tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44408745065356325372024-03-18T22:58:31.308+01:00MONGOLS CHINA AND THE SILK ROAD Archaeology and History of the Silk RoadHans van Roonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13577124666014224950noreply@blogger.comBlogger2584125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440874506535632537.post-26936931304024590372021-10-31T20:45:00.002+01:002021-10-31T20:45:59.886+01:00Gold of the Great Steppe at the Fitzwilliam Museum: Curator's preview<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="393" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cZPI5IshvOo" width="709" youtube-src-id="cZPI5IshvOo"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; caret-color: rgb(3, 3, 3); color: #030303; font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.20000000298023224px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rebecca Roberts introduces Gold of The Great Steppe, the first UK exhibition of recently excavated 2,700 year-old gold artefacts unearthed in remote burial mounds of East Kazakhstan. The Saka culture of Central Asia, flourishing from the 8th-3rd centuries BCE, was part of the Scythian world that dominated the Eurasian steppe zone from the Black Sea to Siberia. Located in the Altai mountain system, the Saka of East Kazakhstan were a vibrant society that occupied a landscape of open skies, rolling plains, winding rivers, creeping marshes, and soaring mountains.
Based on discoveries made during an ongoing programme of excavation by archaeologists in the East Kazakhstan region, many of the artefacts were unearthed during the pandemic. They represent the resilience and determination of Kazakhstani archaeologists to protect and document their heritage, which is under threat from looting and degradation due to climate change.
This exhibition is a partnership between the East Kazakhstan Regional Museum of Local History and the University of Cambridge. It will bring to the UK and display Kazakhstani archaeological finds and research from three different burial complexes in East Kazakhstan: Berel, Shilikti and Eleke Sazy.
The show places archaeological finds discovered in the last three years by Kazakh archaeologists on a western global stage for the first time, amplifying voices that often go unheard in UK museums.</span></p>Hans van Roonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13577124666014224950noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440874506535632537.post-57272619748433914052020-09-11T17:53:00.004+02:002020-09-11T17:53:53.882+02:00Rebuilding Anatolia after the Mongol Conquest<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijePcu3BQ5M-CmxYWHZ2X2DhthnderyFkKDfZ8EdEKroS6_2TFzq2SlCcldNJqVxfhAYxH1pIDwRfwNjaKv2ugcGW-anGEV5DMcTYYx5Nl6QGJG7nQ5aJ6R09TB8OLKWkUtlgtLOpCfl0/s499/61%252BgAJqvasL._SX351_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="353" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijePcu3BQ5M-CmxYWHZ2X2DhthnderyFkKDfZ8EdEKroS6_2TFzq2SlCcldNJqVxfhAYxH1pIDwRfwNjaKv2ugcGW-anGEV5DMcTYYx5Nl6QGJG7nQ5aJ6R09TB8OLKWkUtlgtLOpCfl0/s320/61%252BgAJqvasL._SX351_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><div class="celwidget" data-cel-widget="titleblock_feature_div" data-csa-c-id="n10pqk-uua0xs-917fk8-ddkzdi" data-feature-name="titleblock" id="titleblock_feature_div" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(15, 17, 17); color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><div class="a-section a-spacing-none" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px;"><h1 class="a-spacing-none a-text-normal" id="title" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 28px; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><span class="a-size-extra-large" id="productTitle" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 19px !important; line-height: 1.2 !important; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">Rebuilding Anatolia after the Mongol Conquest: Islamic Architecture in the Lands of Rum, 1240–1330 </span></h1><h1 class="a-spacing-none a-text-normal" id="title" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 28px; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><span class="a-size-extra-large" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 19px !important; line-height: 1.2 !important; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">(Birmingham Byzantine and Ottoman Studies) </span><span class="a-size-large a-color-secondary" id="productSubtitle" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(86, 89, 89) !important; font-size: 21px !important; line-height: 1.3 !important; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">Hardcover / Paperback/ Kindle</span></h1></div></div><div class="celwidget" data-cel-widget="bylineInfo_feature_div" data-csa-c-id="gmyqxm-d7uux9-p2i96o-cl5n4o" data-feature-name="bylineInfo" id="bylineInfo_feature_div" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(15, 17, 17); font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"><div class="a-section a-spacing-micro bylineHidden feature" data-cel-widget="bylineInfo" id="bylineInfo" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><br /></div><div class="a-section a-spacing-micro bylineHidden feature" data-cel-widget="bylineInfo" id="bylineInfo" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; margin-bottom: 0px;"><b>by </b><span class="author notFaded" data-width="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-declarative" data-a-popover="{"closeButtonLabel":"Close Author Dialogue Popver","name":"contributor-info-B00P2GSOBE","position":"triggerBottom","popoverLabel":"Author Dialogue Popover","allowLinkDefault":"true"}" data-action="a-popover" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="a-link-normal contributorNameID" data-asin="B00P2GSOBE" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Patricia-Blessing/e/B00P2GSOBE/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration: none;"><b>Patricia Blessing</b></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="a-section a-spacing-micro bylineHidden feature" data-cel-widget="bylineInfo" id="bylineInfo" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span class="author notFaded" data-width="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-declarative" data-a-popover="{"closeButtonLabel":"Close Author Dialogue Popver","name":"contributor-info-B00P2GSOBE","position":"triggerBottom","popoverLabel":"Author Dialogue Popover","allowLinkDefault":"true"}" data-action="a-popover" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="a-section a-spacing-micro bylineHidden feature" data-cel-widget="bylineInfo" id="bylineInfo" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span class="author notFaded" data-width="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-declarative" data-a-popover="{"closeButtonLabel":"Close Author Dialogue Popver","name":"contributor-info-B00P2GSOBE","position":"triggerBottom","popoverLabel":"Author Dialogue Popover","allowLinkDefault":"true"}" data-action="a-popover" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><ul class="a-unordered-list a-nostyle a-vertical a-spacing-none detail-bullet-list" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px 0px 1px 18px; padding: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700 !important;">Hardcover : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">272 pages</span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700 !important;">ISBN-10 : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">1472424069</span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700 !important;">ISBN-13 : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">978-1472424068</span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700 !important;">Product Dimensions : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">18.42 x 2.54 x 26.04 cm</span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700 !important;">Publisher : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Routledge </span></span></li></ul><div><span style="color: #111111; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;">This book is a study of Islamic architecture in Anatolia following the Mongol conquest in 1243. Complex shifts in rule, movements of population, and cultural transformations took place that affected architecture on multiple levels. Beginning with the Mongol conquest of Anatolia, and ending with the demise of the Ilkhanid Empire, centered in Iran, in the 1330s, this book considers how the integration of Anatolia into the Mongol world system transformed architecture and patronage in the region. Traditionally, this period has been studied within the larger narrative of a progression from Seljuk to Ottoman rule and architecture, in a historiography that privileges Turkish national identity. Once Anatolia is studied within the framework of the Mongol Empire, however, the region no longer appears as an isolated case; rather it is integrated into a broader context beyond the modern borders of Turkey, Iran, and the Caucasus republics. The monuments built during this period served a number of purposes: mosques were places of prayer and congregation, madrasas were used to teach Islamic law and theology, and caravanserais secured trade routes for merchants and travelers. This study analyzes architecture on multiple, overlapping levels, based on a detailed observation of the monuments. The layers of information extracted from the monuments themselves, from written sources in Arabic, Persian, and Turkish, and from historical photographs, shape an image of Islamic architecture in medieval Anatolia that reflects the complexities of this frontier region. New patrons emerged, craftsmen migrated between neighboring regions, and the use of locally available materials fostered the transformation of designs in ways that are closely tied to specific places. Starting from these sources, this book untangles the intertwined narratives of architecture, history, and religion to provide a broader understanding of frontier culture in the medieval Middle East, with its complex interaction of local, regional, and trans-regional identities.</span></div></span></span></div></div>Hans van Roonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13577124666014224950noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440874506535632537.post-7338600262411089282020-09-09T21:59:00.001+02:002020-09-09T22:16:36.805+02:00Islam, Literature and Society in Mongol Anatolia<p></p><h1 class="a-spacing-none a-text-normal" id="title" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: #111111; font-family: "amazon ember", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 28px; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><span class="a-size-extra-large" id="productTitle" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.2; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd1y-C0C6yN9jBGQZp4e_0tiXvyoKY7mCfx8neIAh-lcucff70WdA_ETHFAeMGE5f9Q8FrinBJizTSKzJIWbtsBtNRPWl4fB16M1u0pL6EOnv0TGjfSSmmJVq2VaoWQyhHJwvPLboXxYU/s1000/61MpJkD7ucL.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="667" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd1y-C0C6yN9jBGQZp4e_0tiXvyoKY7mCfx8neIAh-lcucff70WdA_ETHFAeMGE5f9Q8FrinBJizTSKzJIWbtsBtNRPWl4fB16M1u0pL6EOnv0TGjfSSmmJVq2VaoWQyhHJwvPLboXxYU/s320/61MpJkD7ucL.jpg" /></a></div><br />Islam, Literature and Society in Mongol Anatolia</span></h1><div><span class="a-size-extra-large" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.2; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="a-size-extra-large" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.2; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><b style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; font-family: "amazon ember", arial, sans-serif; text-decoration: none;">by <a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=A.+C.+S.+Peacock&text=A.+C.+S.+Peacock&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books-uk" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; font-family: "amazon ember", arial, sans-serif; text-decoration: none;">A. C. S. Peacock</a></b></span></div><div><span class="a-size-extra-large" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.2; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="a-size-extra-large" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.2; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><ul class="a-unordered-list a-nostyle a-vertical a-spacing-none detail-bullet-list" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: #111111; font-family: "amazon ember", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px 0px 1px 18px; padding: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-10 : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">1108713483</span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Paperback : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">323 pages</span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-13 : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">978-1108713481</span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Publisher : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Cambridge University Press (12 Nov. 2020)</span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Language: : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">English</span></span></li></ul><div><span face="Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #111111; font-size: x-small;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17);"><br /></span></span></div><div><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-size: medium;">From a Christian, Greek- and Armenian-speaking land to a predominantly Muslim and Turkish speaking one, the Islamisation of medieval Anatolia would lay the groundwork for the emergence of the Ottoman Empire as a world power and ultimately the modern Republic of Turkey. Bringing together previously unpublished sources in Arabic, Persian and Turkish, Peacock offers a new understanding of the crucial but neglected period in Anatolian history, that of Mongol domination, between c. 1240 and 1380. This represents a decisive phase in the process of Islamisation, with the popularisation of Sufism and the development of new forms of literature to spread Islam. This book integrates the study of Anatolia with that of the broader Islamic world, shedding new light on this crucial turning point in the history of the Middle East.</span></div></span></div>Hans van Roonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13577124666014224950noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440874506535632537.post-37960899748114865362020-09-09T21:14:00.000+02:002020-09-09T21:14:01.101+02:00The Great Mongol Shahnameh<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw55JATMtRn6z0YwfaCBClOBxTn2eTIqoIkOUcSZPs8xM-bLQ8Y4C2E1px_AdyWLQSy4v8s1mQf6fUpwmSWL1w6LMzWi7cY6g_pbAmRNH31Jcu1chhxKr1SL5BmXHSzPm0cfg_V2ZEXSQ/s500/51qfA7eQ5RL._SX400_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: none;"> </a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw55JATMtRn6z0YwfaCBClOBxTn2eTIqoIkOUcSZPs8xM-bLQ8Y4C2E1px_AdyWLQSy4v8s1mQf6fUpwmSWL1w6LMzWi7cY6g_pbAmRNH31Jcu1chhxKr1SL5BmXHSzPm0cfg_V2ZEXSQ/s500/51qfA7eQ5RL._SX400_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: none;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBLdO-S8r7sP6pY9dHjmzvcYDUYS3yeXsxXFwvBAPmwAz0ywdbxyHjDKgfX_ydme8Yzh0Z2W6G1H8KtTLOw5OX9jdX1_hJUhRI0qJf4uZQMqq7F9QCJJT73B_MAK6yBODYD8eaMwU73DE/s500/51qfA7eQ5RL._SX400_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="402" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBLdO-S8r7sP6pY9dHjmzvcYDUYS3yeXsxXFwvBAPmwAz0ywdbxyHjDKgfX_ydme8Yzh0Z2W6G1H8KtTLOw5OX9jdX1_hJUhRI0qJf4uZQMqq7F9QCJJT73B_MAK6yBODYD8eaMwU73DE/s320/51qfA7eQ5RL._SX400_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" /></a></div><span style="color: black;">By Robert Hillenbrand</span><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul class="a-unordered-list a-nostyle a-vertical a-spacing-none detail-bullet-list" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px 0px 1px 18px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Hardcover : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">544 pages</span></b></span></span></li></ul><ul class="a-unordered-list a-nostyle a-vertical a-spacing-none detail-bullet-list" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px 0px 1px 18px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">ISBN-10 : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">1898113831</span></b></span></span></li></ul><ul class="a-unordered-list a-nostyle a-vertical a-spacing-none detail-bullet-list" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px 0px 1px 18px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">ISBN-13 : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">978-1898113836</span></b></span></span></li></ul><ul class="a-unordered-list a-nostyle a-vertical a-spacing-none detail-bullet-list" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px 0px 1px 18px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Product Dimensions : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">30 x 15 x 32.7 cm</span></b></span></span></li></ul><ul class="a-unordered-list a-nostyle a-vertical a-spacing-none detail-bullet-list" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px 0px 1px 18px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Publisher : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Yale University Press (23 Feb. 2021)</span></b></span></span></li></ul><ul class="a-unordered-list a-nostyle a-vertical a-spacing-none detail-bullet-list" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px 0px 1px 18px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Language: : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">English</span></b></span></span></li></ul><p></p><div><span style="color: black; font-family: Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17);"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: black;">A detailed study of the Great Mongol Shahnameh, considered to be the greatest of all Persian illustrated manuscripts The Great Mongol Shahnameh is widely considered to be the definitive version of Firdausi's epic poem, and the greatest of all Persian illustrated manuscripts. The paintings from this manuscript are held in private collections and institutions around the world, and have only been seen together in a single volume once since they were originally dispersed. This monograph reunites the paintings and reproduces them as 67 full-page, high quality color plates, alongside an analysis by leading scholar of Islamic art, Robert Hillenbrand. With newly commissioned photographs and insights into technical aspects of the paintings, The Great Mongol Shahnameh is a comprehensive resource for those interested in Persian art and manuscripts.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: black; font-family: Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17);"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span style="color: black; font-family: Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17);"><b><br /></b></span></span></div></div>Hans van Roonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13577124666014224950noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440874506535632537.post-30081298834691156882020-09-08T12:17:00.004+02:002020-09-08T12:17:56.618+02:001700 year old face behind stunning mask from Eastern Siberia region ( north of Mongolia)<p> </p><h1 class="cTitle" style="color: #5a352d; font-family: georgia; font-size: 28px; line-height: 1.1; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://siberiantimes.com/science/casestudy/features/this-tattooed-tashtyk-man-was-found-half-a-century-ago-yet-now-for-the-first-time-we-can-see-his-lifelike-face/" style="color: #5a352d; line-height: 1.1; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Lifelike face of a tattooed Tashtyk man seen for first time behind a stunning gypsum death mask">Lifelike face of a tattooed Tashtyk man seen for first time behind a stunning gypsum death mask</a></h1><div>From <b><a href="https://siberiantimes.com/science/casestudy/features/this-tattooed-tashtyk-man-was-found-half-a-century-ago-yet-now-for-the-first-time-we-can-see-his-lifelike-face/" target="_blank">The Siberian Times</a></b></div><div class="topListAuthor cTitle" style="color: #5a352d; float: left; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin: 10px 0px 5px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div class="topListAuthor cTitle" style="color: #5a352d; float: left; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin: 10px 0px 5px; padding: 0px;">By Anna Ledovskikh and Svetlana Pankova</div><div class="topListDate" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); clear: both; color: #222222; float: left; font-family: arial; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px;">12 July 2020</div><div class="topListText" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px;"><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">Aged 25 to 30 when he died 1,700 years ago, he is from the mountainous region of modern-day Khakassia.