1.

Record Nr.

UNISA996248062703316

Autore

Beckwith Christopher I.

Titolo

Empires of the Silk Road : A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the Present / / Christopher I. Beckwith

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Princeton, NJ : , : Princeton University Press, , [2009]

©2009

ISBN

9786612159145

1-282-15914-3

1-4008-2994-1

Descrizione fisica

xxv, 472 p. : map

Disciplina

958

Soggetti

HISTORY / Asia / Central Asia

Electronic books.

Middle East History

East Asia History

Europe, Eastern History

Asia, Central History

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Map on lining papers.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 427-455) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- PREFACE -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- ABBREVIATIONS AND SIGLA -- INTRODUCTION -- PROLOGUE: THE HERO AND HIS FRIENDS -- 1. The Chariot Warriors -- 2. The Royal Scythians -- 3. Between Roman and Chinese Legions -- 4. The Age of Attila the Hun -- 5. The Türk Empire -- 6. The Silk Road, Revolution, and Collapse -- 7. The Vikings and Cathay -- 8. Chinggis Khan and the Mongol Conquests -- 9. Central Eurasians Ride to a European Sea -- 10. The Road Is Closed -- 11. Eurasia without a Center -- 12. Central Eurasia Reborn -- Epilogue: The Barbarians -- Appendix A: The Proto-Indo-Europeans and Their Diaspora -- Appendix B: Ancient Central Eurasian Ethnonyms -- Endnotes -- Bibliography -- Index -- Maps

Sommario/riassunto

The first complete history of Central Eurasia from ancient times to the present day, Empires of the Silk Road represents a fundamental rethinking of the origins, history, and significance of this major world



region. Christopher Beckwith describes the rise and fall of the great Central Eurasian empires, including those of the Scythians, Attila the Hun, the Turks and Tibetans, and Genghis Khan and the Mongols. In addition, he explains why the heartland of Central Eurasia led the world economically, scientifically, and artistically for many centuries despite invasions by Persians, Greeks, Arabs, Chinese, and others. In retelling the story of the Old World from the perspective of Central Eurasia, Beckwith provides a new understanding of the internal and external dynamics of the Central Eurasian states and shows how their people repeatedly revolutionized Eurasian civilization. Beckwith recounts the Indo-Europeans' migration out of Central Eurasia, their mixture with local peoples, and the resulting development of the Graeco-Roman, Persian, Indian, and Chinese civilizations; he details the basis for the thriving economy of premodern Central Eurasia, the economy's disintegration following the region's partition by the Chinese and Russians in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and the damaging of Central Eurasian culture by Modernism; and he discusses the significance for world history of the partial reemergence of Central Eurasian nations after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Empires of the Silk Road places Central Eurasia within a world historical framework and demonstrates why the region is central to understanding the history of civilization.