Constructing Ancient Central Asia’s Economic History

Bibliographic Data

ID20084049
AuthorsLauren Morris (0000-0003-4104-247X, corresponding author)
Year2019
Pages669-692
Publication date2019-12-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeCHAPTER
VenueHandbook of Ancient Afro-Eurasian Economies (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherDe Gruyter (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1515/9783110607741-025
OpenAlexW3129802073
ISBN9783110607741
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited13

I IntroductionIn the global history of the ancient world, conceptions of Central Asia are entangled with ideas about long-distance transit trade.This is particularly true in respect to the Kushans and their pre-imperial predecessors, the Yuezhi. 1 Two excerpts from recent contributions make this clear.The first derives from Benjamin's treatment of the development of the Silk Roads from 100 -250 , framed through the contributions of empires of Eurasia during this period:Along with bales of Chinese silk, [the items in the Begram hoard] are examples of the sort of high-value trade goods that were passing back and forth along the Silk Roads during the height of their operation, through major commercial nodes such as Begram and the Kushan Empire.Although we lack many of the details about how that trade was actually conducted, its astonishing diversity and value, along with the critical role the Kushans played in it, is indisputable ... Despite the fact that the Kushans constructed an essentially land-based empire, at least two of the major trade routes that passed through their territory headed toward ports along the west coast of South Asia, some of which probably came under their direct control during the Great Kushans period. 2

Ancient history · Central asia · Geography · Ancient Near East History · Eurasian Exchange Networks · History

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