Silk Road and Montesquieu: Difference between pages

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[[Image:Charles Montesquieu.jpg|thumb|right|Montesquieu in 1728.]]

{{For|the modern road ''Karakoram Highway''|Karakoram Highway}}

'''Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu''' ([[January 18]], [[1689]] in Bordeaux – [[February 10]], [[1755]]), more commonly known as '''Montesquieu''', was a [[France|French]] social commentator and political thinker who lived during the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]]. He is famous for his articulation of the theory of [[separation of powers]], taken for granted in modern discussions of [[government]] and implemented in many [[constitution]]s throughout the world. He was largely responsible for the popularization of the terms [[feudalism]] and [[Byzantine Empire]].

The '''Silk Road''' ({{zh-tsp|t=絲綢之路|s=丝绸之路|p=sīchóu zhī lù}}; [[Persian language|Persian]] راه ابریشم; ''Râh-e Abrisham''; [[Turkish language|Turkish]]: ''İpekyolu''; [[Kyrgyz language|Kyrgyz]]: ''Жибек жолу'' (''Ğibek ğolu''); [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]]: ''Selyemút'') or '''Silk Route''' was an interconnected series of routes through [[Southern Asia]] traversed by [[Camel train|caravan]] and ocean vessel, and connecting [[Chang'an]] (today's [[Xi'an]]), [[China]], with [[Antioch]], [[Asia Minor]], as well as other points. It extends over 8,000 km (5,000 miles). Its influence carried over into [[Japan]] and [[Korea]].

[[Image:Transasia trade routes 1stC CE gr2.png|right|thumb|350px|The [[Silk]] Road in the 1st century. ]]

These exchanges were significant not only for the development and flowering of the great civilizations of [[China]], [[ancient Egypt]], [[Mesopotamia]], [[Persia]], [[India]] and [[Rome]] but also helped to lay the foundations of our modern world. ''Silk road'' is a translation from the [[German language|German]] ''Seidenstraße'', the term first used by [[Germany|German]] geographer [[Ferdinand von Richthofen]] during 1877.

== Biography ==

The continental Silk Road diverges into northern and southern routes as it extends from the commercial centers of [[North China and South China|North China]], the northern route passing through the [[Bulgar]]–[[Kypchak]] zone to [[Eastern Europe]] and the [[Crimean peninsula]], and from there across the [[Black Sea]], [[Marmara Sea]] and the [[Balkans]] to [[Venice]]; the southern route passing through [[Turkestan]]–[[Khorasan]] into [[Mesopotamia]] and [[Anatolia]], and then through [[Antioch]] in Southern Anatolia into the [[Mediterranean Sea]] or through the [[Levant]] into [[Egypt]] and [[North Africa]].

After having studied at the Catholic [[College of Juilly]], he married Jeanne de Latrigue, a Protestant who brought him a substantial dowry when he was 26. The next year, he inherited a fortune upon the death of his uncle, as well as the title Baron de [[Montesquieu]] and [[Président à Mortier]] in the [[Parlement]] of Bordeaux. By that time, England had declared itself a constitutional monarchy in the wake of its [[Glorious Revolution]] (1688–89), and had joined with [[Scotland]] in the [[Union of 1707]] to form the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]]. And in 1715 the long-reigning [[King Louis XIV|Sun King]], Louis XIV died and was succeeded by the weaker and more feeble Louis XV. These national transformations impacted Montesquieu greatly; he would later refer to them repeatedly in his work.

The last missing [[railroad]] link on the Silk Road was completed in [[1992]], when the international railway communication [[Almaty]]–[[Urumqi]] opened.

Soon afterwards he achieved literary success with the publication of his ''Lettres persanes'' (''[[Persian Letters]]'', 1721), a [[satire]] based on the imaginary correspondence of an [[Oriental]] visitor to [[Paris]], pointing out the absurdities of contemporary society. He next published ''Considérations sur les causes de la grandeur des Romains et de leur décadence'' (''[[Considerations on the Causes of the Grandeur and Decadence of the Romans]]'', 1734), considered by some scholars a transition from ''The Persian Letters'' to his master work. ''De l'Esprit des Lois'' (''[[The Spirit of the Laws]]'') was originally published anonymously in [[1748]] and quickly rose to a position of enormous influence. In France, it met with an unfriendly reception from both supporters and opponents of the regime. The Roman Catholic Church banned ''l'Esprit'' – along with many of Montesquieu's other works – in 1751 and included it on the papacy's notorious [[Index Librorum Prohibitorum|Index]]. But from the rest of Europe, especially Britain, it received the highest praise.

The Silk Road on the Sea extends from [[North China and South China|South China]], to present-day [[Philippines]], [[Brunei]], [[Siam]], [[Malacca]], [[Ceylon]], [[India]], [[Iran|Persia]], [[Egypt]], [[Italy]], [[Portugal]] and [[Sweden]]. On [[August 7]] [[2005]] it was reported that the [[Antiquity and Monument Office]] of [[Hong Kong]] was planning to propose the Silk Road on the Sea as a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]].

Montesquieu was also highly regarded in the British colonies in America as a champion of British liberty (though not of American independence). Political scientist Donald Lutz found that Montesquieu was the most frequently quoted authority on government and politics in colonial pre-revolutionary British America.<ref>"The Relative Influence of European Writers on Late Eighteenth-Century American Political Thought," ''American Political Science Review'' 78,1(March, 1984), 189-197.</ref> And following the American secession, Montesquieu remained a powerful influence on many of the [[United States|American]] Founders, most notably [[James Madison]] of [[Virginia]], the "Father of the Constitution." Montesquieu's philosophy that "government should be set up so that no man need be afraid of another" reminded Madison and others that a free and stable foundation for their new national government required the inclusion of a clearly defined and balanced separation of powers.

Besides composing additional works on society and politics, Montesquieu traveled for a number of years through [[Europe]] including [[Austria]] and [[Hungary]], spending a year in [[Italy]] and eighteen months in [[England]] before resettling in [[France]]. He was troubled by poor eyesight, and was completely blind by the time he died from a high fever in [[1755]]. He was buried in L'église [[Saint-Sulpice]] in Paris, France.