</p></div><div class="topListItems" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-size: 11px; width: 720px;"><a href="https://siberiantimes.com/science/casestudy/features/this-tattooed-tashtyk-man-was-found-half-a-century-ago-yet-now-for-the-first-time-we-can-see-his-lifelike-face/" style="color: #222222; text-decoration: none;" title="Lifelike face of a tattooed Tashtyk man seen for first time behind a stunning gypsum death mask"><img src="https://siberiantimes.com/upload/information_system_38/7/8/5/item_7852/information_items_7852.jpg" style="border: 0px; padding: 10px 0px 0px; width: 720px;" /></a><div class="topListText" style="clear: both; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px;"><div class="topListAlt" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; clear: both; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 5px 0px 0px;"><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">Male Tashtyk mask is kept in the State Hermatage Museum. CT of the mask layer. Pictures: <b>© </b><b>The</b><b> </b><b>State</b><b> </b><b>Hermitage</b><b> </b><b>Museum</b><b>. </b><b>Photo by Vladimir Terebenin, Pavel Demidov, Darya Bobrova </b></p></div><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">A new CT scan has revealed the face behind his painted gypsum death mask that were all the rage with the ancient Tashtyk people, who were settled cattle-breeders and farmers known for their idiosyncratic burial rituals.</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">He had brown hair, although the scan gives him a red punk look, and it is believed the pigtail he would have worn had been cut off before his burial.</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">He is also the only Tashtyk mummy so far found with tattoos. </p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">But the most striking and unexpected aspect is a long suture on the side of his face: from the left eye to the ear.</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">A scar that had been sewn up. </p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="CT scan" height="720" src="https://siberiantimes.com/PICTURES/OTHERS/Oglakhty/inside_scan_2.jpg" style="border: 0px; width: 720px;" title="CT scan" width="720" /></p><div class="topListAlt" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; clear: both; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 5px 0px 0px;"><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">The most striking and unexpected aspect is a long scar on the side of his face: from the left eye to the ear. Picture: The State Hermitage Museum</p></div><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">Archaeologists want more research on this but the current best guess is that this suture was stitched after his death - perhaps to mend his disfigured face after a wound, possibly a fatal blow.</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">In other words, to improve his looks before his journey to the afterlife. </p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">Final confirmation is still needed that this facial embroidery was postmortem, however. </p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">For now it is not ruled out that this repair job was done at the end of his life. </p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="Svetlana Pankova" height="540" src="https://siberiantimes.com/PICTURES/OTHERS/Oglakhty/svetlana_1.jpg" style="border: 0px; width: 720px;" title="Svetlana Pankova" width="720" /></p><div class="topListAlt" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; clear: both; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 5px 0px 0px;"><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">Dr Svetlana Pankova put the male head into the CT scan. Picture: The State Hermitage Museum</p></div><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">Nor was this the only evidence of intervention by ancient surgeons on this Tashtyk man found at the Oglakhty burial ground, and laid to rest in a burial log house. </p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">‘His skull was trepanned in the temporal area on the left side,’ explained Dr Svetlana Pankova, curator at the State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, and keeper of the Siberian collection of the Department of Archeology.</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">‘The hole is rather big - 6 by 7 centimetres. It was made postmortem. </p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">‘Expert analysis shows the hole was made by the series of blows with a chisel type or hammer type tool.’</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="Suture" height="400" src="https://siberiantimes.com/PICTURES/OTHERS/Oglakhty/inside_scar.jpg" style="border: 0px; width: 720px;" title="Suture" width="720" /></p><div class="topListAlt" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; clear: both; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 5px 0px 0px;"><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">‘His skull was trepanned in the temporal area on the left side.' Pictures: Paul Goodhead, The State Hermitage Museum</p></div><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">Dr Pankova said: ‘We think that it was made to remove the brain during an elaborate burial rite.’</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">Likewise she thinks the facial scar can be explained in similar fashion. </p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">‘They took all these postmortem rites very seriously, and did not save on this,’ she said. </p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">‘They could not just put a mask on the disfigured face.</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">‘It would be great to attract an experienced surgeon to research this suture, to get full clarity. Was it postmortem or might it have been been made in his lifetime? </p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">‘Our research is complicated by the fact that we cannot take the mask away from the face (it would cause too much damage) so we must research this stitching using other methods.’</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="Male mask" height="991" src="https://siberiantimes.com/PICTURES/OTHERS/Oglakhty/inside_mask_4.jpg" style="border: 0px; width: 720px;" title="Male mask" width="720" /></p><div class="topListAlt" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; clear: both; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 5px 0px 0px;"><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">Male mask has black stripes on a red background, plus the lower part of the mask was destroyed and man's teeth can be seen. <b style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">© </b><b style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">The</b><b style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"> </b><b style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">State</b><b style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"> </b><b style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">Hermitage</b><b style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"> </b><b style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">Museum</b><b style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">. </b><b style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">Photo by Vladimir Terebenin, Pavel Demidov, Darya Bobrova.</b></p></div><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;"></p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">The archadologists were intrigued to finally see the face under the death mask, the painting of which ‘adds some unnecessary emotional impressions’</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">Dr Pankova said the mask 'has black stripes on a red background, plus the lower part of the mask was somewhat destroyed and man's teeth can be seen. </p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">‘So all together it creates such an aggressive look.’</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">Yet under the mask ‘there was nothing aggressive in this face. </p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">‘It was the face of a calmly sleeping person. </p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="Mask and skull" height="720" src="https://siberiantimes.com/PICTURES/OTHERS/Oglakhty/inside_mask_and_skull.jpg" style="border: 0px; width: 720px;" title="Mask and skull" width="720" /></p><div class="topListAlt" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; clear: both; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 5px 0px 0px;"><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">‘It was the face of calmly sleeping person.' Picture: The State Hermitage Museum</p></div><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">‘The mask was very close in appearance to the real face.</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">‘For the first time we see the real face of a young man of this time…</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">‘The computer scan allowed us to see, so to say, three layers - the layer of the mask, the layer of the face without the mask and layer of the skull.’</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="Female head with the mask" height="938" src="https://siberiantimes.com/PICTURES/OTHERS/Oglakhty/inside_female.jpg" style="border: 0px; width: 720px;" title="Female head with the mask" width="720" /></p><div class="topListAlt" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; clear: both; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 5px 0px 0px;"><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">Svetlana Pankova: ‘I would really like to make CT scan of female mummified head.' © The State Hermitage Museum. Photo by Vladimir Terebenin, Pavel Demidov.</p></div><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">The face of the woman lying in the same burial chamber - also buried in a fur coat - has not been revealed with a CT scan.</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">Or anyway not yet. </p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">‘I would really like to make CT scan of female mummified head,’ she said.</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">‘I am planning to find a clinic which can do this research and decipher it for us.’</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">For now we do not know who the woman was and how she and the man were related. </p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="Children's fur coat" height="561" src="https://siberiantimes.com/PICTURES/OTHERS/Oglakhty/inside_fur_coat.jpg" style="border: 0px; width: 720px;" title="Children's fur coat" width="720" /></p><div class="topListAlt" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; clear: both; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 5px 0px 0px;"><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">Children's fur coat was also found in the grave. © The State Hermitage Museum. Photo by Vladimir Terebenin, Pavel Demidov.</p></div><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">A child’s skeleton was also found in the same grave. </p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">So, too, were two burial ‘dummies’ - an extraordinary phenomenon akin to stuffed dolls or mannequins. </p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">These may be explained by the merging of two cultures or traditions: one that buried their dead, the other that cremated. <br /></p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="Tattoos on the male's back" height="543" src="https://siberiantimes.com/PICTURES/OTHERS/Oglakhty/inside_back.jpg" style="border: 0px; width: 720px;" title="Tattoos on the male's back" width="720" /></p><hr style="background-color: #dadada; border: 0px; color: #dadada; height: 1px;" /><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="Tattoos on the male's chest" height="479" src="https://siberiantimes.com/PICTURES/OTHERS/Oglakhty/inside_chest.jpg" style="border: 0px; width: 720px;" title="Tattoos on the male's chest" width="720" /></p><div class="topListAlt" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; clear: both; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 5px 0px 0px;"><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">He is also the only Tashtyk mummy so far found with tattoos. Infrared photography. Pictures: The State Hermitage Museum</p></div><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">The dummies appear to represent the remains of those who were cremated.</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">Yet there is also evidence that men were more usually cremated while women and children were buried. </p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">‘The dummies in full height, kind of mannequins, were made of leather, filled with tightly twisted grass,’ said Dr Pankova.</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">‘In the chest area there were leather pouches with charred bones remaining from cremations.’</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="Burial mannequin" height="264" src="https://siberiantimes.com/PICTURES/OTHERS/Oglakhty/inside_mannequin.jpg" style="border: 0px; width: 720px;" title="Burial mannequin" width="720" /></p><div class="topListAlt" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; clear: both; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 5px 0px 0px;"><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">‘The dummies in full height, kind of mannequins, were made of leather, filled with tightly twisted grass.’ © The State Hermitage Museum. Photo by Vladimir Terebenin, Pavel Demidov</p></div><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">She told The Siberian Times: ‘The mummies, male and female, were dressed in fur coats, and they had masks on their faces. </p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">‘The head of one of the dummies did not preserve. </p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">‘Sadly, probably rodents sneaked in and spoiled it. </p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">‘The second dummy has the face, covered with bright red woollen fabric, with eyes and a nose. On the head was a piece of Chinese silk.’ </p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="Burial mannequin's face" height="1031" src="https://siberiantimes.com/PICTURES/OTHERS/Oglakhty/inside_face.jpg" style="border: 0px; width: 720px;" title="Burial mannequin's face" width="720" /></p><hr style="background-color: #dadada; border: 0px; color: #dadada; height: 1px;" /><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="Piece of silk" height="636" src="https://siberiantimes.com/PICTURES/OTHERS/Oglakhty/inside_silk.jpg" style="border: 0px; width: 720px;" title="Piece of silk" width="720" /></p><div class="topListAlt" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; clear: both; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 5px 0px 0px;"><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">‘The second dummy has the face, covered with bright red woollen fabric, with eyes and a nose. On the head was a piece of Chinese silk.’ © The State Hermitage Museum. Photo by Vladimir Terebenin, Pavel Demidov. </p></div><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">The Tashtyk culture existed between the first and seventh centuries AD in the area of so-called Minusinsk Basin of the Yenisei valley.</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">They were settled cattle breeders and farmers.</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">In 1969 Professor Leonid Kyzlasov excavated the Oglakhty burial ground and found this masked man in tomb number four. </p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">‘We made the radiocarbon dating using larch of the log house indicating the third to fourth centuries AD.'</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="Burial" height="500" src="https://siberiantimes.com/PICTURES/OTHERS/Oglakhty/inside_burial.jpg" style="border: 0px; width: 720px;" title="Burial" width="720" /></p><hr style="background-color: #dadada; border: 0px; color: #dadada; height: 1px;" /><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="Log house" height="585" src="https://siberiantimes.com/PICTURES/OTHERS/Oglakhty/inside_log_house.jpg" style="border: 0px; width: 720px;" title="Log house" width="720" /></p><div class="topListAlt" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; clear: both; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 5px 0px 0px;"><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">In 1969 Professor Leonid Kyzlasov excavated the Oglakhty burial ground and found this masked man in tomb number four. Pictures: Leonid Kyzlasov, The State Hermitage Museum/ Vladimir Terebenin</p></div><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">The Oglakhty necropolis was originally found in 1902 by a shepherd, who fell into one of the graves, saw the people in a wooden chamber with whitish masks on their faces, got scared, and fled.</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">His mother-in-law was more fearless, sneaking in and looting some items.</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin: 3px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">Local official and researcher Alexander Adrianov heard about this and started excavations in 1903, unearthing three graves.</p></div></div>Hans van Roonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13577124666014224950noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440874506535632537.post-51108317946811862482020-06-15T12:52:00.000+02:002020-06-15T12:52:32.162+02:00The Cultures of Ancient Xinjiang<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="a-size-extra-large" id="productTitle" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 19px !important; line-height: 1.2 !important; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">The Cultures of Ancient Xinjiang, Western China: Crossroads of the Silk Roads</span></h1>
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<span class="a-size-extra-large" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.2 !important; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;">by </span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="172" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=Alison+Betts&text=Alison+Betts&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books-uk" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Alison Betts</a><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box;">, </span></span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="145" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_2?ie=UTF8&field-author=Marika+Vicziany&text=Marika+Vicziany&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books-uk" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Marika Vicziany</a><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box;">, </span></span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="157" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_3?ie=UTF8&field-author=Peter+Weiming+Jia&text=Peter+Weiming+Jia&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books-uk" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Peter Weiming Jia</a> and<span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </span></span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="191" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_4?ie=UTF8&field-author=Angelo+Andrea+Di+Castro&text=Angelo+Andrea+Di+Castro&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books-uk" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Angelo Andrea Di Castro</a></span></span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span></span></div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Paperback:</span> 218 pages</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Publisher:</span> Archaeopress (19 Dec. 2019)</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Language:</span> English</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-10:</span> 178969406X</li>
