The Silk Roads: A New History of the World

Far more than a history of the Silk Roads, this book is truly a revelatory new history of the world, promising to destabilize notions of where we come from and where we are headed next. From the Middle East and its political instability to China and its economic rise, the vast region stretching eastward from the Balkans across the steppe and South Asia has been thrust into the global spotlight in recent years. Frankopan teaches us that to understand what is at stake for the cities and nations built on these intricate trade routes, we must first understand their astounding pasts.
 
Frankopan realigns our understanding of the world, pointing us eastward. It was on the Silk Roads that East and West first encountered each other through trade and conquest, leading to the spread of ideas, cultures and religions. From the rise and fall of empires to the spread of Buddhism and the advent of Christianity and Islam, right up to the great wars of the twentieth century—this book shows how the fate of the West has always been inextricably linked to the East.

Also available: The New Silk Roads, a timely exploration of the dramatic and profound changes our world is undergoing right now—as seen from the perspective of the rising powers of the East.

• The New Silk Roads: The New Asia and the Remaking of the World Order
• The First Crusade
• Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Explain Everything About the World (Politics of Place Book 1)
• Salt: A World History
• The Silk Road: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)
• The Silk Roads: A Brief History with Documents (Bedford Series in History and Culture)
• Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
• Empires of the Silk Road: A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the Present
• The Age of Walls: How Barriers Between Nations Are Changing Our World (Politics of Place Book 3)