Questions About Empires of the Silk Road: A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the Present

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I'm not allowed enough space to put my question into context! Beckwith explicitly states that at various times in history that the empires were large enough to encompass major towns that were trading centers. Why didn't these towns leave behind a record of the empire(s) that had control of them?

Nat Obviously, this is not an answer; this is an attempt by me to provide necessary context for my question. Beckwith states that the Central Eurasian kin…moreObviously, this is not an answer; this is an attempt by me to provide necessary context for my question. Beckwith states that the Central Eurasian kingdoms/empires were occasionally large enough to encompass major towns that were major trading centers. He also says that these kingdoms/empires left no written record (apparently pastoralists had very limited storage, what with them always being on the move). But surely any major towns that they controlled would have left behind records of the kingdoms/empires that had control over them. So why didn't the major towns leave behind such records?(less)

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