The Silk Road : a 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 reli...
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
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New York :
Oxford University Press,
[2012]
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| Summary: | 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. |
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| Item Description: | Maps on endpapers. |
| Physical Description: | xi, 304 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of color plates : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 9780195159318 (hardcover : acid-free paper) 0195159314 (hardcover : acid-free paper) |