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The Silk Road: A Captivating Guide to the Ancient Network of Trade Routes Established during the Han Dynasty of China and How It Connected the East and West
If you want to discover the captivating history of the Silk Road, then keep reading...
Free History BONUS Inside!
The Silk Road, which has been understood as a generalized route of trade between the East and the West, is different from European, North African, and Near Eastern trade routes because until recently, it has been understood as solely being a land route; in fact, it was believed to be the longest overland trade route in human history.
The history of the Silk Road is extremely complex. It cannot be told as a singular chronological narrative. Different cultures and societies rose and vanished along the Silk Road, and peoples migrated from one region to another. In short, for most of its history, there was fluidity as to the dominant cultures along the route or routes. Explaining the rise and fall or disappearance of these cultures involves stopping along the way to consider the chronology of their histories.
In The Silk A Captivating Guide to the Ancient Network of Trade Routes Established during the Han Dynasty of China and How It Connected the East and West, you will discover topics such as
Rome, Silk, and Ancient GeographyHan Silk Production and TradeThe Kingdom of LoulanBuddhists along the Silk An Oasis on the Silk RoadThe Legend of Prester JohnGenghis Khan, Ruler of the Whole WorldThe Lord of Xanadu, Kublai The Emperor of ChinaMarco Polo Visits Kublai Khan’s ChinaThe Final Years of Kublai KhanAnd much, much more!So if you want to learn more about the Silk Road scroll up and click the "add to cart" button!
Free History BONUS Inside!
The Silk Road, which has been understood as a generalized route of trade between the East and the West, is different from European, North African, and Near Eastern trade routes because until recently, it has been understood as solely being a land route; in fact, it was believed to be the longest overland trade route in human history.
The history of the Silk Road is extremely complex. It cannot be told as a singular chronological narrative. Different cultures and societies rose and vanished along the Silk Road, and peoples migrated from one region to another. In short, for most of its history, there was fluidity as to the dominant cultures along the route or routes. Explaining the rise and fall or disappearance of these cultures involves stopping along the way to consider the chronology of their histories.
In The Silk A Captivating Guide to the Ancient Network of Trade Routes Established during the Han Dynasty of China and How It Connected the East and West, you will discover topics such as
Rome, Silk, and Ancient GeographyHan Silk Production and TradeThe Kingdom of LoulanBuddhists along the Silk An Oasis on the Silk RoadThe Legend of Prester JohnGenghis Khan, Ruler of the Whole WorldThe Lord of Xanadu, Kublai The Emperor of ChinaMarco Polo Visits Kublai Khan’s ChinaThe Final Years of Kublai KhanAnd much, much more!So if you want to learn more about the Silk Road scroll up and click the "add to cart" button!
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
106 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 4, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 17, 2021
Interesting information but very dry--not what I would call 'captivating'. The introduction started off OK and posed some intriguing questions, but the rest of the book was date after date, name after name, place after place, etc., so very hard to wade through. I don't understand histories that are written today, with a plethora of information, resources, and research at a writer's disposal, that do not include some maps and timelines to offer a nice contextual framework for readers. How hard would it have been to show where the Silk Road was believed to have been, or to give a timeline of the main events along with the names of primary leaders and persons of interest? Doing so would have done a lot to at least help the book not be as confusing and tedious.
May 6, 2020
The Silk Road is believed to be the longest overland trade route in human history. It was actually 4,350 miles of networking, connected routes that were navigated in short lengths by many traders. The routes were compounded by the rough terrain and the multiple cultures and peoples.
Westerners were enchanted with the spices, products, and cultures of the East. However, the Chinese were very self-content; they were not eager for the products or ideas of the West; they only looked at the wealth they could accumulate by trading with the West. It is very difficult to explain the Silk Route because cultures and societies rose, fell, and migrated to other regions. Then, there is the fact that silk came from two regions. The silk that was all the rage in Rome may have come from India, not China. They had differing methods of creating their fabrics and archeologists believe the Romans didn't meet the Chinese until much later than they met (and purchased silks from) India.
When the Europeans went east to battle against the Muslims in the Holy Lands, their first interest was in spreading Christianity. There was one throw-away line in this book that I appreciated: "Genghis Khan had a policy of protecting all religions and permitting all religious practices within his empire." (p. 37) I thought that was a remarkable attribute for someone who was responsible for so many deaths.
