are interested in the history of the Silk Road in general.
Download or read book The Silk Road written by Valerie Hansen and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2015 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Silk Road is as iconic in world history as the Colossus of Rhodes or the Suez Canal. But what was it, exactly? It conjures up a hazy image of a caravan of camels laden with silk on a dusty desert track, reaching from China to Rome. The reality was different--and far more interesting--as revealed in this new history. In The Silk Road, Valerie Hansen describes the remarkable archeological finds that revolutionize our understanding of these trade routes. For centuries, key records remained hidden--sometimes deliberately buried by bureaucrats for safe keeping. But the sands of the Taklamakan Desert have revealed fascinating material, sometimes preserved by illiterate locals who recycled official documents to make insoles for shoes or garments for the dead. Hansen explores seven oases along the road, from Xi'an to Samarkand, where merchants, envoys, pilgrims, and travelers mixed in cosmopolitan communities, tolerant of religions from Buddhism to Zoroastrianism. There was no single, continuous road, but a chain of markets that traded between east and west. China and the Roman Empire had very little direct trade. China's main partners were the peoples of modern-day Iran, whose tombs in China reveal much about their Zoroastrian beliefs. Silk was not the most important good on the road; paper, invented in China before Julius Caesar was born, had a bigger impact in Europe, while metals, spices, and glass were just as important as silk. Perhaps most significant of all was the road's transmission of ideas, technologies, and artistic motifs. The Silk Road is a fascinating story of archeological discovery, cultural transmission, and the intricate chains across Central Asia and China.
Download or read book Afghanistan written by Joan Aruz and published by Metropolitan Museum of Art. This book was released on 2012 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Afghanistan, standing at the crossroads of major trade routes, has a long and complex history. Its rich cultural heritage bears the imprint of many traditions, from Greece and Iran to the nomadic world of the Eurasian steppes and China. The essays in this volume concentrate on periods of great artistic development: the Bactrian Bronze Age and the eras following the conquests of Alexander the Great, with a special focus on the sites of Ai Khanum, Begram, and Tillya Tepe. These contributions -- in response to the reappearance of the magnificent hidden treasures from Afghanistan and their exhibition -- have shed new light on the significance of these works and have reinvigorated the discussion of the arts and culture of Central Asia. -- Publisher description.
Download or read book The Silk Road A Very Short Introduction written by James A. Millward and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2013-04-10 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The phrase "silk road" evokes vivid scenes of merchants leading camel caravans across vast stretches to trade exotic goods in glittering Oriental bazaars, of pilgrims braving bandits and frozen mountain passes to spread their faith across Asia. Looking at the reality behind these images, this Very Short Introduction illuminates the historical background against which the silk road flourished, shedding light on the importance of old-world cultural exchange to Eurasian and world history. On the one hand, historian James A. Millward treats the silk road broadly, to stand in for the cross-cultural communication between peoples across the Eurasian continent since at least the Neolithic era. On the other, he highlights specific examples of goods and ideas exchanged between the Mediterranean, Persia, India, and China, along with the significance of these exchanges. While including silks, spices, and travelers' tales of colorful locales, the book explains the dynamics of Central Eurasian history that promoted Silk Road interactions--especially the role of nomad empires--highlighting the importance of the biological, technological, artistic, intellectual, and religious interchanges across the continent. Millward shows that these exchanges had a profound effect on the old world that was akin to, if not on the scale of, modern globalization. He also disputes the idea that the silk road declined after the collapse of the Mongol empire or the opening of direct sea routes from Europe to Asia, showing how silk road phenomena continued through the early modern and modern expansion of the Russian and Chinese states across Central Asia. Millward concludes that the idea of the silk road has remained powerful, not only as a popular name for boutiques and restaurants, but also in modern politics and diplomacy, such as U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton's "Silk Road Initiative" for India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
Download or read book The Silk Road written by Frances Wood and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2002 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This gorgeously illustrated oversized book brings the history and cultures of the Silk Road alive -- from its beginnings to the present day -- covering more than 5000 years.
Download or read book The Prehistory of the Silk Road written by E. E. Kuzmina and published by University of Pennsylvania Press. This book was released on 2015-02-23 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In ancient and medieval times, the Silk Road was of great importance to the transport of peoples, goods, and ideas between the East and the West. A vast network of trade routes, it connected the diverse geographies and populations of China, the Eurasian Steppe, Central Asia, India, Western Asia, and Europe. Although its main use was for importing silk from China, traders moving in the opposite direction carried to China jewelry, glassware, and other exotic goods from the Mediterranean, jade from Khotan, and horses and furs from the nomads of the Steppe. In both directions, technology and ideologies were transmitted. The Silk Road brought together the achievements of the different peoples of Eurasia to advance the Old World as a whole. The majority of the Silk Road routes passed through the Eurasian Steppe, whose nomadic people were participants and mediators in its economic and cultural exchanges. Until now, the origins of these routes and relationships have not been examined in great detail. In The Prehistory of the Silk Road, E. E. Kuzmina, renowned Russian archaeologist, looks at the history of this crucial area before the formal establishment of Silk Road trade and diplomacy. From the late Neolithic period to the early Bronze Age, Kuzmina traces the evolution of the material culture of the Steppe and the contact between civilizations that proved critical to the development of the widespread trade that would follow, including nomadic migrations, the domestication and use of the horse and the camel, and the spread of wheeled transport. The Prehistory of the Silk Road combines detailed research in archaeology with evidence from physical anthropology, linguistics, and other fields, incorporating both primary and secondary sources from a range of languages, including a vast accumulation of Russian-language scholarship largely untapped in the West. The book is complemented by an extensive bibliography that will be of great use to scholars.
Download or read book The Silk Roads written by Vadime Elisseeff and published by Berghahn Books. This book was released on 2000 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A look at the cultural, or intercultural, exchange that took place in the Silk Roads and the role this has played in the shaping of cultures and civilizations.
Download or read book Traveling the Silk Road written by Mark Norell and published by Sterling Signature. This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An elegantly, lavishly illustrated history of the legendary Silk Road and the cultural pathway it blazed for the modern world. Spanning centuries of history, this engrossing book--created in conjunction with the world-famous American Museum of Natural History--takes an epic journey to major stops in China, Uzbekistan, Iraq, and beyond. Not only did people from many lands trade their goods along this incredible network of routes, they also exchanged their languages, religions, art, and technology in what can be seen as man's first engagement in globalization."
Download or read book The Silk Road in World History written by Xinru Liu and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2010-07-09 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Silk Road was the contemporary name for a complex of ancient trade routes linking East Asia with Central Asia, South Asia, and the Mediterranean world. This network of exchange emerged along the borders between agricultural China and the steppe nomads during the Han Dynasty (206BCE-220CE), in consequence of the inter-dependence and the conflicts of these two distinctive societies. In their quest for horses, fragrances, spices, gems, glassware, and other exotics from the lands to their west, the Han Empire extended its dominion over the oases around the Takla Makan Desert and sent silk all the way to the Mediterranean, either through the land routes leading to the caravan city of Palmyra in Syria desert, or by way of northwest India, the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea, landing at Alexandria. The Silk Road survived the turmoil of the demise of the Han and Roman Empires, reached its golden age during the early middle age, when the Byzantine Empire and the Tang Empire became centers of silk culture and established the models for high culture of the Eurasian world. The coming of Islam extended silk culture to an even larger area and paved the way for an expanded market for textiles and other commodities. By the 11th century, however, the Silk Road was in decline because of intense competition from the sea routes of the Indian Ocean. Using supply and demand as the framework for analyzing the formation and development of the Silk Road, the book examines the dynamics of the interactions of the nomadic pastoralists with sedentary agriculturalists, and the spread of new ideas, religions, and values into the world of commerce, thus illustrating the cultural forces underlying material transactions. This effort at tracing the interconnections of the diverse participants in the transcontinental Silk Road exchange will demonstrate that the world had been linked through economic and ideological forces long before the modern era.
Download or read book Empires of Ancient Eurasia written by Craig Benjamin and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2018-05-03 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Introduces a crucial period of world history when the vast exchange network of the Silk Roads connected most of Eurasia.
Download or read book Life Along the Silk Road written by Susan Whitfield and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 1999 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Silk Road was the most traveled trade route for over 1,000 years until it was eclipsed by maritime trade. Whitfield presents composite stories of merchants, soldiers, artists, and princesses who traveled the route, and presents its history through their personal experiences.
Download or read book Treasures of the Great Silk Road written by Edgar Knobloch and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2012-05-01 with total page 468 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Turkestan – the great landmass of Central Asia and Western China – is an intriguing meeting point of civilizations. Four major invasions – Greek, Arab, Mongol and Russian – together with Persian, Turkic and Chinese cultural influences, have made their mark on this vast and sometime forbidding region. The Great Silk Road ran to the West through it, while nomad and urban peoples combined over the centuries to produce a cultural flowering under Timur and his successors in the late medieval and early modern periods, through a rich profusion of artistic and architectural styles and ornament. In this comprehensive account of the culture and history of Central Asia, Edgar Knobloch describes the main centres of our human civilization. He spices the text with quotations from the works of contemporary travellers, while providing an expert's commentary on the archaeological, architectural and decorative features of the sites he describes. The stunning and evocative photographs are supplemented by numerous maps, incorporating the recent developments in the region's borders and frontiers. With up-to-date information on borders, check points and visas, Treasures of the Great Silk Road should appeal not only to scholars and those interested in the great cultural heritage of this region, but also to travellers to the region.
Download or read book The Silk Road A Captivating Guide to the Ancient Network of Trade Routes Established During the Han Dynasty of China and How It Conn written by Captivating History and published by Captivating History. This book was released on 2020-04-04 with total page 106 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Silk Road, which has been understood as a generalized route of trade between the East and the West, is different from European, North African, and Near Eastern trade routes because until recently, it has been understood as solely being a land route; in fact, it was believed to be the longest overland trade route in human history.