Silk Road: A History from Beginning to End

by Hourly History

Discover the remarkable history of the Silk Road... Free BONUS Inside! Whether you approve or disapprove, globalization is an inescapable feature of the modern world. Trade between nations and continents is now commonplace, and this exchange of goods is inevitably accompanied by the exchange of ideas and cultures. This is not, as you might expect, a new phenomenon. A series of trade routes which were first established almost two thousand years ago provided one of the first examples of intercontinental trade. Although these overland routes between Europe and Asia were not generally given a name during the period when they were in use, a nineteenth German writer and traveler, Ferdinand von Richthofen, used the name by which they have become famous; he called them the Seidenstrasse (the Silk Road). Of course, it wasn’t just silk that was traded on these routes—many other commodities traveled in both directions. For more than one thousand years, the Silk Road (or rather roads; there were actually several routes) provided the main trading link between east and west, which also enabled an exchange of philosophy, art, culture, and religion. It wasn’t until new maritime trade routes were established in the fifteenth century that the Silk Road finally began to decline in importance. It is difficult to overestimate the impact the Silk Road had on the development of civilization in both Europe and Asia. Without this trade route, the civilization of both continents would almost certainly have developed very differently. This is the story of the Silk Road. Discover a plethora of topics such as The Han Dynasty The War of the Heavenly Horses The Silk Trade A Route for New Ideas Marco Polo The Decline of the Silk Road And much more!So if you want a concise and informative book on the Silk Road, simply scroll up and click the "Buy now" button for instant access!

Genres: History, Nonfiction, China, Ebooks

111 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 19, 2020

About the author

At Hourly History, we focus on publishing history books that are concise, straightforward and take no longer than one hour to read.

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Reviews

[Ben LeFevre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good



Hourly history has become my go to for historical topics briefs. This particular edition gave me insight into not just the trading of goods but the trading of ideas that came to shape the old world ideas.

[Vintagebooklvr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting. It stresses the importance about the exchange of information and ideas not just merchandise that Silk Road allowed. How ever I wish there was more information about some of the stops, the conditions, and nit and gritty of the travel on the route.

[Dr.J.G. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Strangely, this volume is classified as history of China. Strange, because while China certainly was at one extreme end of this route, the other ends were West Asia and Europe, and the route itself wsss mostly through Central Asia, with one offshoot leading South to India, into and across Himalaya. So if it's history of anything specific, it's that of what's termed Old World.

Specifically, it's history of Central Asia. Not China.

Not China, which didn't extend then quite so ambitiously as it does now, occupying so much of lands wrested from other nations, by military forces of China forcibly occupying them.

Worth reading despite questionable accounts of history as taught by West.
***

"We generally imagine international trade to be a relatively recent development, but the truth is that it stretches back almost to the beginnings of human civilization. From the time of the first cities, it was apparent that certain commodities were only available in certain areas. This led to trade with other cities, other civilizations, and even other continents.

"One of the earliest and most important trade routes was the network which became known as the Silk Road, connecting Asia with the Middle East and Europe. Of course, it wasn’t just silk that was traded on this network; a whole range of commodities were traded in both directions over a period which spanned more than 1,000 years. ... "

In fact, this trade route dealt far more largely with spices, of which European lands were in dire need, and source of supplies was India. Spices were essential for preservation of food, vital during winters of Nordic latitudes when people needed to survive on stored food.

But naming it properly, after the commodity most vital for the trade route, would not merely tear into the romance of the name - after all, what's more frivolous than silk, traded over such long arduous route through deserts either too hot or too cold for survival, taking months, than something as unnecessary to life as silk, however beautiful? - but more importantly, such a name would inevitably bring home the importance and wealth of India that was raided, looted, colonised and destroyed as brutally as invaders could, so that hiding the fact of this havoc wreaked by them was necessary forever since, for prestige of the colonizers who could only survive by cannibalising India?

So give undue importance, then, to China, by not only calling it silk route (- and pretending that silk was Chinese invention, not of India, a questionable assumption if one looks at antiquity of Raamaayana and Mahaabhaarata -) but also categorizing it as history of China!

History it is, but of famous names of yore such as Samarkand and Bukhara, for example - the latter having been thus named due to once upon a time having been a Buddha Vihaara, Buddhist monastery. Such Buddhist monasteries dotted this route, providing succour to traders and travellers along this route.

Until Islamic hordes destroyed it all, just as they destroyed Bamiyan Buddhas in recent decades, and far more in past few centuries, more throughout India than anywhere else.

" ... Civilizations rose and fell, mighty historical figures appeared, briefly dominated, and then sank back into obscurity, but the torrent of trade between east and west continued to flow along these routes.

"And it wasn’t just commodities which were exchanged via the Silk Road. In the period before seafarers learned how to safely make journeys well out of sight of land, it was also the main route by which ideas were exchanged between east and west. The travelers who crossed the Silk Road brought news of different approaches to philosophy, art, culture, and religion, and these too were traded.

"Because of this, the Silk Road had a profound effect on the way in which ancient cultures developed—no longer in isolation but fueled by new ways of thinking from distant lands. This is the story of the Silk Road and the lasting and permanent changes it brought to the development of human civilization.
****

"“Travel the highway, though it be roundabout—where shortcuts are dangerous.”

"—Persian proverb"

Highways are dangerous, as proved by colonial era, when a land of wealth and knowledge was looted by barbaric hordes.
***

"One of the most ancient human civilizations was that established by the Sumerians in Mesopotamia, the fertile land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in what is now Iraq. The Sumerians built some of the first large cities and made notable scientific advances in things like the smelting of copper, the creation of a complex system of writing and mathematics, and the use of wheeled vehicles."

This was the fraudulent history made up by and in Europe and West Asia for convenience of the region chiefly through deep ingratitude - civilisations were far more ancient in Egypt whence it spread to Europevia Greece and Rome, and even more in India whence it spread Westward.
***

"This route became known as the Persian Royal Road, and it is the true progenitor of the routes which became known as the Silk Road. Over time, the Persian Royal Road was extended into Egypt and even across the Indian sub-continent. This was the first global superhighway, and the continuous flow of goods and ideas transformed every society which it impacted. Still, there was another empire far beyond India with which even the Persians did not make contact."

Wasn't Attila the Hun far prior, in which case, wasn't Europe aware of Mongolia?
****

"“A man grows most tired while standing still.”

"—Chinese proverb"
***

" ... Qin Shi Huang and his successor created a single state ruled from the capital city, Xianyang (the present-day Xi’an metropolitan area in central Shaanxi province).

"The new state had a stable economy, a powerful army, and the emperors introduced new legislation which took central control over the peasants, the largest population group and the main source of labor. Previously, these people had been ruled under a fragmented feudal system where aristocratic families controlled small areas of land. This centralization of power allowed some large-scale construction projects including a greatly improved road network and the construction of a defensive wall on what was then the northern edge of the empire; this would later develop into the Great Wall of China."

" ... Popular revolt in the empire led by rebel leader Liu Bang (known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han) led to the establishment of a new dynasty in 206 BCE. The Han dynasty would last for almost 400 years and would establish what would become known as China’s Golden Age (even today, the ethnic majority in China refer to themselves as “Han Chinese” and the Chinese written script is popularly called “Han characters”).
***

"Under the Han, the western part of China was divided into thirteen centrally controlled administrative areas, the jùn, while the eastern territories became ten semi-autonomous kingdoms. By around 157 BCE, the kings of these regions had all been replaced by loyal members of the Liu family, and the Han effectively controlled all of China. Over the next decades, the power of the ten kingdoms of eastern China was gradually reduced until these were little more than additional administrative regions. In terms of size and power, the Han Empire came to equal the approximately contemporary Roman Empire in the west.

"Emperor Gaozu established the capital of the Han in the city of Chang’an (modern-day Xi’an). This was a vital strategic location because the city marked the nexus of a number of important trade routes. By the beginning of the first millennium, Chang’an was the largest, most powerful, and most influential city in Asia with a population of over a quarter of a million people. However, it was during the long rule of the seventh Han emperor, Emperor Wu who reigned from 141-87 BCE, that the greatest expansion and consolidation of the Han Empire took place.
***

"Under the aggressive rule of Emperor Wu, the Han Empire expanded to present-day Kyrgyzstan in the west, to Korea in the east, and to Vietnam in the south. Despite this expansion, the nomadic horsemen of the Xiongnu on the northern and western borders of the Han Empire continued to pose problems, regularly launching raids on Han controlled territory. In 138 BCE, Emperor Wu sent an imperial envoy, Zhang Qian, to the west to establish diplomatic relations with the Yuezhi people for help in defeating the Xiongnu.

"On his journey, Zhang Qian was captured and enslaved by the Xiongnu for more than ten years. When he finally managed to escape, he was unsuccessful in persuading the Yuezhi to join the Han in their war against the Xiongnu, but what he did do was far more important to the empire in the long term: he discovered that there were large and well-established civilizations in the west, and he spent almost one year writing detailed reports on these strange new people and relaying them back to the emperor. On his return trip, Zhang Qian was again captured by the Xiongnu and held prisoner, but after two years of captivity, he was able to escape in the chaos caused by infighting when the Xiongnu king died. When he finally arrived back in Chang’an in 125 BCE, only he and one other member of the original 100-man expedition were still alive."
***

From Wikipedia:-

"The Xiongnu (Chinese: 匈奴; pinyin: Xiōngnú,[6] [ɕjʊ́ŋ.nǔ]) were a tribal confederation[7] of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Chinese sources report that Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 209 BC, founded the Xiongnu Empire.[8]

"After their previous rivals, the Yuezhi, migrated west into Central Asia during the 2nd century BC, the Xiongnu became a dominant power on the steppes of East Asia, centred on the Mongolian Plateau. The Xiongnu were also active in areas now part of South Siberia, Inner Mongolia, Gansu and Xinjiang. Their relations with adjacent Chinese dynasties to the south-east were complex—alternating between various periods of peace, war, and subjugation. ... "

So, Mongolians, then?

"Attempts to identify the Xiongnu with later groups of the western Eurasian Steppe were controversial for a period of time, as Scythians and Sarmatians were concurrently to the west, archaeogenetics confirmed that interaction and connection with the Huns. The identity of the ethnic core of Xiongnu has been a subject of varied hypotheses, because only a few words, mainly titles and personal names, were preserved in the Chinese sources. The name Xiongnu may be cognate with that of the Huns and/or the Huna,[9][10][11] although this is disputed.[12][13] Other linguistic links—all of them also controversial—proposed by scholars include Iranian,[14][15][16] Mongolic,[17] Turkic,[18][19] Uralic,[20] Yeniseian,[12][21][22][23] or multi-ethnic.[24]"
***

From Wikipedia:-

"The Yuezhi (Chinese: 月氏; pinyin: Yuèzhī, Ròuzhī or Rùzhī; Wade–Giles: Yüeh4-chih1, Jou4-chih1 or Ju4-chih1;) were an ancient people first described in Chinese histories as nomadic pastoralists living in an arid grassland area in the western part of the modern Chinese province of Gansu, during the 1st millennium BC. After a major defeat at the hands of the Xiongnu in 176 BC, the Yuezhi split into two groups migrating in different directions: the Greater Yuezhi (Dà Yuèzhī 大月氏) and Lesser Yuezhi (Xiǎo Yuèzhī 小月氏). This would start a complex domino effect that would radiate in all directions and, in the process, set the course of history for much of Asia for centuries to come.[12] The Greater Yuezhi initially migrated northwest into the Ili Valley (on the modern borders of China and Kazakhstan), where they reportedly displaced elements of the Sakas. They were driven from the Ili Valley by the Wusun and migrated southward to Sogdia and later settled in Bactria. The Greater Yuezhi have consequently often been identified with peoples mentioned in classical European sources as having overrun the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, like the Tókharioi"
***

"One of the most exciting discoveries that Zhang Qian brought back was that of a people he called Dayuan. These people had horses which were far larger and more powerful than those in China. These horses, Zhang Qian told his emperor, could be used to create cavalry units so powerful that they would be able to defeat the marauding Xiongnu."

"Dayuan" sounds far too much like Dayaavaan to be accidental, and it might be the epithet for Indian was taken for name by the Chinese visitor.

