The Silk Road: a new history

by Hansen, Valerie

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Title Statements

Full title :The Silk Road : a new history / Valerie Hansen.

Summary

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 archeological finds that revolutionize our understanding of these trade routes. 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'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 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.

Edition Statements

Publication Date:©2012.

Publication Statements

Publisher(s):Oxford University Press
Place of Publication:Oxford
Language:eng
Publication Date:©2012.

The Physical Object

Description:xi, 304 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : : illustrations (some color), maps (some color) ; : 25 cm

Edition Identifiers

ISBN:9780195159318, 0195159314
oclc:ocn757838314
LC Classification:DS33.1
Dewey Decimal:950.1

At the Crossroads of Central Asia : The Kingdom of Kroraina -- Gateway to the Languages of the Silk Road : Kucha and the Kizil Caves -- Midway Between China and Iran : Turfan -- Homeland of the Sogdians, the Silk Road Traders : Samarkand and Sogdiana -- The Cosmopolitan Terminus of the Silk Road : Historic Chang'an, Modern-day Xi'an -- The Time Capsule of Silk Road History : The Dunhuang Caves -- Entryway into Xinjiang for Buddhism and Islam : Khotan -- Conclusion: The History of the Overland Routes Through Central Asia.

Subjects

Asia Asia -- Silk Road Handelsstraße Historic sites Historic sites -- Silk Road History Lieux historiques -- Route de la soie Local history Nonfiction Route de la soie -- Descriptions et voy… Route de la soie -- Histoire Route de la soie -- Histoire locale Route de la soie -- Sources. -- Histoire Routes commerciales -- Histoire. -- Asie Seidenstraße Silk Road - Description and travel Silk Road -- History Silk Road -- History, Local Silk Road -- Sources. -- History Sources