The ancient trade routes between Europe & the Orient, specifically between Rome & the old Chinese capital of Xian, endured for almost two thousand years. Along with trade goods came new ideas--religions, medical knowledge, & scientific & technological innovations passed in both directions & the Silk Road became a great network of veins & arteries, carrying the life-blood of nations across the known world. ” The Silk Road ”is a concise, more portable version of Jonathan Tucker`s acclaimed book, ” The Silk Road: Art & History, ” acclaimed by the ” Literary Review” as ”a beautiful book.. .the most informative work on the subject.” Replete with fascinating details of the main historical sites, works of art, accounts by ancient & modern travelers, legends, poetry & other literary references, photographs, maps & site-plans, this will be essential reading for all those interested in or planning to travel the ancient Silk Road. ...

Linking East & West, Asia with Europe, the Silk Road was once the most important trading route in the world. A conduit for the exchange of prized silks, spices & jewels as well as philosophies, cultures & religions, the Silk Road was a catalyst for the rise & fall of some of the greatest civilisations in history, from the empires of Alexander the Great to Genghis Khan. It was through its great caravans that the western world discovered paper, gunpowder & the compass & through them that Buddhism spread to China. Its very name has become iconic, synonymous with exoticism, adventure & mystery. The second in the trilogy
- `the War`, `the Road` & `the Lake`
- this is the account of Sven Hedin`s 10, 000-mile journey along the ancient Silk Road, as he carried out a mission for the Chinese to create a road linking China with the rogue province of Xinjiang. Forbidden by the government to conduct archaeological investigations, Hedin ignored the restriction & was imprisoned for it but the research that he brought back with him has formed the basis of much of the West`s knowledge of the Silk Road & its history. Today, as waves of tourists tread its abandoned routes & explore its ruined caravanserais, they follow in the footsteps of this original Silk Road explorer.

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Stretching from the ancient Chinese capital of Xian across the expanses of Central Asia to Rome, the Silk Road was, for 2, 000 years, a vibrant network of arteries that carried the lifeblood of nations across the world. Along a multitude of routes everything was exchanged: exotic goods, art, knowledge, religion, philosophy, disease & war. From the East came silk, tea, jade, paper, procelain, spices & Buddhism; from the West, horses, weapons, lions, precious stones & cotton. From its earliest beginnings in the days of Alexander the Great & the Han Dynasty, the Silk Road expanded & evolved, reaching its peak under the Tang & Byzantine empires & gradually crumbling along with decline of the Mongol empire. In this beautifully-illustrated book, which covers the Central Asian section of the Silk Road
- from Lake Issy Kul through Tashkent, Samark&, Bukhara, the Kyzyl Kum Desert, Khiva & Merv to Herat, Kabul & Iran
- Jonathan Tucker uses traveller`s anecdotes & a wealth of literary & historical sources to celebrate the cultural heritage of the countries that lie along the Silk Road & illuminate the lives of those who once travelled through the very heart of the world.

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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 Samark&, where merchants, envoys, pilgrims, & 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 & west. China & 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, & glass were just as important as silk. Perhaps most significant of all was the road`s transmission of ideas, technologies, & artistic motifs. The Silk Road is a fascinating story of archeological discovery, cultural transmission, & the intricate chains across Central Asia & China. ...

The phrase ”silk road” evokes vivid images: of merchants leading camel caravans over deserts & steppes to trade exotic goods in the bazaars of glittering Oriental cities, of pilgrims braving bandits & frozen mountain passes to gather scriptures & spread their faith across continental expanses. Beyond the exotica, however, this VSI will be a sketch of the historical background against which the silk road flourished, & an essay on the significance of old-world intercultural exchange to Eurasian & world history generally. On the one h&, Millward treats the silk road broadly, as a metonym for the cross-fertilizing communication between peoples across the Eurasian continent since at least the Neolithic era. On the other, he highlights specific examples of goods & ideas exchanged between the Mediterranean, Persian, Indian, & Chinese regions, along with the significance of these exchanges. While including silks, spices, travelers` tales of colorful locales, the main focus of the book is to outline the dynamics of Central Eurasian history that promoted silk road interactions, especially the role of nomad empires; & to highlight the importance of the biological, technological, artistic, intellectual, & religious interchanges across the continent. Millward shows that these exchanges had a profound effect on the old world that was akin to, if not yet on the scale of, modern globalization. Millward also considers some of the more abstract contemporary uses to which the silk road concept has been put. It is, of course, a popular marketing device for boutiques, museums, restaurants, & tour operators from Venice to Kyoto. More than that, however, the silk road has ideological connotations, used sometimes to soften the face of Chinese expansion in Central Asia, or, in the US culture wars, as a challenge to the ”clash of civilizations” understanding of intersocietal relations. Finally, while it has often been argued that the silk road declined or closed after the collapse of the Mongol empire or the opening of direct maritime communications from Europe to Asia, Millard disputes this view, showing how silk road phenomena continued through the early modern & modern expansion of Russian & Chinese states across Central Asia. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, & enthusiasm to make interesting & challenging topics highly readable. ...

The sun is setting on the Western world. Slowly but surely, the direction in which the world spins has reversed: where for the last five centuries the globe turned westwards on its axis, it now turns to the east... For centuries, fame & fortune was to be found in the west
- in the New World of the Americas. Today, it is the east which calls out to those in search of adventure & riches. The region stretching from eastern Europe & sweeping right across Central Asia deep into China & India, is taking centre stage in international politics, commerce & culture
- & is shaping the modern world. This region, the true centre of the earth, is obscure to many in the English-speaking world. Yet this is where civilization itself began, where the world`s great religions were born & took root. The Silk Roads were no exotic series of connections, but networks that linked continents & oceans together. Along them flowed ideas, goods, disease & death. This was where empires were won
- & where they were lost. As a new era emerges, the patterns of exchange are mirroring those that have criss-crossed Asia for millennia. The Silk Roads are rising again.A major reassessment of world history, The Silk Roads is an important account of the forces that have shaped the global economy & the political renaissance in the re-emerging east.


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For centuries, fame & fortune were to be found in the west- in the New World of the Americas. Today, it is the east which calls out to those in search of riches & adventure. Sweeping right across Central Asia & deep into China & India, a region that once took centre stage is again rising to dominate global politics, commerce & culture.A major reassessment of world history, The Silk Roads is a dazzling exploration of the forces that have driven the rise & fall of empires, determined the flow of ideas & goods & are now heralding a new dawn in international affairs. ...

The revised edition of the No. 1 Sunday Times & international bestseller with a new epilogue, covering recent world events, & additional illustrative material` Immensely entertaining.. . so ambitious, so detailed, so fascinating` The Times For centuries, fame & fortune were to be found in the west
- in the New World of the Americas. Today, it is the east which calls out to those in search of riches & adventure. Sweeping right across Central Asia & deep into China & India, a region that once took centre stage is again rising to dominate global politics, commerce & culture. A major reassessment of world history, The Silk Roads is a dazzling exploration of the forces that have driven the rise & fall of empires, determined the flow of ideas & goods & are now heralding a new dawn in international affairs. This up-to-date edition of the international bestseller

Includes:: an epilogue examining recent world events, along with new maps & illustrations.


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Set your sails east with this stunningly original new history of the world. Peter Frankopan, number one bestselling author & historian explores the connections made by people, trade, disease, war, religion, adventure, science & technology in this extraordinary book about how the east married the west with a remarkable voyage at its heart
- the journey along the Silk Roads. From ancient world laws laid down by King Hammurabi & the mighty Persian empire, to terrifying huns, the rise of Europe, two world wars & politics today, The Silk Roads moves through time & history sewing together the threads from different peoples, empires & continents into a phenomenal history of the globe. With stories from each & every corner of society, Frankopan`s magnificent brand new illustrated edition of his award-winning literary triumph The Silk Roads, sumptuously illustrated by Neil Packer, is a must-have world history.
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When novelist Owen Quine goes missing, his wife calls in private detective Cormoran Strike. At first, she just thinks he has gone off by himself for a few days
- as he has done before
- & she wants Strike to find him & bring him home. But as Strike investigates, it becomes clear that there is more to Quine`s disappearance than his wife realises. The novelist has just completed a manuscript featuring poisonous pen-portraits of almost everyone he knows. If the novel were published it would ruin lives
- so there are a lot of people who might want to silence him. & when Quine is found brutally murdered in bizarre circumstances, it becomes a race against time to understand the motivation of a ruthless killer, a killer unlike any he has encountered before.. .A compulsively readable crime novel with twists at every turn, The Silkworm is the second in the highly acclaimed series featuring Cormoran Strike & his determined young assistant Robin Ellacott.


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