== Political views ==

Montesquieu's most radical work divided French society into three classes (or ''[[trias politica]]'', a term he coined): the monarchy, the aristocracy, and the commons. Montesquieu saw two types of governmental power existing: the sovereign and the administrative. The administrative powers were the [[legislative]], the [[executive (government)|executive]], and the [[judiciary]]. These should be separate from and dependent upon each other so that the influence of any one power would not be able to exceed that of the other two, either singly or in combination. This was radical because it completely eliminated the three ''Estates'' structure of the French Monarchy: the [[clergy]], the aristocracy, and the people at large represented by the [[Estates-General]], thereby erasing the last vestige of a [[feudalism|feudalistic]] structure.

Likewise, there were three main forms of government, each supported by a social "principle": [[monarchy|monarchies]] (free governments headed by a hereditary figure, e.g. king, queen, emperor), which rely on the [[Honour|principle of honor]]; [[republic]]s (free governments headed by popularly elected leaders), which rely on the [[Virtue|principle of virtue]]; and [[despot|despotisms]] (enslaved governments headed by [[dictator]]s), which rely on [[fear]]. The free governments are dependent on fragile constitutional arrangements. Montesquieu devotes four chapters of ''The Spirit of the Laws'' to a discussion of England, a contemporary free government, where liberty was sustained by a balance of powers. Montesquieu worried that in France the intermediate powers (i.e., the nobility) which moderated the power of the prince were being eroded.

==Origins==

{{Silk Road}}

===Cross-continental travel===

As water-borne [[shipping]] and [[domestication]] of efficient [[pack animal]]s both increased the capacity for [[prehistory|prehistoric]] peoples to carry heavier loads over greater distances, [[culture|cultural exchange]]s and [[trade]] developed rapidly. For example, [[shipping]] in [[predynastic Egypt]] was already established by the [[4th millennium BC]] along with [[domestication]] of the [[donkey]], with the [[dromedary]] possibly having been domesticated as well. Domestication of the [[Bactrian camel]] and use of the [[horse]] for [[transport]] then followed (see [[Domestication of the horse]]).

Like many of his generation, Montesquieu held a number of views that might today be judged controversial. While he endorsed the idea that a woman could head a government, he held that she could not be effective as the head of a family. He firmly accepted the role of a hereditary aristocracy and the value of [[primogeniture]]. His views have also been abused by modern [[Revisionism|revisionists]]; for instance, even though Montesquieu was ahead of his time as an ardent opponent of [[slavery]], he has been quoted out of context in attempts to show he supported it.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}

Just as waterways provide easy means of transport, broad stretches of grasslands — all the way from the shores of the [[Pacific]] to [[Africa]] and deep into the heart of [[Europe]] — provide fertile passage for grazing, plus water and fuel for [[Camel train|caravan]]s. These water and land routes allowed passage that avoided trespassing on agricultural lands, presenting ideal conditions for [[Camel train|caravan]]s, [[merchant]]s to travel immense distances without arousing the hostility of settled peoples.

One of his more exotic ideas, outlined in ''[[The Spirit of the Laws]]'' and hinted at in ''Persian Letters'', is the [meteorological] climate theory, which holds that [[climate]] may substantially influence the nature of man and his society. He goes so far as to assert that certain climates are superior to others, the temperate climate of France being ideal. His view is that people living in very warm countries are "too hot-tempered," while those in northern countries are "icy" or "stiff." The climate of middle Europe is therefore optimal. On this point, Montesquieu may well have been influenced by similar statements in ''[[Germania (book)|Germania]]'' by [[Tacitus]], one of Montesquieu's favorite authors.

===Ancient transport===

The ancient peoples of the [[Sahara]] had already imported domesticated animals from [[Asia]] between [[7500 BC|7500]] and [[4000 BC]]. Foreign [[Cultural artifact|artifact]]s dating to the [[5th millennium BC]] in the [[Badarian]] culture of [[Predynastic Egypt|Egypt]] indicate contact with distant [[Syria]] [http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/badari/trade.html]. By the beginning of the [[4th millennium BC]], [[ancient Egyptian]]s in [[Maadi]] were importing [[pottery]][http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/neolithic/maadi.html] as well as [[construction]] ideas from [[Canaan]] [http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/maadi.htm].

==Notes==

[[Lapis lazuli]] was being traded from its only known source in the ancient world — [[Badakshan]], in what is now northeastern [[Afghanistan]] — as far as [[Mesopotamia]] and [[Egypt]] by the second half of the [[4th millennium BC]]. By the [[third millennium BC]] [[lapis lazuli]] trade was extended to [[Harappa]] and [[Mohenjo-daro]] in the [[Indus Valley Civilization|Indus valley]].

<references/>

==Further reading==

Routes along the Persian [[Royal Road]] (constructed [[5th century BC]]) may have been in use as early as [[3500 BC]]. Between 1979 and 1985, charcoal samples found in the tombs of [[Nekhen]], which were dated to the [[Naqada]] I and II periods, were identified as [[cedar]] from [[Lebanon]] [http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/hierakonpolis.htm].

{{French literature (small)}}

* Pangle, Thomas, ''Montesquieu’s Philosophy of Liberalism'' (Chicago: 1989 rpt.; 1973).

* Person, James Jr., ed. “Montesquieu” (excerpts from chap. 8) in ''Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800'', (Gale Publishing: 1988), vol. 7, pp. 350-52.

* Shackleton, Robert. ''Montesquieu; a Critical Biography''. (Oxford: 1961).

* Schaub, Diana J. ''Erotic Liberalism: Women and Revolution in Montesquieu's'' 'Persian Letters'. (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 1995).

* Spurlin, Paul M. ''Montesquieu in America, 1760-1801'' (New York: Octagon Books, 1961).

== List of works ==

In 1994 excavators discovered an incised ceramic [[sherd|shard]] with the [[serekh]] sign of [[Narmer]], dating to circa [[3000 BC]]. Mineralogical studies reveal the shard to be a fragment of a wine jar exported from the [[Nile]] valley to [[Israel]] (see [[Narmer]]).

* ''Les causes de l'écho'' (''The Causes of an Echo'')

* ''Les glandes rénales'' (''The Renal Glands'')

* ''La cause de la pesanteur des corps'' (''The Cause of Gravity of Bodies'')

* ''La damnation éternelle des païens'' (''The Eternal Damnation of the Pagans'', 1711)

* ''Système des Idées'' (''System of Ideas'', 1716)

* ''[[Lettres persanes]]'' (''Persian Letters'', 1721)

* ''Le Temple de Gnide'' (''The Temple of Gnide'', a novel; 1724)

* ''Arsace et Isménie'' (''(The True History of) Arsace and Isménie'', a novel; 1730)

* ''Considérations sur les causes de la grandeur des Romains et de leur décadence'' (''Considerations on the Causes of the Grandeur and Decadence of the Romans'', 1734)

* ''[[De l'esprit des lois]]'' (''(On) The Spirit of the Laws'', 1748)

* ''La défense de «L'Esprit des lois»'' (''In Defence of "The Spirit of the Laws"'', 1748)

* ''Pensées suivies de Spicilège'' (''Thoughts after Spicilège'')

== See also ==

The ancient harbor constructed in [[Lothal]], [[India]], may be the oldest [[shipbuilding|sea-faring]] harbor known.

{{portalpar|Philosophy|Socrates.png}}

* [[Liberalism]]

* [[Contributions to liberal theory]]

* [[French Government]]

* [[Napoleon]]

== External links ==

===Egyptian maritime trade===

{{wikiquote}}

The [[Palermo stone]] mentions King [[Sneferu]] of the [[Fourth dynasty of Egypt|4th Dynasty]] sending ship to import high-quality [[cedar]] from [[Lebanon]] (see [[Sneferu]]). In one scene in the pyramid of Pharaoh [[Sahure]] of the [[Fifth dynasty of Egypt|Fifth Dynasty]], Egyptians are returning with huge [[cedar]] trees. Sahure's name is found stamped on a thin piece of gold on a [[Lebanon]] chair, and 5th dynasty [[cartouche]]s were found in Lebanon stone vessels. Other scenes in his temple depict [[Syria]]n bears. The [[Palermo stone]] also mentions expeditions to [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]] as well as to the [[diorite]] quarries northwest of [[Abu Simbel]].

{{wikisource author|Montesquieu}}

* [http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/search?author=Montesquieu&amode=words Free full-text works online]

* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10536a.htm Montesquieu] in The Catholic Encyclopedia.

* [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/montesquieu/ Montesquieu] in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

* [http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/philosophers/montesquieu.html Timeline of Montesquieu's Life]

<br clear=all>

The oldest known expedition to the [[Land of Punt]] was organized by Sahure, which apparently yielded a quantity of [[myrrh]], along with [[malachite]] and [[electrum]]. The [[Twelfth dynasty of Egypt|12th-Dynasty]] [[Pharaoh]] [[Senusret III]] had a [[Suez Canal|"Suez" canal]] constructed linking the [[Nile River]] with the [[Red Sea]] for direct trade with Punt. Around 1950 BC, in the reign of [[Mentuhotep III]], an officer named [[Hennu]] made one or more voyages to Punt. A very famous expedition was conducted by [[Nehsi]] for Queen [[Hatshepsut]] in the [[15th century BC]] to obtain [[myrrh]]; a report of that voyage survives on a [[relief]] in Hatshepsut's funerary temple at [[Deir el-Bahri]]. Several of her successors, including [[Thutmoses III]], also organized expeditions to Punt.

{{start box}}{{succession box|

title= [[List of members of the Académie française#Seat 2|Seat 2]]<br>[[Académie française]] | years=1728&ndash;1755 |

===Chinese and Central Asian contacts===

before= [[Louis de Sacy]] |

From the [[2nd millennium BC]] [[nephrite]] [[jade]] was being traded from [[mining|mines]] in the region of [[Yarkand]] and [[Khotan]] to [[China]]. Significantly, these mines were not very far from the [[lapis lazuli]] and [[spinel]] ("Balas Ruby") mines in [[Badakhshan]] and, although separated by the formidable [[Pamir Mountains]], routes across them were, apparently, in use from very early times.

after= [[Jean-Baptiste de Vivien de Châteaubrun]]

[[Image:ChineseJadePlaques.JPG|thumb|250px|Chinese [[jade]] and [[steatite]] plaques, in the [[Scythian]]-style animal art of the steppes. 4th-3rd century BC. [[British Museum]].]]

}}

The [[Tarim mummies]], Chinese mummies of non-Chinese, apparently western, individuals, have been found in the [[Tarim Basin]], such as in the area of [[Loulan]] located along the Silk Road 200 [[km]] east of Yingpan, dating to as early as [[1600 BC]] and suggesting very ancient contacts between East and West. It has been suggested that these mummified remains may have been of people related to the [[Tocharians]] whose [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European language]] remained in use in the [[Tarim Basin]] (modern day [[Xinjiang]]) of [[China]] until the [[8th century]].

Some remnants of what was probably Chinese [[silk]] have been found in [[Ancient Egypt]] from [[1070 BC]]. Though the originating source seems sufficiently reliable, silk unfortunately degrades very rapidly and we cannot double-check for accuracy whether it was actually cultivated silk (which would almost certainly have come from China) that was discovered or a type of "[[Silk#Wild Silks|wild silk]]," which might have come from the [[Mediterranean]] region or the [[Middle East]].

Following contacts of metropolitan China with nomadic western and northwestern border territories in the [[700s BC|8th century BC]], [[gold]] was introduced from [[Central Asia]], and Chinese [[jade]] carvers began to make imitation designs of the [[steppe]]s, adopting the [[Scythian]]-style animal art of the steppes (descriptions of animals locked in combat). This style is particularly reflected in the rectangular belt plaques made of [[gold]] and [[bronze]] with alternate versions in [[jade]] and [[steatite]].

===Persian Royal Road===

By the time of [[Herodotus]] (c. [[475 BC]]) the Persian [[Royal Road]] ran some 2,857 km from the city of [[Susa]] on the lower [[Tigris]] to the port of Smyrna (modern [[Izmir]] in [[Turkey]]) on the [[Aegean Sea]]. It was maintained and protected by the [[Achaemenid]] empire (c.700-330 BC) and had postal stations and relays at regular intervals. By having fresh horses and riders ready at each relay, royal couriers could carry messages the entire distance in 9 days, though normal travellers took about three months. This [[Royal Road]] linked into many other routes. Some of these, such as the routes to India and Central Asia, were also protected by the [[Achaemenids]], encouraging regular contact between India, Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean. There are accounts in [[Esther]] of dispatches being sent from Susa to provinces as far out as India and [[Cush]] during the reign of [[Xerxes]] (485-465 BC).

==Hellenistic conquests==

[[Image:EuthydemusI.jpg|right|thumb|left|200px|Coin depicting the [[Greco-Bactrian]] king [[Euthydemus]] (230–200 BC)]]

[[Image:UrumqiWarrior.jpg|thumb|150px|Probable Greek soldier in the [[Sampul tapestry]], woollen wall hanging, [[3rd century BC|3rd]]–[[2nd century BC]], Sampul, [[Urumqi]] [[Xinjiang]] Museum.]]

The first major step in opening the Silk Road between the East and the West came with the expansion of [[Alexander the Great]] deep into [[Central Asia]], as far as [[Ferghana]] at the borders of the modern-day [[Xinjiang]] region of [[China]], where he founded in [[329 BC]] a Greek settlement in the city of [[Alexandria Eschate]] "Alexandria The Furthest", [[Khujand]] (also called Khozdent or Khojent — formerly Leninabad), in the state of [[Tajikistan]].

When [[Alexander the Great]]’s successors, the [[Ptolemies]], took control of Egypt in [[323 BC]], they began to actively promote trade with [[Mesopotamia]], [[India]], and [[East Africa]] through their ports on the [[Red Sea]] coast, as well as overland. This was assisted by the active participation of a number of intermediaries, especially the [[Nabataean]]s and other [[Arab]]s. The [[Greeks]] were to remain in [[Central Asia]] for the next three centuries, first through the administration of the [[Seleucid Empire]], and then with the establishment of the [[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom]] in [[Bactria]]. They kept expanding eastward, especially during the reign of [[Euthydemus]] (230–200 BC), who extended his control to [[Sogdiana]], reaching and going beyond the city of [[Alexandria Eschate]]. There are indications that he may have led expeditions as far as [[Kashgar]] in [[Chinese Turkestan]], leading to the first known contacts between China and the West around [[200 BC]]. The Greek historian [[Strabo]] writes that ''“they extended their empire even as far as the [[Seres]] (China) and the Phryni”'' ([http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Strab.+11.11.1 Strabo XI.XI.I]).

==Chinese exploration of Central Asia==

{{main|Sino-Roman relations}}

===Zhang Qian (138–126 BC)===

[[Image:ZhangQianTravels.jpg|thumb|right|280px|'''Zhang Qian''' leaving emperor [[Han Wudi]], for his expedition to [[Central Asia]] from [[138 BC|138]] to [[126 BC]], [[Mogao Caves]] mural, [[Dunhuang]], 618–712.]]

The next step came around [[130 BC]], with the embassies of the [[Han Dynasty]] to Central Asia, following the reports of the ambassador [[Zhang Qian]] (who was originally sent to obtain an alliance with the [[Yuezhi]] against the [[Xiongnu]], in vain). The Chinese emperor [[Emperor Wu of Han China|Wudi]] became interested in developing commercial relationship with the sophisticated urban civilizations of Ferghana, Bactria and Parthia: “The Son of Heaven on hearing all this reasoned thus: [[Ferghana]] ([[Dayuan]]) and the possessions of [[Bactria]] ([[Ta-Hia]]) and [[Parthia]] ([[Anxi]]) are large countries, full of rare things, with a population living in fixed abodes and given to occupations somewhat identical with those of the Chinese people, but with weak armies, and placing great value on the rich produce of China” (''Hou Hanshu'', [[Later Han History]]).

[[Image:HanHorse.JPG|thumb|left|215px|A horse of the Late [[Han Dynasty]] (1st–2nd century)]]

The Chinese were also strongly attracted by the tall and powerful horses in the possession of the [[Dayuan]] (named “Heavenly horses”), which were of capital importance in fighting the nomadic Xiongnu. The Chinese subsequently sent numerous embassies, around ten every year, to these countries and as far as [[Seleucid]] Syria. “Thus more embassies were dispatched to Anxi [Parthia], Yancai [who later joined the [[Alans]] ], Lijian [Syria under the Seleucids], Tiaozhi [Chaldea], and Tianzhu [northwestern India]… As a rule, rather more than ten such missions went forward in the course of a year, and at the least five or six.” (''Hou Hanshu'', Later Han History). The Chinese campaigned in Central Asia on several occasion, and direct encounters between Han troops and Roman legionaries (probably captured or recruited as mercenaries by the Xiong Nu) are recorded, particularly in the 36 BC battle of [[Sogdiana]] (Joseph Needham, Sidney Shapiro). It has been suggested that the Chinese [[crossbow]] was transmitted to the Roman world on such occasions, although the Greek [[gastraphetes]] provides an alternative origin.

[[Image:Trade_in_silkroad.jpg|thumb|280px|Trade on the Silk Road ([[Dunhuang]], [[China]])]]

The Roman historian [[Florus]] also describes the visit of numerous envoys, included ''[[Seres]]'' (Chinese), to the first Roman Emperor [[Caesar Augustus|Augustus]], who reigned between [[27 BC]] and [[14]]:

: ''"Even the rest of the nations of the world which were not subject to the imperial sway were sensible of its grandeur, and looked with reverence to the Roman people, the great conqueror of nations. Thus even [[Scythians]] and [[Sarmatians]] sent envoys to seek the friendship of Rome. Nay, the [[Seres]] came likewise, and the [[India]]ns who dwelt beneath the vertical sun, bringing presents of precious stones and pearls and elephants, but thinking all of less moment than the vastness of the journey which they had undertaken, and which they said had occupied four years. In truth it needed but to look at their complexion to see that they were people of another world than ours."'' ("Cathay and the way thither", [[Henry Yule]]).

The "Silk Road" essentially came into being from the [[1st century BC]], following these efforts by China to consolidate a road to the Western world and India, both through direct settlements in the area of the [[Tarim Basin]] and diplomatic relations with the countries of the Dayuan, Parthians and Bactrians further west.

[[Image:BanChao.jpg|thumb|150px|right|Portrait of [[Ban Chao]] ([[32]]–[[102]]).]]

A maritime "Silk Route" opened up between Chinese-controlled [[Jiaozhi]] (centred in modern [[Vietnam]] [see map above], near [[Hanoi]]) probably by the [[1st century]]. It extended, via ports on the coasts of [[India]] and [[Sri Lanka]], all the way to [[Ancient Rome|Roman]]-controlled ports in [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]] and the [[Nabataean]] territories on the northeastern coast of the [[Red Sea]].

===Ban Chao (97–102)===

In 97 [[Ban Chao]] crossed the [[Tian Shan]] and [[Pamir Mountains]] with an army of 70,000 men in a campaign against the [[Xiongnu]]. He went as far west as the [[Caspian Sea]] and the [[Ukraine]], reaching the territory of [[Parthia]], where he reportedly also sent an envoy named [[Gan Ying]] to [[Daqin]] (i.e., [[Rome]]). Gan Ying detailed an account of the western countries; although he likely reached only the [[Black Sea]] before turning back.

The Chinese [[army]] made an alliance with the [[Parthia]]ns and established some [[fort]]s at a distance of a few days march from the Parthian capital [[Ctesiphon]], planning to hold the region for several years. In [[116]], the Roman Emperor [[Trajan]] advanced into Parthia to Ctesiphon and came within one day's march of the Chinese border garrisons, but no direct contacts are known.

==The Roman Empire and silk==

[[Image:Menade.JPG|thumb|left|200px|Menade in silk dress, [[Naples]] National Museum.]]

[[Image:Textile0001.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Sassanid]] silk twill textile of a [[Simurgh|Senmerv]] in a beaded surround, 6–7th c. A.D]]

Soon after the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] conquest of [[Egypt]] in [[30 BC]], regular communications and trade between [[India]], [[Southeast Asia]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[China]], the [[Middle East]], [[Africa]] and [[Europe]] blossomed on an unprecedented scale. Land and maritime routes were closely linked, and novel products, technologies and ideas began to spread across the continents of Europe, [[Asia]] and Africa. Intercontinental trade and communication became regular, organised, and protected by the 'Great Powers.' Intense [[Roman commerce|trade with the Roman Empire]] followed soon, confirmed by the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] craze for Chinese [[silk]] (supplied through the [[Parthians]]), even though the Romans thought silk was obtained from trees:

: ''“The [[Seres]] (Chinese), are famous for the woolen substance obtained from their forests; after a soaking in water they comb off the white down of the leaves… So manifold is the labour employed, and so distant is the region of the globe drawn upon, to enable the Roman maiden to flaunt transparent clothing in public”'' ([[Pliny the Elder]] ([[23]]–[[79]], The Natural History).

The [[Roman Senate|Senate]] issued, in vain, several edicts to prohibit the wearing of silk, on economic and moral grounds: the importation of Chinese silk caused a huge outflow of gold, and silk clothes were considered to be decadent and immoral:

: ''“I can see clothes of silk, if materials that do not hide the body, nor even one's decency, can be called clothes… Wretched flocks of maids labour so that the adulteress may be visible through her thin dress, so that her husband has no more acquaintance than any outsider or foreigner with his wife's body”'' ([[Seneca the Younger]] (''c.''[[3 BC]]–[[65]], Declamations Vol. I).

The ''[[Hou Hanshu]]'' records that the first Roman envoy arrived in China by this maritime route in 166, initiating a series of [[Roman embassies to China]].

==Central Asian commercial & cultural exchanges==

[[Image:StandingBuddha.JPG|thumb|120px|left|Standing [[Buddha]], [[Gandhara]], [[1st century]].]][[Image: BegramGladiator.JPG|thumb|right|170px|A [[Greco-Roman]] gladiator on a glass vessel, [[Begram]], 2nd century.]][[Image:Central Asian Buddhist Monks.jpeg|thumb|right|170px|Blue-eyed Central Asian Buddhist monk, with an East-Asian colleague, [[Tarim Basin]], China, 9th-10th century.]]

[[Image:Westerner_on_a_camel.jpg|thumb|right|170px|Westerner on a camel, [[Tang dynasty]], [[Shanghai Museum]].]]Notably, the [[Buddhist]] faith and the [[Greco-Buddhist]] culture started to travel eastward along the Silk Road, penetrating in China from around the [[100s BC|1st century BC]].

The [[Kushan]] empire, in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, was located at the center of these exchanges. They fostered multi-cultural interaction as indicated by their [[2nd century]] treasure hoards filled with products from the Greco-Roman world, China and India, such as in the [[Bagram|archeological site of Begram]].

The heyday of the Silk Road corresponds to that of the [[Byzantine Empire]] in its west end, [[Sassanid Empire]] Period to [[Il Khanate]] Period in the [[Nile]]-[[Oxus]] section and [[Three Kingdoms]] to [[Yuan Dynasty]] in the Sinitic zone in its east end. Trade between East and West also developed on the sea, between [[Alexandria]] in Egypt and [[Guangzhou]] in China, fostering the expansion of Roman trading posts in India. Historians also talk of a "Porcelain Route" or "Silk Route" across the [[Indian Ocean]]. The Silk Road represents an early phenomenon of political and cultural integration due to inter-regional trade. In its heyday, the Silk Road sustained an international culture that strung together groups as diverse as the [[Magyars]], [[Armenia]]ns, and [[China|Chinese]].<br clear=left>[[Image:ForeignMerchant.jpg|thumb|left|130px|A foreign merchant, [[7th century]], [[Tang Dynasty]].]]Under its strong integrating dynamics on the one hand and the impacts of change it transmitted on the other, tribal societies previously living in isolation along the Silk Road or pastoralists who were of barbarian cultural development were drawn to the riches and opportunities of the civilizations connected by the Silk Road, taking on the trades of marauders or mercenaries. Many barbarian tribes became skilled warriors able to conquer rich cities and fertile lands, and forge strong military empires.

The Silk Road gave rise to the clusters of military states of nomadic origins in North China, invited the [[Nestorian]], [[Manichaean]], [[Buddhist]], and later [[Islamic]] religions into [[Central Asia]] and China, created the influential [[Khazaria|Khazar Federation]] and at the end of its glory, brought about the largest continental empire ever: the [[Mongol Empire]], with its political centers strung along the Silk Road ([[Beijing]] in North China, [[Karakorum (palace)|Karakorum]] in central Mongolia, [[Sarmakhand]] in [[Transoxiana]], [[Tabriz]] in Northern Iran, [[Astrakhan]] in lower [[Volga]], [[Solkhat]] in [[Crimea]], [[Kazan]] in Central Russia, [[Erzurum]] in eastern [[Anatolia]]), realizing the political unification of zones previously loosely and intermittently connected by material and cultural goods.

The main traders were during Antiquity were the Indian and Bactrian Traders, then from the fifth to the eighth c. the Sogdian traders, then the Persian traders.

The Roman empire, and its demand for sophisticated Asian products, crumbled in the West around the 5th century. In Central Asia, [[Islam]] expanded from the 7th century onward, bringing a stop to Chinese westward expansion at the [[Battle of Talas]] in [[751]]. Further expansion of the Islamic Turks in Central Asia from the [[10th century]] finished disrupting trade in that part of the world, and Buddhism almost disappeared.

''See also: [[Silk Road transmission of Buddhism]]''

<br clear=left>

==Artistic transmission on the Silk Road==

[[Image:HanBuddhaDrawing.jpg|thumb|180px|left|First known Chinese Buddha statue, found in a late [[Han Dynasty]] burial in [[Sichuan]] province. Dated circa [[200]]. The hair, the moustache, the robe indicate heavy influence by [[Gandhara]]n styles.]]

:''Main article: [[Silk Road transmission of art]].''

Many artistic influences transited along the Silk Road, especially through the [[Central Asia]], where [[Hellenistic]], [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]], [[India]]n and [[China|Chinese]] influence were able to intermix. In particular [[Greco-Buddhist art]] represent one of the most vivid examples of this interaction.

====Buddhist deities====

The image of the [[Buddha]], originating during the [[1st century]] in northern [[India]] (areas of [[Gandhara]] and [[Mathura]]) was transmitted progressively through [[Central Asia]] and [[China]] until it reached [[Korea]] in the [[4th century]] and [[Japan]] in the [[6th century]]. However the transmission of many iconographical details are clear, such as the [[Hercules]] inspiration behind the [[Nio]] guardian deities in front of Japanese Buddhist temples, and also representations of the Buddha reminiscent of Greek art such as the Buddha in [[Kamakura]].

Another Buddhist deity, [[Shukongoshin]], is also an interesting case of transmission of the image of the famous Greek god [[Herakles]] to the Far-East along the Silk Road. [[Herakles]] was used in Greco-Buddhist art to represent [[Vajrapani]], the protector of the Buddha, and his representation was then used in China, Korea, and Japan to depict the protector gods of Buddhist temples.[[Image:WindGods.JPG|thumb|350px|Iconographical evolution of the Wind God. '''Left:''' Greek Wind God from [[Hadda]], 2nd century. '''Middle:''' Wind God from [[Kizil]], [[Tarim Basin]], 7th century. '''Right:''' Japanese Wind God [[Fujin]], 17th century.]]

====Wind god====

Various other artistic influences from the Silk Road can be found in Asia, one of the most striking being that of the Greek Wind God [[Boreas]], transiting through Central Asia and China to become the Japanese [[Shinto]] wind god [[Fujin]].

====Floral scroll pattern====

Finally the Greek artistic motif of the floral scroll was transmitted from the Hellenistic world to the area of the [[Tarim Basin]] around the [[2nd century]], as seen in [[Serindian art]] and wooden architectural remains. It then was adopted by China between the [[4th century|4th]] and [[6th century]] and displayed on tiles and ceramics; then it transmitted to Japan in the form of roof tile decorations of Japanese Buddhist temples circa [[7th century]], particularly in [[Nara, Nara|Nara]] temple building tiles, some of them exactly depicting [[vine]]s and [[grape]]s.

==Mongol era==

:''See main article, [[Mongol Empire#Silk Road|Mongol Empire: Silk Road]].''

[[Image:polo-khan.png|thumb|left|250px|[[Marco Polo]] at court of [[Kublai Khan]] c.[[1280]]]]

The Mongol expansion throughout the Asian continent from around [[1215]] to [[1360]] helped bring political stability and re-establish the Silk Road (vis-à-vis [[Karakorum (palace)|Karakorum]]). In the late 13th century, a [[Venice|Venetian]] explorer named [[Marco Polo]] became one of the first Europeans to travel the Silk Road to [[China]]. Westerners became more aware of the Far East when Polo documented his travels in ''[[Il Milione]]''. He was followed by numerous Christian missionnaries to the East, such as [[William of Rubruck]], [[Benedykt Polak]], [[Giovanni da Pian del Carpini]], [[Andrew of Longjumeau]], [[Odoric of Pordenone]], [[Giovanni de Marignolli]], [[Giovanni di Monte Corvino]], and other travellers such as [[Ibn Battuta]] or [[Niccolo Da Conti]]. Luxury goods were traded from one middleman to another, from China to the West, resulting in high prices for the trade goods.

===Technological transfer to the West===

[[Image:FraMauroMap.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Fra Mauro map]], [[Venice]], [[1459]].]][[Image:FraMauroShips.JPG|thumb|200px|[[China|Chinese]] [[junk (sailing)|junk]] and [[Atlantic]] and [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] [[ship]]s. Depicted in [[Fra Mauro map]], image above.]]

''Main article: [[Medieval technology]]''

Many technological innovations from the East seem to have filtered into Europe around that time. The period of the [[High Middle Ages]] in Europe saw major [[technology|technological]] advances, including the adoption through the Silk Road of [[printing]], [[gunpowder]], the [[astrolabe]], and the [[compass]].

Chinese maps such as the [[Kangnido]] and Islamic mapmaking seem to have influenced the emergence of the first practical world maps, such as those of [[De Virga world map|De Virga]] or [[Fra Mauro map|Fra Mauro]]. Ramusio, a contemporary, states that Fra Mauro's map is "an improved copy of the one brought from Cathay by Marco Polo".

Large Chinese [[junk (sailing)|junks]] were also observed by these travelers and may have provided impetus to develop larger ships in Europe.

: ''“The ships, called junks, that navigate these seas carry four masts or more, some of which can be raised or lowered, and have 40 to 60 cabins for the merchants and only one tiller.”'' (Text from the [[Fra Mauro map]], 09-P25)

: ''“A ship carries a complement of a thousand men, six hundred of whom are sailors and four hundred men-at-arms, including archers, men with shields and [[crossbow]]s, who throw [[naphtha]]… These vessels are built in the towns of Zaytun ''(a.k.a ''Zaitun'', today's [[Quanzhou]]; 刺桐)'' and Sin-Kalan. The vessel has four decks and contains rooms, cabins, and saloons for merchants; a cabin has chambers and a lavatory, and can be locked by its occupants.”'' ([[Ibn Battuta]]).

===Disintegration===

However, with the disintegration of the Mongol Empire also came discontinuation of the Silk Road's political, cultural and economic unity.

Turkmeni marching lords seized the western end of the Silk Road — the decaying [[Byzantine Empire]]. After the Mongol Empire, the great political powers along the Silk Road became economically and culturally separated. Accompanying the crystallization of regional states was the decline of nomad power, partly due to the devastation of the [[Black Death]] and partly due to the encroachment of sedentary civilizations equipped with [[gunpowder]].

The effect of [[gunpowder]] and early [[modernity]] on [[Europe]] was the integration of territorial states and increasing [[mercantilism]]; whereas on the Silk Road, gunpowder and early modernity had the opposite impact: the level of integration of the Mongol Empire could not be maintained, and trade declined (though partly due to an increase in European maritime exchanges).

The Silk Road stopped serving as a shipping route for silk around [[1400]].

==The great explorers: Europe reaching for Asia==

[[Image:Silk road.jpg|thumb|300px|The Great Silk Road, an ancient trade route between China and the Mediterranean.]]

The disappearance of the Silk Road following the end of the Mongols was one of the main factors that stimulated the Europeans to reach the prosperous Chinese empire through another route, especially by the sea. Tremendous profits were to be obtained for anyone who could achieve a direct trade connection with Asia.

When he went West in [[1492]], [[Christopher Columbus]] reportedly wished to create yet another Silk Route to China. It was allegedly one of the great disappointments of western nations to have found a continent "in-between" before recognizing the potential of a "New World."

In 1594 [[Willem Barents]] left [[Amsterdam]] with two ships to search for the Northeast passage north of Siberia, on to eastern Asia. He reached the west coast of Novaya Zemlya, and followed it northward, being finally forced to turn back when confronted with its northern extremity.

The wish to trade directly with China was also the main drive behind the expansion of the Portuguese beyond Africa after [[1480]], followed by the powers of the [[Netherlands]] and [[Great Britain]] from the 17th century. As late as the [[18th century]], China was usually still considered the most prosperous and sophisticated of any civilization on earth, however its per capita income was low relative to [[western Europe]] at that time. [[Gottfried Leibniz|Leibniz]], echoing the prevaling perception in Europe until the [[Industrial Revolution]], wrote in the 17th century: ''“Everything exquisite and admirable comes from the East Indies… Learned people have remarked that in the whole world there is no commerce comparable to that of China”'' (Leibniz).

In the 18th century, [[Adam Smith]], declared that China had been one of the most prosperous nations in the world, but that it had remained stagnant for a long time and its wages always were low and the lower classes were particularly poor <ref>''“The accounts of all travellers, inconsistent in many other respects, agree in the low wages of labour, and in the difficulty which a labourer finds in bringing up a family in China. If by digging the ground a whole day he can get what will purchase a small quantity of rice in the evening, he is contented. The condition of artificers is, if possible, still worse. Instead of waiting indolently in their work-houses, for the calls of their customers, as in Europe, they are continually running about the streets with the tools of their respective trades, offering their service, and as it were begging employment. The poverty of the lower ranks of people in China far surpasses that of the most beggarly nations in Europe. In the neighbourhood of Canton many hundred, it is commonly said, many thousand families have no habitation on the land, but live constantly in little fishing boats upon the rivers and canals. The subsistence which they find there is so scanty that they are eager to fish up the nastiest garbage thrown overboard from any European ship. Any carrion, the carcase of a dead dog or cat, for example, though half putrid and stinking, is as welcome to them as the most wholesome food to the people of other countries. Marriage is encouraged in China, not by the profitableness of children, but by the liberty of destroying them. In all great towns several are every night exposed in the street, or drowned like puppies in the water. The performance of this horrid office is even said to be the avowed business by which some people earn their subsistence.”'' ([[Adam Smith]], [[The Wealth of Nations]], [[1776]]).</ref>:

: ''“China has been long one of the richest, that is, one of the most fertile, best cultivated, most industrious, and most populous countries in the world. It seems, however, to have been long stationary. Marco Polo, who visited it more than five hundred years ago, describes its cultivation, industry, and populousness, almost in the same terms in which they are described by travellers in the present times. It had perhaps, even long before his time, acquired that full complement of riches which the nature of its laws and institutions permits it to acquire.”'' ([[Adam Smith]], [[The Wealth of Nations]], [[1776]]).

In effect, the spirit of the Silk Road and the will to foster exchange between the East and West, and the lure of the huge profits attached to it, has affected much of the history of the world during these last three millennia.

==See also==

*List of [[cities along the Silk Road]].

*The detailed histories listed under [[Kashgar]], [[Khotan]], and [[Yarkand]].

*[[Radhanites]]

*[[Silk Road Project]]

*[[Incense Road]]

==External links==

{{commons|Silk Road|Silk Road}}

* [http://www.char4u.com/article_info.php?articles_id=45 Chinese Silk and The Chinese Silk Road]

* [http://www.cnto.org/silkroad.asp China National Tourist Office]

* [http://depts.washington.edu/uwch/silkroad/cities/map.html Cities Along the Silk Road (University of Washington)]

* [http://www.ess.uci.edu/~oliver/silk.html The history of the Silk Road by Oliver Wild]

* [http://www.allaboutturkey.com/silkroad.htm Introduction of the Silk Road from a Turkish tour guide]

* [http://idp.bl.uk/ International Dunhuang Project]

* [http://www.ciolek.com/owtrad.html Old World Traditional Trade Routes Project]

* [http://www.studyrussian.com/seidenstrasse/silkroad/index.htm Travel report incl. photos along the Silk Road]

* [http://www.silk-road.com/ Silkroad Foundation]

* [http://www.silkroadproject.org/ Silk Road Project]

* [http://www.silkroadchicago.org/ Silk Road Chicago]

* [http://www.playingpolo.org/ Playing Polo: Silk Road games from Athens to Beijing]

*[http://www.poetry-chinese.com/changsrmenu.htm Poems (with photos) of the Chinese Silk Road]

*[http://montgomery.cas.muohio.edu/silkroad Miami University Silk Road Project]

==Notes==

<references />

{{Template:Enlightenment}}

==References==

* Boulnois, Luce. 2004. '''''Silk Road:''' Monks, Warriors & Merchants on the Silk Road''. Translated by Helen Loveday with additional material by Bradley Mayhew and Angela Sheng. Airphoto International. ISBN 962-217-720-4 hardback, ISBN 962-217-721-2 softback.

* Bulliet, Richard W. 1975. ''The Camel and the Wheel''. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-09130-2.

* Casson, Lionel. 1989. The ''Periplus Maris Erythraei''. Text with Introduction, Translation, and Commentary. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-04060-5.

* [[Vadime Elisseeff|Elisseeff, Vadime]]. Editor. 1998. '''''The Silk Roads:''' Highways of Culture and Commerce''. UNESCO Publishing. Paris. Reprint: 2000. ISBN 92-3-103652-1 softback; ISBN 1-57181-221-0; ISBN 1-57181-222-9 softback.

* Foltz, Richard C. 1999. ''Religions of the Silk Road: Overland Trade and Cultural Exchange from Antiquity to the Fifteenth Century.'' New York: St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 0-312-21408-1.

* [[János Harmatta|Harmatta, János]], ed., 1994. ''History of civilizations of Central Asia, Volume II. The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizations: 700 B.C. to A.D. 250''. Paris, UNESCO Publishing.

* Edith Huyghe , François-Bernard Huyghe : "La route de la soie ou les empires du mirage", Petite bibliothèque Payot, 2006, ISBN 2-228-90073-7

* Choisnel, Emmanuel : ''Les Parthes et la route de la soie'' ; Paris [u.a.] , L' Harmattan [u.a.] , 2005 , ISBN 2-7475-7037-1

* Hill, John E. 2004. ''The Western Regions according to the Hou Hanshu.'' Draft annotated English translation.[http://depts.washington.edu/uwch/silkroad/texts/hhshu/hou_han_shu.html]

* Hill, John E. 2004. ''The Peoples of the West from the Weilue'' 魏略 ''by Yu Huan'' 魚豢'': A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between [[239]] and [[265]].'' Draft annotated English translation. [http://depts.washington.edu/uwch/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html]

* [[Peter Hopkirk|Hopkirk, Peter]]: ''The Great Game: the Struggle for Empire in Central Asia''; Kodansha International, New York, 1990, 1992.

* Hulsewé, A. F. P. and Loewe, M. A. N. 1979. ''China in Central Asia: The Early Stage [[125 BC]] – [[23]]: an annotated translation of chapters 61 and 96 of the History of the Former Han Dynasty''. E. J. Brill, Leiden.

* Juliano, Annettte, L. and Lerner, Judith A., et al. 2002. ''Monks and Merchants: Silk Road Treasures from Northwest China: Gansu and Ningxia, 4th-7th Century''. Harry N. Abrams Inc., with The Asia Society. ISBN 0-8109-3478-7; ISBN 0-87848-089-7 softback.

* Klimkeit, Hans-Joach, im. 1988. ''Die Seidenstrasse: Handelsweg and Kulturbruecke zwischen Morgen- and Abendland.'' Koeln: DuMont Buchverlag.

* Klimkeit, Hans-Joachim. 1993. '''''Gnosis on the Silk Road''': Gnostic Texts from Central Asia''. Trans. & presented by Hans-Joachim Klimkeit. HarperSanFrancisco. ISBN 0-06-064586-5.

* Knight, E. F. 1893. ''Where Three Empires Meet: A Narrative of Recent Travel in: Kashmir, Western Tibet, Gilgit, and the adjoining countries''. Longmans, Green, and Co., London. Reprint: Ch'eng Wen Publishing Company, Taipei. 1971.

* de La Vaissière, E., Sogdian Traders. A History, Leiden, Brill, 2005, Hardback ISBN 90-04-14252-5 [http://www.brill.nl], French version ISBN 2-85757-064-3 on [http://www.deboccard.com]

* de La Vaissière, E., Trombert, E., Les Sogdiens en Chine, Paris, EFEO, 2005 ISBN 2-85539-653-0 [http://www.efeo.fr/publications/vdp.shtml]

* [[Boris Anatol'evich Litvinsky|Litvinsky, B. A.]], ed., 1996. ''History of civilizations of Central Asia, Volume III. The crossroads of civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750''. Paris, UNESCO Publishing.

* Liu, Xinru, 2001. “Migration and Settlement of the Yuezhi-Kushan: Interaction and Interdependence of Nomadic and Sedentary Societies.” ''Journal of World History'', Volume 12, No. 2, Fall 2001. University of Hawaii Press, pp. 261–292. [http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/jwh/].

* McDonald, Angus. 1995. ''The Five Foot Road: In Search of a Vanished China''. HarperCollins''West'', San Francisco.

* Mallory, J. P. and Mair, Victor H., 2000. ''The Tarim Mummies: Ancient China and the Mystery of the Earliest Peoples from the West''. Thames & Hudson, London.

* Osborne, Milton, 1975. ''River Road to China: The Mekong River Expedition'', 1866–73. George Allen & Unwin Lt.

* Puri, B. N, 1987 ''Buddhism in Central Asia'', Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited, Delhi. (2000 reprint).

* Ray, Himanshu Prabha, 2003. ''The Archaeology of Seafaring in Ancient South Asia''. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-80455-8 (hardback); ISBN 0-521-01109-4 (paperback).

* Sarianidi, Victor, 1985. ''The Golden Hoard of Bactria: From the Tillya-tepe Excavations in Northern Afghanistan''. Harry N. Abrams, New York.

* [[Marc Aurel Stein|Stein, Aurel M]]. 1907. ''Ancient Khotan: Detailed report of archaeological explorations in Chinese Turkestan'', 2 vols. Clarendon Press. Oxford.[http://dsr.nii.ac.jp/toyobunko/]

* Stein, Aurel M., 1912. ''Ruins of Desert Cathay: Personal narrative of explorations in Central Asia and westernmost China'', 2 vols. Reprint: Delhi. Low Price Publications. 1990.

* Stein, Aurel M., 1921. ''Serindia: Detailed report of explorations in Central Asia and westernmost China'', 5 vols. London & Oxford. Clarendon Press. Reprint: Delhi. Motilal Banarsidass. 1980.[http://dsr.nii.ac.jp/toyobunko/]

* Stein Aurel M., 1928. ''Innermost Asia: Detailed report of explorations in Central Asia, Kan-su and Eastern Iran'', 5 vols. Clarendon Press. Reprint: New Delhi. Cosmo Publications. 1981.

* Stein Aurel M., 1932 ''On Ancient Central Asian Tracks: Brief Narrative of Three Expeditions in Innermost Asia and Northwestern China''. Reprinted with Introduction by Jeannette Mirsky. Book Faith India, Delhi. 1999.

* von Le Coq, Albert, 1928. Buried Treasures of Turkestan. Reprint with Introduction by Peter Hopkirk, Oxford University Press. 1985.

* Whitfield, Susan, 1999. ''Life Along the Silk Road.'' London: John Murray.

* Wimmel, Kenneth, 1996. ''The Alluring Target: In Search of the Secrets of Central Asia''. Trackless Sands Press, Palo Alto, CA. ISBN 1-879434-48-2

* Yan, Chen, 1986. “Earliest Silk Route: The Southwest Route.” Chen Yan. ''China Reconstructs'', Vol. XXXV, No. 10. Oct. 1986, pp. 59–62.

* Ming Pao. ''Hong Kong proposes Silk Road on the Sea as World Heritage'', [[August 7]] [[2005]], p. A2.

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