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基本説明
New in paperback. Hardcover was published in 2009. The first complete history of Central Eurasia from ancient times to the present day, Empires of the Silk Road represents a fundamental rethinking of the origins, history, and significance of this major world region.
Full Description
The first complete history of Central Eurasia from ancient times to the present day, "Empires of the Silk Road" represents a fundamental rethinking of the origins, history, and significance of this major world region. Christopher 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. In addition, he explains why the heartland of Central Eurasia led the world economically, scientifically, and artistically for many centuries despite invasions by Persians, Greeks, Arabs, Chinese, and others. In retelling the story of the Old World from the perspective of Central Eurasia, Beckwith provides a new understanding of the internal and external dynamics of the Central Eurasian states and shows how their people repeatedly revolutionized Eurasian civilization.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. "Empires of the Silk Road" places Central Eurasia within a world historical framework and demonstrates why the region is central to understanding the history of civilization.
Contents
PREFACE vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xv ABBREVIATIONS AND SIGLA xvii INTRODUCTION xix PROLOGUE: The Hero and His Friends 1 CHAPTER 1: The Chariot Warriors 29 CHAPTER 2: The Royal Scythians 58 CHAPTER 3: Between Roman and Chinese Legions 78 CHAPTER 4: The Age of Attila the Hun 93 CHAPTER 5: The Turk Empire 112 CHAPTER 6: The Silk Road, Revolution, and Collapse 140 CHAPTER 7: The Vikings and Cathay 163 CHAPTER 8: Chinggis Khan and the Mongol Conquests 183 CHAPTER 9: Central Eurasians Ride to a European Sea 204 CHAPTER 10: Th e Road Is Closed 232 CHAPTER 11: Eurasia without a Center 263 CHAPTER 12: Central Eurasia Reborn 302 EPILOGUE: The Barbarians 320 APPENDIX A: The Proto- Indo- Europeans and Their Diaspora 363 APPENDIX B: Ancient Central Eurasian Ethnonyms 375 ENDNOTES 385 BIBLIOGRAPHY 427 INDEX 457
