The Silk Road: Art and History

Description

A celebration of the cultural heritage of the countries along the Silk Road, this book is a detailed, lavishly illustrated exploration of the the ancient trade route between Europe and Asia, more specifically between Rome and the old Chinese capital of Xian. The author provides a comprehensive history of the Silk Road and examines many of the most celebrated works of art discovered in each country, and sets them in their historical and geographical context. Drawing freely on anecdotes, and literary and historical sources, he examines the lives of the merchants and other travellers who used this route and the way in which their activities related to the works of art that were created. Vignettes and poems from the heyday of the great trading route punctuate a lively and colourful book, which also benefits from Antonia Tozer’s exceptionally evocative photographs of landscapes and people. Chapters range from Precursors and The Manufacture of Silk, through China and Central Asia to Rediscovery in the Twentieth Century and Lost Art of the Silk Road. There is a glossary of foreign and technical terms, as well as chronologies for each period of history for the main sections of the Silk Road, and a bibliography and index. Cover Contents Preface Introduction Map I. Beginnings 1. Precursors of the Silk Road 2. Nomads 3. The Kushans II. China 4. The introduction of Buddhism to China 5. Luoyang 6. Changan (Xian) III. The Silk Road between Xian and Dunhuang 7. The route west from Xian IV. The Silk Road through China beyond Dunhuang 8. The Northern Silk Road 9. The Southern Silk Road V. The Silk Road between China and India VI. The Silk Road through Central Asia 10. Silk Road sites in Southern Central Asia 11. The coming of Islam to Central Asia 12. The Mongols 13. Tamerlane (Timur) and the Timurids 14. Silk Road sites between Balkh and Nisa 15. The route north from Merv to Khorezm 16. The routes north from the Iron Gate Pass 17. The routes to the northwest from Bukhara and Samarkand to Khorezm 18. Silk Road sites around Samarkand 19. Silk Road sites between Samarkand and China VII. Persia and beyond 20. Parthians and Sasanians 21. The main East-West Silk Road across Iran 22. The Ray-Tabriz road 23. The Ray-Hamadan road 24. The Silk Road through Iraq 25. Silk Road sites of Syria and Lebanon 26. The Silk Road through Turkey 27. All roads lead to Rome 28. The end of the road: the Silk Road in decline Conclusion Appendix Chronologies Glossary Bibliography Index