" ... For the first time, the Han became aware that there were advanced civilizations far to the west with whom it might be possible to establish trade for desirable commodities such as large horses if safe routes could be created. This desire on the part of the Han dynasty to establish trade with cultures far to the west marks the true beginning of the project which would become the mighty Silk Road."
****

"“The map of the world is drawn by travelers and nomads.”

"—Jasna Horvat"
***

"Alexander created new cities wherever he went. Often, he used retired or wounded members of his army to become the first occupants of these cities. In 329 BCE, he founded the city of Alexandria Eschate (literally, “Alexandria the Furthest”) in present-day Tajikistan. In 323 BCE, Alexander died in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II, in the city of Babylon at the age of just 32. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential people in human history. After his death, his empire disintegrated in the chaos of infighting about his successor. Still, many of the cities he had founded continued long after his demise.

"By 200 BCE, Alexandria Eschate had become part of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, the easternmost part of the Hellenistic world. Centered in the north of present-day Afghanistan, this kingdom was regarded as one of the most affluent in Central Asia. The king of Bactria was said to rule over 1,000 cities, and the kingdom became a hub for trade. It is believed by some historians (though disputed by others) that people from the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom may have traveled east in search of new trading opportunities and may even have reached China. The Greek historian Strabo wrote that this kingdom “extended their empire even as far as the Seres.” Some historians contend that Seres is the Greek name for China, though this has never been conclusively established."

Surely the trade and the trade route across Central Asia was far more ancient that a mere two millennia?
***

"It has even been claimed that some artwork from the Qin dynasty shows Greek influence. The famous Terracotta Army, created for the mausoleum of the first Qin emperor, Qin Shi Huang, is said by some to show indications of Greek abilities in sculpture, indicating that artisans from the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom may have reached China as early as 210 BCE, though this is not widely accepted.

"What we can be certain about is that in around 136 BCE, Zhang Qian, imperial envoy of the Han emperor, arrived in the Fergana Valley and the city of Alexandria Eschate. The name he gave to this kingdom, Dayuan, seems to have been an attempt to render the name into Chinese—da means “great” and yuan appears to be an attempt to phonetically render the difficult word “Ionians” into Chinese.

"Although we cannot be certain that Greek traders and artisans had already reached China by that time, it is certain that the markets of Alexandria Eschate already contained Chinese items. One of the reports from Zhang Qian to the emperor notes: “I saw bamboo canes from Qiong and cloth made in the province of Shu (areas of southwestern China). When I asked the people how they had got such articles, they replied, ‘Our merchants go buy them in the markets of Shendu (India).’”

Obviously Shendu is Sindhu.

Strangely enough, while West identified India and named the land after the river Sindhu, because that was then the only route to the land from West, south so they named it India after the river, so did China, which had other routes into India!

"A relatively short time after Zhang Qian arrived in Alexandria Eschate, the first traders from the Fergana Valley began to make the long trek to the Han capital, Chang’an. It is believed that by around 130 BCE, the first routes between China and the west had been established, and this is generally taken to mark the beginning of the Silk Road."
***

" ... There was no one route or road—the early traders used whatever tracks were available to make the most direct journey from the Fergana Valley to China. However, the potential for trade between east and west faced early problems.

"The envoys from the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom were the furthest western culture who had ever visited China, and many seemed unable or unwilling to comprehend and follow the complex rituals that were expected of visitors to the Han court. These westerners quickly earned a reputation for arrogance, though their presence and behavior were tolerated because they brought with them the valuable horses which had become known as “Heavenly Horses.”

"Traders and envoys from the Han court to the west also complained that they were not treated well, especially in comparison to visitors to the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom from the Xiongnu. The early Chinese historian Sima Qian wrote that while envoys from the Xiongnu were provided with supplies and horses, the Dayuan believed that “the Han armies were too far away to worry about, refused to supply the envoys with food and provisions, making things very difficult for them. The Han envoys were soon reduced to a state of destitution and distress and, their tempers mounting, fell to quarrelling and even attacking each other.”
***

"This lack of respect angered the Han emperor, but as long as the supply of Heavenly Horses continued, he seemed willing to overlook the rudeness of the Dayuan. It was clear that the people of the Fergana Valley felt safe simply because they were so distant from the military power of China. In the Shiji, the history of the Han Empire published in 94 BCE and also called the Records of the Grand Historian, it was noted that the people of the west thought that “the Han embassies that have come to us are made up of only a few hundred men, and yet they are always short of food and over half the men die on the journey. Under such circumstances how could the Han possibly send a large army against us? What have we to worry about? Furthermore, the horses of Ershi are one of the most valuable treasures of the state!”

"The sheer number of horses moving east eventually became a concern to the Greco-Bactrians and, in around 104 BCE, they decided that it would be unwise to export any more. The reaction of Emperor ....

[Pete · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative book !

This book has expanded my knowledge about the early trading between many peoples of the middle and far East. I now have a better understanding of the Silk Road!

[Claire Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a terrific introduction to a subject I've wanted to know more of.
Huge academic volumes tend to put me off. This is less than fifty-pages, and although concise it does give a real understanding of these trade routes and how they developed.
For anyone tempted, I would recommend this.

[Jerry Jares · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silk was the most coveted product (90% of the trade between China and Rome) imported by the Romans by 50 BCE.  Egyptians and Greeks also coveted rare silk fabrics.  The Silk Road was the scene of much trading.  The items moving west were gunpowder, silks, spices, paper, tea, medicines, porcelain, and ivory.  The Chinese wanted horses, slaves, glassware, woolen items, dogs, weapons, grapes, and grapevines.

Byzantium Emperor Justinian wasn't willing to continue to pay the high price for silks and he sent 2 monks to China to find out how to duplicate the process.  He was successful and the Byzantium kingdom kept the process secret and it became a valuable product for 1000 years.

The Silk Road was never one road but was an interconnected web of trails.  The whole trip was over 5000 miles, including traveling over 1000 miles of desert.  Traders tended to take their goods over a portion of the trail to another trading center, sell their goods, and another trader takes it further along the route to another center.   By the 10th century, the Silk Road was the most important thoroughfare in the world.

This intermingling of different peoples and tribes caused a cross-pollination of religions, philosophies, and cultures.  Marco Polo is discussed in this book.  An interesting tidbit was about Christopher Columbus.  In his travels to the New World, he had a well-marked volume of Marco Polo's wildly popular book.

What finally killed the Silk Road (or made it less cost-effective) were the advances in maritime construction and navigation.   Another factor was the Qing Dynasty's decision to make China more isolationist.  As land travel became more costly and dangerous, maritime travel and trade took its place.  This is an interesting, and concise, overview of the most important avenue of trade between the East, the Middle East, and Europe before modern times.

[William O. Robertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An informative hour read. So few today appreciate the impact the Silk Road had on the advancement of civilization. I liked how the writers described the Persian Royal Road, which eventually led to the Silk Road, evolved into routes to become the first true “Superhighways” for the exchange of ideas and commodities linking East and West. The essay does a good job explaining the growth and later decline of the Silk Road, the decline being political and religious discord among the cultures along the trade routes. The ultimate demise of the importance of the Silk Road was the advancement of maritime transportation allowing for faster and for far greater commodity exchange of goods between East and West.

[Erwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Resurfacing of the Silk Road

Hourly History as usual provides the reader with the barest facts regarding the history of the Silk Road. If the reader’s curiosity is generally aroused he or she will find another more elaborate tome to satisfy that aroused curiosity. Or perhaps not, for if the curiosity aroused is only superficial then further reading is not required. I am happy to state that I shall find another to fill the cracks created by this Hour of History in The Silk Road.

[Dian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great overview

First off, this wasn't the book I thought it was, but it was still an interesting overview of the history of the Silk Road and it's importance in history. True to the name of the series this took me about an hour to read. My only real criticism is that I would have really liked a map the area covered and maybe a bibliography so I could learn more. The writing style was enjoyable but a few chapters would have benefited from some editing. Overall I would recommend this book to anyone looking to dip their toes in some history.

[Mark Lawry · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first saw this gift in my Audible account I was about to feel bad because I believed for a second it was Frankopan's The Silk Roads. Nope, and well worth a different perspective. Frankopan's was far larger and really about global trade, more than just concentrating on The Silk Roads. This was far shorter and stayed on topic, learned a lot. I did not know this set of roads were named 100s of years after being abandoned, by the uncle of the Red Baron. Ferdinand von Richthofen is said to have given them the name "Seidenstraßen" (silk road.)

[Steve Martinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and concise history of the Silk Road. Being a stamp collector, what most interested me in this history, was the fact that the Silk Road is believed to have been the first example of mail service in the world! Had not known this! Quite interesting also, about how not just trade goods were exchanged, but ideas about agriculture, architecture and religion, making this the first rue "Information Highway".

[Hari Kiran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative, interesting and a quick read about the ancient reading route and relevant history. Loved the way how the author started with ancient Chinese civilizations before jumping into the the need for a trading route towards the West and how he beautifully turned the attention to the specifics of the route. Great narrative and included many details. To know more about this silk road, planning to read the"The travels of Marco Polo" now

[Leon Olivier, Jr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great history without getting lost in the minute details

I love the short and complete histories provided by this series of books. It provides the big picture without losing the reader with every name and date in a giant tome.

[Ashwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

East meets the west through the Silk road.

Very interesting ebook about the Silk road by hourly history. They provide you with such good historical knowledge about the past. Silk road was a very important route during the common Era between China and the West .

[Luis Lopez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love it

Nice 👌
Easy to read.
It helps me understand the historical commercial relations of China with Occident. The appearance of diseases in the world and the persecution of Muslims in China.
Perfect for this time of social distancing!!

[M L Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent

A concise narrative that describes the history, or more exactly the development of a key international trade route that became known as The Silk Route, an enjoyable short history. Would have been a 5 if there was a map as well.

[Alicia Daniela Mangone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente explicación del surgimiento hasta el ocaso de esta ruta.

Es un libro excelente para los interesados en el tema. Es breve pero aún así da panorama completo de los eventos que llevaron al surgimiento, cumbre y decaimiento de está ruta.

[Mark Muramoto · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Important Snapshot of History

This summary of the Silk Road is an important part in the study of Western and Eastern culture. People studying history should read this to get a quick glimpse into the beginnings of the most important trading route in human history.

[Mark elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good material here

Just as the time of the railroad, liners crossing the Atlantic, driving cross country came and went, we would not be who we are now if it wasn't for the Silk Road
Good book

[Daniel Patitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Short History

A good overview lending to the contribution the Silk Road made to mankind. The cultural and technical exchange between east and west was significant to all the cultures involved.

[Jessica Carroll · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and simple

Very brief, but great read! Will try more books in this vein. I wish there was a better way to break down the timeline for envisioning, but it’s just a complex history.

[Peter Horsfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick and informative

Covers the entire span of the Silk Road, before it was even established and touches on the 20th century. Very high level but if you don’t know much about the topic (like me!), then start here.

[Charles Gebhardt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short History of a Long Road

This is an interesting history of the Silk Road. It doesn’t go into great detail but enough detail to make the reader leader to want to learn more. it is well written.

[Neera Kapahi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Silk Road evokes images of adventure, mystery, travel to exotic lands and has always held a fascination for me.

I really enjoyed reading about its history, the goods traded and also the exchange of philosophies, discoveries, arts and ideas.

[Don Glass · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing summary

A well written summary of some key aspects and characters that formed the trading routes that bear the name of the silk road

A useful springboard from which to read more detail on points of interest along the road and down three thousand years of history

[Gerry O'Brien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here is a roadmap of the Silk Road

The title is tongue in cheek. Whereas this book does describe the paths of what has become euphemistically called a The Silk Road, it additionally relates the significance of it to Western cultures and Eastern cultures. Good job.

[Corissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and easy to understand.

[Anjalica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed it and its and awesome read. Lots of information.

[Andrew Adamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview.

Well written summary. Tells a history of the Silk Road for people interested in the topic. Worth a speedy read.

[Kim Stock · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good overview of the history behind the Silk Road. It would be good for my middle school students to read/listen to!