The Silk Road: A New History, a richly illustrated publication, explores the networks of contacts and exchanges spanning Afro-Eurasia from 500 to 1000 CE, highlighting how the movement of people, objects, and ideas shaped cultures and histories. It tells a remarkable story of people, objects, and ideas flowing in all directions, including ceramics, sword-fittings, and letters and legal texts from a synagogue in Cairo. Encounters with various peoples active on the Silk Roads reveal the human stories, innovations, and transfers of knowledge that emerged, shaping cultures and histories across continents centuries before the formation of today's globalized world.

Format: Hardback
Length: 304 pages
Publication date: 26 September 2024
Publisher: British Museum Press

‘The true soul of this new exhibition has been encapsulated within a single book, a treasure trove of stories, images, and insights that brought the ancient trade routes to life. – Cent magazine A richly illustrated publication that explores the networks of contacts and exchanges spanning Afro-Eurasia from 500 to 1000 ce, highlighting how the movement of people, objects, and ideas shaped cultures and histories. The term ‘Silk Road conjures a range of romantic images. Camel caravans crossing desert dunes. Merchants trading silk and spices. Far-flung commerce between ‘East and ‘West. The reality was far richer. Focusing on a defining period between 500 and 1000 CE, this beautifully illustrated book reimagines the Silk Roads as a web of interlocking networks linking Asia, Africa, and Europe, from Japan to Ireland, from the Arctic to Madagascar. It tells a remarkable story of people, objects, and ideas flowing in all directions, through the traces these journeys left behind – including ceramics from Tang China recovered from a shipwreck in the Java Sea, sword-fittings set with Indian garnets buried in England, and a selection of letters and legal texts from a synagogue in Cairo revealing a Jewish community’s links from India to al-Andalus. Woven throughout, encounters with various peoples active on the Silk Roads, from seafarers to Sogdians, Aksumites, and Vikings, reveal the human stories, innovations, and transfers of knowledge that emerged, shaping cultures and histories across continents centuries before the formation of today’s globalized world.

The True Soul of the Exhibition: Unveiling the Ancient Trade Routes

A new exhibition at the Cent magazine has brought the ancient trade routes to life through a single book, a treasure trove of stories, images, and insights. The exhibition, titled “Silk Road: Networks of Contacts and Exchanges in Afro-Eurasia from 500 to 1000 CE,” explores the networks of contacts and exchanges that spanned Afro-Eurasia from 500 to 1000 CE, highlighting how the movement of people, objects, and ideas shaped cultures and histories. The term “Silk Road” conjures romantic images of camel caravans crossing desert dunes, merchants trading silk and spices, and far-flung commerce between “East and “West.” However, the reality was far richer. The exhibition focuses on a defining period between 500 and 1000 CE and reimagines the Silk Roads as a web of interlocking networks linking Asia, Africa, and Europe, from Japan to Ireland, from the Arctic to Madagascar. It tells a remarkable story of people, objects, and ideas flowing in all directions, through the traces these journeys left behind. These traces include ceramics from Tang China recovered from a shipwreck in the Java Sea, sword-fittings set with Indian garnets buried in England, and a selection of letters and legal texts from a synagogue in Cairo revealing a Jewish community’s links from India to al-Andalus. Woven throughout, encounters with various peoples active on the Silk Roads, from seafarers to Sogdians, Aksumites, and Vikings, reveal the human stories, innovations, and transfers of knowledge that emerged, shaping cultures and histories across continents centuries before the formation of today’s globalized world.

Weight: 1868g
Dimension: 250 x 277 x 35 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780714124971