Status Updates From راه‌های ابریشم: تاریخ جهان ...

The deflation of the Mongols, the Black Death, and Timur... now the stage is set for the discovery of the New World. I'd like to look up if anything from Timur's reign remains, it sounds like the architecture would be insane to see. I also like how the author is able to, quite practically, explain the way northwest Europe was able to gain more prominence following the plague. Also... the Ottoman Empire begins...

If you aren't a history buff, this probably won't be the book that makes you one. It is, however, a fascinating overview of world events focusing on the East and the relationship of the West to the East. As someone who had a lot of names and facts rattling around inside my head, I appreciate that this book helps put these things into a meaningful narrative. Recommend to those looking to connect West with East.

The Mongols have invaded Central Asia! I didn't know that there were steppe nomads in Egypt that actually clashed with the Mongols as they made their way West towards the Mediterranean. It is also interesting, as the author points out, how history remembers the Mongols. Apparently they did appreciate the arts and "higher society" in the bigger cities captured. Not all barbarism all the time, I guess.

Great play-by-play of the Crusades and excellent segue to the Mongols. I truly did not know so much of this history and I'm embarrassed to admit it. Also, how curious is it that the Levant has, since the Crusades, been a powerful location for commerce? Yet its conquering is, every time, hand-waved as religious in nature. Seems like a strategic position that the modern West may like to secure any way they can.