Empires of the Silk Road (Revised and Updated)

A revised and updated new edition of the groundbreaking history of Central EurasiaA complete history of Central Eurasia from ancient times to the present day, Empires of the Silk Road presents a fundamental rethinking of the origins, history, and significance of this major world region. In this new edition, which draws on the most recent evidence, Christopher I. Beckwith describes the rise and fall of the great Central Eurasian empires, including those of the Scythians, Attila the Hun, the Turks and Tibetans, and Genghis Khan and the Mongols. He explains why Central Eurasia led the world economically, scientifically, and artistically for many centuries despite invasions by Persians, Greeks, Arabs, Chinese, and others.Beckwith recounts the Indo-Europeans' migration out of Central Eurasia, their mixture with local peoples, and the resulting development of the Graeco-Roman, Persian, Indian, and Chinese civilizations; he details the basis for the thriving economy of premodern Central Eurasia, the economy's disintegration following the region's partition by the Chinese and Russians in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and the damaging of Central Eurasian culture by Modernism; and he discusses the significance for world history of the partial reemergence of Central Eurasian nations after the collapse of the Soviet Union.Placing the region within the framework of world history, Beckwith provides a new understanding of Central Eurasian states and shows how their people revolutionized Eurasian civilization.