The overland 'Great Silk Road'
Myths and realities
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20083773 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Anatoly M Khazanov (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Pages | 122-167 |
| Publication date | 2021-11-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | CHAPTER |
| Venue | Caravans in Global Perspective (SOURCE_BOOK) |
| Publisher | Routledge (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.4324/9781003229810-8 |
| OpenAlex | W3210000886 |
| ISBN | 9781003229810 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
The author maintains that the so-called 'Great Silk Road' never actually existed: it was not a single and multiregional trading route that stretched from China to Europe. Instead, in ancient and medieval times there was a multitude of multidirectional trading networks that depended not only on local physical conditions but also on often-changing political situations. The networks were flexible and shifting, and only sometimes were they partly interconnected, consisting of a series of regional and interregional itineraries. While the trade in silk is implied in the name 'Great Silk Road', silk was rarely the most important luxury merchandise disseminated along those itineraries. However, the itineraries were important in many other respects: people, religions, languages, scientific and medical knowledge, inventions, innovations, new technologies, cultural transmissions, artistic styles, and fashions, as well as chemicals, minerals, metals, cultivated plants, weaponry and military arts, paper, cuisine, and musical instruments counted among these significant items and ideas. On the negative side, epidemic diseases and epizootics were disseminated along those itineraries across Eurasia. All of these greatly contributed to the economic, technological, and cultural development of Eurasia and Africa
Archaeology · Art · China · Economic geography · Economics · Economy · Geography · Multitude · Mythology · Political science · Politics · SILK · Telecommunications · The arts · Visual arts · China's Global Influence and Migration · Chinese history and philosophy · Engineering · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · History · Law
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,67 |
| Citation span | 2023 - 2025 (3) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |