Listen and read

Step into an infinite world of stories

  • Listen and read as much as you want
  • Over 400 000+ titles
  • Bestsellers in 10+ Indian languages
  • Exclusive titles + Storytel Originals
  • Easy to cancel anytime
Subscribe now
Details page - Device banner - 894x1036

The Silk Road: A New History

50 Ratings

3.5

Duration
9H 54min
Language
English
Format
Category

History

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.

© 2018 Tantor Media (Audiobook): 9781977388681

Release date

Audiobook: 31 July 2018

Others also enjoyed ...

  1. China in World History Paul S. Ropp
  2. Our Oriental Heritage: A History of Civilization in Egypt and the Near East to the Death of Alexander, and in India, China, and Japan from the Beginning to Our Own Day, with Will Durant
  3. The Story of China: A portrait of a civilisation and its people Michael Wood
  4. The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World David W. Anthony
  5. When Asia Was the World: Traveling Merchants, Scholars, Warriors, and Monks Who Created the "Riches of the East": Traveling Merchants, Scholars, Warriors, and Monks Who Created the “Riches of the East” Stewart Gordon
  6. A History of Japan: Revised Edition J. G. Caiger
  7. Energy and Civilization: A History Vaclav Smil
  8. A Pocket History of Human Evolution: How We Became Sapiens Silvana Condemi
  9. Red Land, Black Land: Daily Life in Ancient Egypt Barbara Mertz
  10. A History of the World Andrew Marr
  11. The Ancient Celts: Second Edition Barry Cunliffe
  12. A Brief History of Japan: Samurai, Shogun and Zen– The Extraordinary Story of the Land of the Rising Sun: Samurai, Shogun and Zen: The Extraordinary Story of the Land of the Rising Sun Jonathan Clements
  13. The Life of Greece: A History of Greek Civilization from the Beginnings, and of Civilization in the Near East from the Death of Alexander, to the Roman Conquest Will Durant
  14. Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East Michael B. Oren
  15. Reformations: The Early Modern World, 1450-1650 Carlos M. N. Eire
  16. Making the Arab World: Nasser, Qutb, and the Clash That Shaped the Middle East Fawaz A. Gerges
  17. The Horde: How the Mongols Changed the World Marie Favereau
  18. Almost Human: The Astonishing Tale of Homo naledi and the Discovery That Changed Our Human Story Lee Berger
  19. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany William L. Shirer
  20. Stories of Women in the Middle Ages Maria Teresa Brolis
  21. The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936–1945 John Toland
  22. The Darkening Age: The Christian Destruction of the Classical World Catherine Nixey
  23. The Civilization of the Middle Ages: A Completely Revised and Expanded Edition of Medieval History, the Life and Death of a Civilization Norman F. Cantor
  24. Medieval People Eileen Power
  25. The Guns of August Barbara W. Tuchman
  26. Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn Daniel Gordis
  27. A (Very) Short History of Life On Earth: 4.6 Billion Years in 12 Chapters Henry Gee
  28. Origin Story: A Big History of Everything David Christian