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Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 April 2018

Craig Benjamin
Affiliation:
Grand Valley State University, Michigan
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Summary

This Introduction begins by considering the nineteenth-century origins of the term ‘Silk Roads’ (die Seidenstrassen), and whether the term is of continuing relevance for historians today. It also discusses various conceptual lenses that help make sense of the importance of the Silk Roads, including those of big history, world-systems theory, and globalization theory. It concludes by describing the intention of the nine chapters that follow, which is to explore the environmental, ecological, political, economic and cultural conditions that made Silk Roads exchanges possible.
Type
Chapter
Information
Empires of Ancient Eurasia
The First Silk Roads Era, 100 BCE – 250 CE
, pp. 1 - 15
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2018

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References

Selected Further Reading

Benjamin, C., “Collective Learning and the Silk Roads,” in Grinin, L. and Korotayev, A., eds., Evolution 2015: From Big Bang to Nanorobots. Volgograd, Russia: Uchitel, 2015, pp. 101111.Google Scholar
Christian, D., “Silk Roads or Steppe Roads? The Silk Roads in World History,” Journal of World History 11, No. 1 (2000).Google Scholar
Christian, D., Brown, C. and Benjamin, C., Big History: Between Nothing and Everything. New York: McGraw Hill, 2014.Google Scholar
Frank, A. G. and Gills, D. K., eds., The World System: Five Hundred Years or Five Thousand? New York: Routledge, 1992.Google Scholar
Jennings, J., Globalizations and the Ancient World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011.Google Scholar
McNeill, J. and McNeill, W., The Human Web: A Bird’s-Eye View of World History. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2003.Google Scholar
Rezakhani, K., “The Road That Never Was: The Silk Road and Trans-Eurasian Exchange,” Project Muse 30, No. 3. (2010), pp. 420ff.Google Scholar
Waugh, D., “Richthofen’s ‘Silk Roads’: Towards the Archaeology of a Concept.” The Silk Road 5, No. 1 (Summer 2007), pp. 1ff.Google Scholar

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  • Introduction
  • Craig Benjamin, Grand Valley State University, Michigan
  • Book: Empires of Ancient Eurasia
  • Online publication: 20 April 2018
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316335567.001
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  • Introduction
  • Craig Benjamin, Grand Valley State University, Michigan
  • Book: Empires of Ancient Eurasia
  • Online publication: 20 April 2018
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316335567.001
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Introduction
  • Craig Benjamin, Grand Valley State University, Michigan
  • Book: Empires of Ancient Eurasia
  • Online publication: 20 April 2018
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316335567.001
Available formats
×