Khan was also responsible for the safety of the Silk Road, as well as expanding the length of the routes. By his death, the Mongols dominated a huge tract of land that stretched from China to the 'doorstep of Europe in Georgia and Ukraine."
This book outlines several envoys to the Khan, from the Catholic Church, that provided some information about the Eastern cultures and peoples. But it was the infamous Marco Polo who really publicized the riches of the East. During Kublai Khan's time, the Silk Road was at its busiest, before gradually being replaced by seaborne trade.
During the 1300s, the pope maintained an interest in the affairs of the Christian Church in China. However, when the Chinese rose up against the Mongol overlords, they formed the Ming dynasty and expelled all the Christians from China. This information seems to connect to the Silk Road, because how else did they travel between Rome and China? However, the next 20 pages are about wars, without tying it back to the Silk Road. I think the author got engrossed in the wars and lost sight of his topic: the Silk Road. By the time of the wars with Japan, I began to wonder what this had to do with the Silk Road. Then, on page 92, the main topic was reintroduced. It was nicely tied up in the last few pages. 3.5 stars
Westerners were enchanted with the spices, products, and cultures of the East. However, the Chinese were very self-content; they were not eager for the products or ideas of the West; they only looked at the wealth they could accumulate by trading with the West. It is very difficult to explain the Silk Route because cultures and societies rose, fell, and migrated to other regions. Then, there is the fact that silk came from two regions. The silk that was all the rage in Rome may have come from India, not China. They had differing methods of creating their fabrics and archeologists believe the Romans didn't meet the Chinese until much later than they met (and purchased silks from) India.
When the Europeans went east to battle against the Muslims in the Holy Lands, their first interest was in spreading Christianity. There was one throw-away line in this book that I appreciated: "Genghis Khan had a policy of protecting all religions and permitting all religious practices within his empire." (p. 37) I thought that was a remarkable attribute for someone who was responsible for so many deaths.
Khan was also responsible for the safety of the Silk Road, as well as expanding the length of the routes. By his death, the Mongols dominated a huge tract of land that stretched from China to the 'doorstep of Europe in Georgia and Ukraine."
This book outlines several envoys to the Khan, from the Catholic Church, that provided some information about the Eastern cultures and peoples. But it was the infamous Marco Polo who really publicized the riches of the East. During Kublai Khan's time, the Silk Road was at its busiest, before gradually being replaced by seaborne trade.
During the 1300s, the pope maintained an interest in the affairs of the Christian Church in China. However, when the Chinese rose up against the Mongol overlords, they formed the Ming dynasty and expelled all the Christians from China. This information seems to connect to the Silk Road, because how else did they travel between Rome and China? However, the next 20 pages are about wars, without tying it back to the Silk Road. I think the author got engrossed in the wars and lost sight of his topic: the Silk Road. By the time of the wars with Japan, I began to wonder what this had to do with the Silk Road. Then, on page 92, the main topic was reintroduced. It was nicely tied up in the last few pages. 3.5 stars
July 12, 2020
Every history book tends to be good. This one is good too, but I was expecting more about the Silk Road and its influence than the history of the empires and lands across it. The book is also average because focus on random figures in order to tell the history. Finally, and this is personal, I don’t like the use of BCE / CE instead of the correct BC / AD.
April 2, 2022
Bought this by mistake when I was trying for Frankopan's book. Reads kind of like a lot of Wikipedia articles strung together. There's some interesting info here, but it's rather slim for the topic, especially given that about half of it is about Ghengis and Kublai Khan. (Poor Timur/Tamerlane and Zheng He each get, like, a paragraph, in comparison.)
March 27, 2024
This was an intriguing book that gives a lot of history on the Han Dynasty and how it connected the East and West. I found it interesting and learned a few things from reading it. It is easy to read and makes for a great resource.
May 12, 2020
A quick and easy read. Does stray off into a history of the Mongols, but I guess it is tied to the Silk Road. Very informative.
January 1, 2021
Awesome history
April 15, 2022
Definitely a Captivating read. Informative and easy to read. Could use more maps but these typically don't show up well on Kindle.
March 7, 2024
Adifferent perspective that focuses on the political aspects in addition to the economic and cultural ones.
December 30, 2025
Not 5* because it's just too mind-blowing for a person with almost zero historical knowledge, especially when it comes to China 😀
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews