The Silk Road in the Medieval World

Catalog description

Historical examination of the "Silk Road," the collection of trade routes across Eurasia that connected "East" and "West," as a pre-modern form of globalization. Focus is on the heyday of the Silk Road in the medieval period, ca. 350 - 1450 CE, and its roots in the Han and Roman Empires of classical antiquity up to its transformation in the early modern sea routes and colonization of the Americas. Topics include trade and the production of silk and porcelain, the transmission of religions and technologies, travel and travelogues, foodways, and trans-national empires of medieval China and medieval Europe.