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<span class="a-size-extra-large" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.2 !important; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="a-size-extra-large" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.2 !important; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Cultures of Ancient Xinjiang, Western China: Crossroads of the Silk Roads unveils the ancient secrets of Xinjiang, western China, one of the least known but culturally rich and complex regions located at the heart of Asia. Historically, Xinjiang has been the geographic hub of the Silk Roads, serving international links between cultures to the west, east, north and south. Trade, artefacts, foods, technologies, ideas, beliefs, animals and people have traversed the glacier covered mountain and desert boundaries. Perhaps best known for the Taklamakan desert, whose name translates in the Uyghur language as 'You can go in, you will never come out', here the region is portrayed as the centre of an ancient Bronze Age culture, revealed in the form of the famous Tarim Mummies and their grave goods. Three authoritative chapters by Chinese archaeologists appear here for the first time in English, giving international audiences direct access to the latest research ranging from the central-eastern Xiaohe region to the western valleys of the Bortala and Yili Rivers. Other contributions by European, Australian and Chinese archaeologists address the many complexities of the cultural exchanges that ranged from Mongolia, through to Kashgar, South Asia, Central Asia and finally Europe in pre-modern times.</span></span></div>
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Hans van Roonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13577124666014224950noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440874506535632537.post-33189051367561477342020-05-06T13:01:00.002+02:002020-05-06T13:01:44.322+02:00The Wonders of Creation and the Singularities of Painting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP5lqxzKU9KLjcQpaUFX9S0nApejWFrewajkHTBnNBY7zfGY7gP8I7bknHAE2ayrQ-lXzS4EJj0vYWE-6Qkbt7eLJQ2I1IYWitYdxpISzuBLhjA-ivtCv0p2OZmt3zsOWaKs2j7WQejOo/s1600/51kNOkJIpkL._SX337_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="339" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP5lqxzKU9KLjcQpaUFX9S0nApejWFrewajkHTBnNBY7zfGY7gP8I7bknHAE2ayrQ-lXzS4EJj0vYWE-6Qkbt7eLJQ2I1IYWitYdxpISzuBLhjA-ivtCv0p2OZmt3zsOWaKs2j7WQejOo/s400/51kNOkJIpkL._SX337_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="271" /></a></div>
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<span class="a-size-extra-large" id="productTitle" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 19px !important; line-height: 1.2 !important; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">A Study of the Ilkhanid London Qazvini (Edinburgh Studies in Islamic Art)</span></h1>
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<span class="a-size-extra-large" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.2 !important; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><b><span class="a-size-base" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); color: #555555; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 19px !important;">by </span><span class="a-size-base" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); color: #555555; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 19px !important;">Stefano Carboni</span></b></span></div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Paperback:</span> 456 pages</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Publisher:</span> Edinburgh University Press (11 Feb. 2020)</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Language:</span> English</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-10:</span> 1474461395</li>
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<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Al-Qazwini's Wonders of Creation is one of a handful of extant illustrated codices produced under the Mongols of Persia. Al-Qazwini collected, edited and assembled a large body of literary works into a single text that reflects the cultural world of a medieval Arab encyclopaedist. In this lavishly illustrated volume, Stefan Carboni analyses the manuscript's miniatures, discusses the 368 paintings that illustrate the codex, and includes a partial critical translation of the related Arabic text. The codex contains a copy of a cosmographical text written in Arabic in Baghdad towards the end of the 13th century. The cosmography represents a physical description of the world arranged from the outer spheres of the universe, where the throne of God, the Angels and the Planets are located, down to Earth where the Peoples living in the Islands of the Oceans, the Mineral, the Vegetal and the Animal Kingdoms are described throughout the text. About the series: Edinburgh Studies in Islamic Art offers readers easy access to the most up-to-date research across the whole range of Islamic art, representing various parts of the Islamic world, media and approaches. Books in the series are beautifully illustrated academic monographs of intellectual distinction that mark a significant advance in the field.</span>Hans van Roonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13577124666014224950noreply@blogger.com54tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440874506535632537.post-65273828995406269282020-05-05T23:08:00.002+02:002020-05-05T23:13:38.718+02:00Uzbekistan: The Road to Samarkand<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcNujWwFcdLEGgG_GRtcIoVnbM5AvMTE1NHHbNl_U07kYInruBDHKRfY67kWXr3e3jL0DkEtegEDwhecIpGWjlWJF6-dhP35ku0HEDiprHgiL8y0YsBt3q_Ka11ndAN55SQ-XAhiRPi6s/s1600/51EmL2Dp5YL._SY498_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcNujWwFcdLEGgG_GRtcIoVnbM5AvMTE1NHHbNl_U07kYInruBDHKRfY67kWXr3e3jL0DkEtegEDwhecIpGWjlWJF6-dhP35ku0HEDiprHgiL8y0YsBt3q_Ka11ndAN55SQ-XAhiRPi6s/s400/51EmL2Dp5YL._SY498_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: #111111;">by</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: #111111;"> </span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=Yaffa+Assouline&text=Yaffa+Assouline&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration: none;">Yaffa Assouline</a> <span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85 , 85 , 85);">(Author), </span></span></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_2?ie=UTF8&field-author=Laziz+Hamani&text=Laziz+Hamani&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration: none;">Laziz Hamani</a> <span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85 , 85 , 85);">(Photographer)</span></span></span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: 700;">Hardcover:</span> 336 pages</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: 700;">Publisher:</span> Assouline Publishing (February 26, 2020)</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: 700;">Language:</span> English</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-10:</span> 1614288917</li>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">At the heart of Central Asia lies a land where colossal mountains and sweeping valleys sleep under a blanket of lush greenery. Crowned with golden palaces and wondrous monuments, the architectural landscape of the region is so rich with detail, the structures have been said to mirror the heavens themselves. One of the few destinations on Earth where imagination aligns with reality, Uzbekistan flourishes with unparalleled scenery and unforgotten traditions. The towns and cities are like ‘open museums’, each edifice offering a unique and intricate aesthetic, each a testament to diverse cultural influences and diverse periods of history. Nature and architecture have a unique relationship, seemingly inspired by each other, as if they were trying to to outdo each other with their beauty. Discover the beautiful colors, textures and flavors of this incredible culture and journey through the cities of the Silk Road and the lands of Alexander The Great with stunning original photography by Laziz Hamani.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIwdTyB3Nww513UCmQYe6x6ObAK8E1kYYxe4daSQ-XCt1nMrJGW7MuMqk_SQ7a_nLF3nsr4yqc-1xC506HG8_Vcy5OOkLOmdFBFC7wWcO4MLf_do8Hk6E1PUO5PDkyCm50XATUc9hg-1Q/s1600/11+%25C2%25A9+Laziz+Hamani.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="961" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIwdTyB3Nww513UCmQYe6x6ObAK8E1kYYxe4daSQ-XCt1nMrJGW7MuMqk_SQ7a_nLF3nsr4yqc-1xC506HG8_Vcy5OOkLOmdFBFC7wWcO4MLf_do8Hk6E1PUO5PDkyCm50XATUc9hg-1Q/s640/11+%25C2%25A9+Laziz+Hamani.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Q0KoQLE_68AlGWx1MYIVQX9EWogPEyVrL8JC84YmlX4Abr2ECk5xSaHGR9nh6xLORuvv-jiGB70hvPvcHw2xA9awQxBOxMn641YaUaoPBP19zwmsLfKFx4rQc1BFXk2eEvqdC8-onTA/s1600/4+%25C2%25A9+Laziz+Hamani.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="502" data-original-width="768" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Q0KoQLE_68AlGWx1MYIVQX9EWogPEyVrL8JC84YmlX4Abr2ECk5xSaHGR9nh6xLORuvv-jiGB70hvPvcHw2xA9awQxBOxMn641YaUaoPBP19zwmsLfKFx4rQc1BFXk2eEvqdC8-onTA/s640/4+%25C2%25A9+Laziz+Hamani.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0RysYUrlmMVG1oIgO7bEhM2-aaoOSt3kzzvMFJtIsjyTh0ocVFagQu0d76_RWv5HOprhq3cEfsmjIGRY4Q_kKl4sQ94dPceJ6w0W3IZLky7QNocHCLkMqi_w6caIfG_g94skOO1US07s/s1600/1+%25C2%25A9+Laziz+Hamani.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="768" height="437" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0RysYUrlmMVG1oIgO7bEhM2-aaoOSt3kzzvMFJtIsjyTh0ocVFagQu0d76_RWv5HOprhq3cEfsmjIGRY4Q_kKl4sQ94dPceJ6w0W3IZLky7QNocHCLkMqi_w6caIfG_g94skOO1US07s/s640/1+%25C2%25A9+Laziz+Hamani.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Hans van Roonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13577124666014224950noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440874506535632537.post-74617476245336893012020-05-05T19:14:00.003+02:002020-05-05T19:29:48.260+02:00Visualizing Dunhuang <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="a-size-extra-large" id="productTitle" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.2 !important; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><span style="font-size: small;">Seeing, Studying, and Conserving the Caves </span></span></h1>
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<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Publications of the Department of Art and Archaeology, Princeton University </span></h1>
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<span class="a-size-large a-color-secondary" id="productSubtitle" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85 , 85 , 85); line-height: 1.3;"><span style="font-size: small;">Paperback </span></span></h1>
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<span class="a-size-large a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85 , 85 , 85); line-height: 1.3;"><span style="font-size: small;">17 Nov. 2020</span></span></h1>
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<b>by <span class="author notFaded" data-width="154" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=Dora+C.+Y.+Ching&text=Dora+C.+Y.+Ching&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books-uk" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration: none;">Dora C. Y. Ching</a><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85 , 85 , 85);">, </span></span></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="144" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_2?ie=UTF8&field-author=Neville+Agnew&text=Neville+Agnew&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books-uk" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration: none;">Neville Agnew</a><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85 , 85 , 85);">, </span></span></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="97" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_3?ie=UTF8&field-author=Jun+Hu&text=Jun+Hu&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books-uk" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration: none;">Jun Hu</a><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85 , 85 , 85);">, </span></span></span><span class="more notFaded" data-width="55" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="a-link-normal showMoreLink" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Visualizing-Dunhuang-Conserving-Publications-Archaeology/dp/0691208166/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=dunhuang&qid=1588698078&s=books&sr=1-1&swrs=C96463606F53F71E4BE42DAEC37BD482#" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration: none;">& <span class="moreCount" style="box-sizing: border-box;">2</span> more</a></span></b></div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Paperback:</span> 400 pages</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Publisher:</span> Princeton University Press (17 Nov. 2020)</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Language:</span> English</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-10:</span> 0691208166</li>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">A beautifully illustrated study of the caves at Dunhuang, exploring how this important Buddhist site has been visualized from its creation to today. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Situated at the crossroads of the northern and southern routes of the ancient silk routes in western China, Dunhuang is one of the richest Buddhist sites in the world, with more than 500 richly decorated cave temples constructed between the fourth and fourteenth centuries. The sculptures, murals, portable paintings, and manuscripts found in the Mogao and Yulin Caves at Dunhuang represent every aspect of Buddhism. From its earliest construction to the present, this location has been visualized by many individuals, from the architects, builders, and artists who built the caves to twentieth-century explorers, photographers, and conservators, as well as contemporary artists. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Visualizing Dunhuang: Seeing, Studying, and Conserving the Caves examines how the Lo Archive, a vast collection of photographs taken in the 1940s of the Mogao and Yulin Caves, inspires a broad range of scholarship. Lavishly illustrated with selected Lo Archive and modern photographs, the essays address three main areas</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">-Dunhuang as historical record, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">as site, and </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">as art and art history. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Leading experts across three continents examine a wealth of topics, including expeditionary photography and cave architecture, to demonstrate the intellectual richness of Dunhuang. Diverse as they are in their subjects and methodologies, the essays represent only a fraction of what can be researched about Dunhuang. The high concentration of caves at Mogao and Yulin and their exceptional contents chronicle centuries of artistic styles, shifts in Buddhist doctrine, and patterns of political and private patronage-providing an endless source of material for future work. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Contributors include Neville Agnew, Dora Ching, Jun Hu, Annette Juliano, Richard Kent, Wei-Cheng Lin, Cary Liu, Maria Menshikova, Jerome Silbergeld, Roderick Whitfield, and Zhao Shengliang. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Published in association with the Tang Center for East Asian Art, Princeton University</span>Hans van Roonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13577124666014224950noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440874506535632537.post-67263176654085750762020-05-02T17:24:00.001+02:002020-05-02T17:31:15.694+02:00Mystery of unique 2,100-year-old human clay head <div class="topListAuthor cTitle" style="color: #5a352d; float: left; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin: 10px 0px 5px; padding: 0px;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>with a Ram's skull inside!</b></span><br />
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<b><a href="https://siberiantimes.com/science/casestudy/features/mystery-of-unique-2100-year-old-human-clay-head-found-in-ancient-crematorium-with-a-rams-skull-inside/"><span style="color: red;">From The Siberian Times</span></a></b><br />
<b><a href="https://siberiantimes.com/science/casestudy/features/mystery-of-unique-2100-year-old-human-clay-head-found-in-ancient-crematorium-with-a-rams-skull-inside/"><span style="color: red;">By Anna Prokhozheva</span></a></b></div>
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<b><a href="https://siberiantimes.com/science/casestudy/features/mystery-of-unique-2100-year-old-human-clay-head-found-in-ancient-crematorium-with-a-rams-skull-inside/"><span style="color: red;">09 April 2020</span></a></b></div>
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Modern fluoroscopy identifies sheep bones inside the Tagar culture death mask.</div>
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<a href="https://siberiantimes.com/science/casestudy/features/mystery-of-unique-2100-year-old-human-clay-head-found-in-ancient-crematorium-with-a-rams-skull-inside/" style="color: #222222; text-decoration: none;" title="Mystery of unique 2,100-year-old human clay head - with a ram’s skull inside"><img src="https://siberiantimes.com/upload/information_system_38/7/8/0/item_7809/information_items_7809.jpg" style="border: 0px; padding: 10px 0px 0px; width: 720px;" /></a><br />
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X-ray technology of the period indicated something was unusual about the bones inside the clay head - but could not reveal more. Picture: <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://scfh.ru/papers/vneshnost-obmanchiva-/" style="color: #222222; text-decoration: none;">Vyacheslav Porosev, Instutute of Nuclear Physics, SB RAS</a></span></div>
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The discovery of the magnificent clay likeness of a young man in the Shestakovsky burial mound No 6 has long intrigued Russian archeologists.</div>
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Among cremated people this elegant mask of, perhaps, a handsome warrior immediately stood out as a remarkable find when it was first unearthed in Khakassia in 1968 by Professor Anatoly Martynov.</div>
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X-ray technology of the period indicated something was unusual about the bones inside the clay head - but could not reveal more. </div>
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‘There are skull bones and a small hollow space, which, however, does not correspond to the inner size of the human skull but is much smaller,’ noted the prescient Martynov in 1971. </div>
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Then - and later - opening the clay head was deemed impossible since it would destroy this ancient relic. </div>
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<img alt="Fluoroscopy" height="256" src="https://siberiantimes.com/PICTURES/SCIENCE/Tagar-clay-head/inside_fluoroscopy.jpg" style="border: 0px; width: 720px;" title="Fluoroscopy" width="720" /></div>
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‘It was suggested that there was a human skull inside. It was of course quite surprising to see instead a sheep’s skull.’ Picture: <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://scfh.ru/en/papers/appearances-are-deceptive-/" style="color: #222222; text-decoration: none;">Evgeny Babichev</a>, <a href="https://scfh.ru/papers/vneshnost-obmanchiva-/" style="color: #222222; text-decoration: none;">Instutute of Nuclear Physics, SB RAS</a></span></div>
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Almost four decades later scientists returned to the mystery of this man from the Tagar culture which is known for its elaborate funeral rites, for example the use of large pit-crypts containing some 200 bodies which were set ablaze. </div>
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As scientist Dr Elga Vadetskaya had observed, the heads of the dead were covered in clay, moulding a new face on the skull, and often covering the clay face with gypsum. </div>
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So the expectation was - in deploying new technology on the man’s death mask - that the bones inside, though small fragments, would be human.</div>
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But they were not. </div>
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The research was led by Professor Natalya Polosmak, from the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, and Dr Konstantin Kuper, of the Institute of Nuclear Physics, both in Novosibirsk, and part of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. </div>
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<img alt="Clay head from Shestakovo burial" height="751" src="https://siberiantimes.com/PICTURES/SCIENCE/Tagar-clay-head/inside_1.jpg" style="border: 0px; width: 720px;" title="Clay head from Shestakovo burial" width="720" /></div>
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<img alt="Clay head from Shestakovo burial" height="683" src="https://siberiantimes.com/PICTURES/SCIENCE/Tagar-clay-head/inside_2.jpg" style="border: 0px; width: 720px;" title="Clay head from Shestakovo burial" width="720" /></div>
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The man ‘could have got lost in the taiga, drowned, or disappeared in alien lands’. Pictures: <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://scfh.ru/papers/vneshnost-obmanchiva-/" style="color: #222222; text-decoration: none;">Mikhail Vlasenko</a></span></div>
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‘I had been working with Natalya Polosmak on other research, and she suggested checking this head because they could not simply look inside - and were puzzled,’ explained Dr Kuper. </div>
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‘It was suggested that there was a human skull inside. It was of course quite surprising to see instead a sheep’s skull.’</div>
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But…why? </div>
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What made these ancient people fill human remains with a ram's remains?</div>
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In the <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://scfh.ru/en/papers/appearances-are-deceptive-/" style="color: #222222; text-decoration: none;">article for the magazine Science First Hand</a></span> Professor Polosmak offers two options but also acknowledges that ‘as this is the only such case so far, any explanations of this phenomenon will undoubtedly contain, alongside the elements of uniqueness, elements of chance’.</div>
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<img alt="Professor Anatoly Martynov" height="990" src="https://siberiantimes.com/PICTURES/SCIENCE/Tagar-clay-head/anatoly_martynov.jpg" style="border: 0px; width: 720px;" title="Professor Anatoly Martynov" width="720" /></div>
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Professor Anatoly Martynov unearthed the head in 1968 in Khakassia. Picture: Kemerovo State University</div>
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She believes the Tagar people ‘may have buried in this extraordinary manner a man whose body had not been found’.</div>
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She surmises that the man ‘could have got lost in the taiga, drowned, or disappeared in alien lands’.</div>
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For this reason he was ‘replaced with his double – the animal in which his soul was embodied’ and in this was sent to the afterlife alongside the remains of his fellow humans.</div>
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‘This must have been the only way to ensure the after-death life of a person who had not returned home.</div>
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'Archaeologists know a number of such burials, referred to as cenotaphs, which have no human remains but may contain a symbolic replacement. As the latter, an animal could have been used.’</div>
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<img alt="Head prepared for fluoroscopy" height="621" src="https://siberiantimes.com/PICTURES/SCIENCE/Tagar-clay-head/inside_head_fluoroscopy.jpg" style="border: 0px; width: 720px;" title="Head prepared for fluoroscopy" width="720" /></div>
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Clay head prepared for fluoroscopy at the Institute of Nuclear Physics, SB RAS. Picture: <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://scfh.ru/papers/vneshnost-obmanchiva-/" style="color: #222222; text-decoration: none;">Vyacheslav Porosev, Instutute of Nuclear Physics, SB RAS</a></span></div>
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Her other theory for the ‘false burial’ is that it may have been done to give the man ‘a chance to have a fresh start, a new life in a new status.</div>
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‘Instead of a living man whose death was staged for some reason, an animal – a sheep in human disguise – was offered.’</div>
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One thing is clear: for ancient people the ram had a great significance. </div>
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'What does the sheep’s skull hidden under the clay covers depicting a man’s face tell us? What is it, an accident? Or was the animal the main hero of ancient history?</div>
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'The latter hypothesis seems justified. A ram (sheep) is among the most worshipped animals of old times. Initially, the Egyptian god Khnum was depicted as a ram (later, as a man with the head of a ram).’</div>
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<img alt="200 mummified bodies in burial mound at Belaya Gora" height="545" src="https://siberiantimes.com/PICTURES/SCIENCE/Tagar-clay-head/inside_8.jpg" style="border: 0px; width: 720px;" title="200 mummified bodies in burial mound at Belaya Gora" width="720" /></div>
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Remains of 200 mummified bodies found in one of the Tagar burial mounds at Belaya Gora. Picture: A. Poselyanin</div>
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A third version has been proposed by Dr Vadetskaya in her book 'The Ancient Yenisei Masks from Siberia’ after studying elaborate burial rites of ancient people during this Tesinsk period.</div>
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Her work was based on research of other archaeologists but also had fascinating input from forensic experts.</div>
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She believed the burial rite had two stages - the first of which was putting the dead body in a ‘stone box’ which then went into a shallow grave or under a pile of stones for several years.</div>
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The main goal was partial mummification - the skin and tissues decomposed, but tendons and the spinal cord persisted. </div>
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Then the skeleton was taken away intact and was tied by small branches. </div>
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<img alt="Tagar clay head pictured by Anatoly Martynov" height="602" src="https://siberiantimes.com/PICTURES/SCIENCE/Tagar-clay-head/inside_3.jpg" style="border: 0px; width: 720px;" title="Tagar clay head pictured by Anatoly Martynov" width="720" /></div>
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<img alt="Tagar clay head pictured by Anatoly Martynov" height="945" src="https://siberiantimes.com/PICTURES/SCIENCE/Tagar-clay-head/inside_4.jpg" style="border: 0px; width: 720px;" title="Tagar clay head pictured by Anatoly Martynov" width="720" /></div>
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Clay head pictured in 1968. Traces of the ropes and sticks, which were used to attach the head to the "funeral doll", visible on the back of the head. Anatoly Martynov</div>
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The skull was trepanned and the rest of the brain was removed. Then the skeleton was turned into kind of ‘doll’ - it was wrapped around with grass and sheathed with pieces of leather and birch bark.</div>
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Then, according to Dr Vadetskaya, they reconstructed ‘the face’ on the skull. </div>
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The nose hole, eyes socket and mouth were filled with clay, then the clay was put onto the skull and the ‘face’ was moulded though without necessarily much facial resemblance to the deceased. </div>
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Often this clay face was covered with a thin layer of gypsum and painted with ornaments. </div>
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She suspected that these masked mummies went back to their families pending their second, bigger funeral. </div>
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This might have been for some years: there is evidence that gypsum was repaired and repainted. </div>
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<img alt="Head with clay modeled face" height="1016" src="https://siberiantimes.com/PICTURES/SCIENCE/Tagar-clay-head/inside_5.jpg" style="border: 0px; width: 720px;" title="Head with clay modeled face" width="720" /></div>
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<img alt="Head with clay modeled face" height="954" src="https://siberiantimes.com/PICTURES/SCIENCE/Tagar-clay-head/inside_7.jpg" style="border: 0px; width: 720px;" title="Head with clay modeled face" width="720" /></div>
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<img alt="Head with clay modeled face" height="781" src="https://siberiantimes.com/PICTURES/SCIENCE/Tagar-clay-head/inside-6.jpg" style="border: 0px; width: 720px;" title="Head with clay modeled face" width="720" /></div>
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Faces molded on the skulls were often covered with thin gypsum layer painted with ornaments. Pictures: Elga Vadetskaya, The State Hermitage Museum</div>
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She wrote: ‘For some mummies the wait was too long. They decomposed, so only the heads were left to be buried. </div>
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‘In some cases even the head did not survive. Then they had to recreate the whole image of the deceased one.’</div>
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She believed that this was the case with the mysterious human sheep skull.</div>
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The ram remains were used to replace the real human skull of this ‘mummy doll’ lost or destroyed during the decades between the two funeral rites. </div>
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According to Vadetskaya, a large pit was dug for these ‘Big' funerals.</div>
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<img alt="Elga Vadetskaya" height="480" src="https://siberiantimes.com/PICTURES/SCIENCE/Tagar-clay-head/inside_elga_vadetskaya.jpg" style="border: 0px; width: 720px;" title="Elga Vadetskaya" width="720" /></div>
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Doctor Elga Vadetsakaya. </div>
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A log house was erected and covered with birch bark and fabrics. </div>
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Many such human remains were put inside, and the log house was with the remains of dead were ignited. </div>
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The log house was partly burned down and often the roof collapsed. </div>
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The pit-crypt burial was then covered with turf and earth and formed a mound. </div>
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In this particular case there were relatively few human remains - no more than 15, yet in others the number could rise into the hundreds. </div>
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So - there are three main theories. </div>
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Perhaps future scientists will gain access to more elaborate technology to examine this death mask and unlock more secrets about this extraordinary find.</div>
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Hans van Roonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13577124666014224950noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440874506535632537.post-73836079551364050342020-04-27T11:24:00.000+02:002020-04-27T11:24:31.081+02:00The Cumans and Magyars<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0JHtGeEbWN0KqosDVRsksZEwv20aBA7XBKRvm8bz8KCm_b1HWjzyMYrj2jjBOuEuz7FmLgvLd3cM3L-CPMH4vIs2w6MXgwOdlyvHcoXAA4c5bEIJnLQ4NsGqHFkWyiF_V-7VfzHsqfKE/s1600/51bxuzikiOL._SX384_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="386" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0JHtGeEbWN0KqosDVRsksZEwv20aBA7XBKRvm8bz8KCm_b1HWjzyMYrj2jjBOuEuz7FmLgvLd3cM3L-CPMH4vIs2w6MXgwOdlyvHcoXAA4c5bEIJnLQ4NsGqHFkWyiF_V-7VfzHsqfKE/s400/51bxuzikiOL._SX384_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="308" /></a></div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><h1 class="a-spacing-none a-text-normal" id="title" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">
<span class="a-size-extra-large" id="productTitle" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.2 !important; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The History and Legacy of the Steppe Nomads Who Raided Europe Throughout the Late Middle Ages</span></span></h1>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Paperback:</span> 135 pages</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Publisher:</span> Independently published (8 April 2020)</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Language:</span> English</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-13:</span> 979-8635405147</li>
</ul>
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<br style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Before the Mongols rode across the steppes of Asia and Eastern Europe, the Cumans were a major military and cultural force that monarchs from China to Hungary and from Russia to the Byzantine Empire faced, often losing armies and cities in the process. The Cumans were a tribe of Turkic nomads who rode the steppes looking for plunder and riches, but they rarely stayed long after they got what they wanted. </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">From the late 9th century until the arrival of the Mongols in 1223, there was virtually nothing that could be done to stop the Cumans. Old Russian chronicles, Byzantine texts, Western European chronicles, and travel diaries of Islamic scholars all reveal that the Cumans were a threat to any kingdom in their path. Some kingdoms chose to fight the Cumans and often suffered heavy destruction, while others believed buying them off was the more reasonable course of action. The latter course often brought them into intimate contact with the most powerful kingdoms of medieval Eastern Europe before the Cumans were eventually replaced by the Mongols, with the remaining Cumans dispersing and integrating into various European and central Asian kingdoms in the 13th century. Many Cumans joined the Mongol Golden Horde and later became Muslims, while some helped found dynasties in Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania. </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Cumans came from somewhat mysterious origins before they became the western vanguard of a massive nomadic horde that grew in ferocity and effectiveness as the centuries passed, but they were far more than mindless barbarians interested in violence alone. Although violence did play a major role in early Cuman culture, sources reveal they were also interested in diplomacy and eventually integrated with their sedentary neighbors. Archaeological discoveries further indicate that their culture was unique, complete with mythology and some art, but in the end, the Cumans disappeared as quickly as they appeared on the historical scene, much like other nomadic peoples before and after them.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Of all the steppe peoples in the medieval period, perhaps none were more important to European history than the Magyars. Like the Huns and Avars before them and the Cumans and Mongols after them, the Magyars burst into Europe as a destructive, unstoppable horde, taking whatever they wanted and leaving a steady stream of misery in their wake. They used much of the same tactics as the other steppe peoples and lived a similar, nomadic lifestyle. The Magyars also had many early cultural affinities with other steppe peoples, following a similar religion and ideas of kingship and nobility, among other things. </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">That said, as similar as the Magyars may have been to other steppe nomads before and after them, they were noticeably different in one way: the Magyars settled down and became a part of Europe and Western Civilization in the Middle Ages. The Magyars exploded onto the European cultural scene in the late 9th century as foreign marauders, but they made alliances with many important kingdoms in less than a century and established their own dynasty in the area, roughly equivalent to the modern nation-state of Hungary. After establishing themselves as a legitimate dynasty among their European peers, the Magyars formed a sort of cultural bridge between the Roman Catholic kingdoms of Western Europe and the Orthodox Christian kingdoms of Eastern Europe. Ultimately, the Magyars chose the Roman Catholic Church, thereby becoming a part of the West and tying their fate to it for the remainder of the Middle Ages. </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Cumans and Magyars: The History and Legacy of the Steppe Nomads Who Raided Europe Throughout the Late Middle Ages examines how the Cumans and Magyars became influential players in the region, and the influence they had.</span>Hans van Roonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13577124666014224950noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440874506535632537.post-68193040698862322012020-04-21T22:14:00.003+02:002020-04-21T22:14:30.324+02:00The Last Journey of the San Bao Eunuch, Admiral Zheng He<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_eLLDLEQvBlqKo0iHW3CEz4y2LnD3P6bnOC81duOgEc_ipa8gerl0MMDsQ2SmJDasPRG0vfG_QvOdEqNHOxzxD09CAd9b85-nkR9NfIidvx5llsh_0GODsuJzAT2veTEuDMpnz3AcRLM/s1600/413sUpOQ70L._SX322_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="324" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_eLLDLEQvBlqKo0iHW3CEz4y2LnD3P6bnOC81duOgEc_ipa8gerl0MMDsQ2SmJDasPRG0vfG_QvOdEqNHOxzxD09CAd9b85-nkR9NfIidvx5llsh_0GODsuJzAT2veTEuDMpnz3AcRLM/s400/413sUpOQ70L._SX322_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="258" /></a></div>
By <span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(196, 85, 0); font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Sheng-Wei Wang</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(196, 85, 0); font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(196, 85, 0);">Paperback: 400 pages</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(196, 85, 0);">Publisher: Proverse Hong Kong (17 Nov. 2019)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(196, 85, 0);">Language: English</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(196, 85, 0);"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(196, 85, 0);">ISBN-10: 9888491814</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(196, 85, 0);"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">From 1405, in order to maintain and expand the Ming Dynasty’s tributary system, Yongle Emperor Zhu Di (reigning 1402-1424) and Xuande Emperor Zhu Zhanji (reigning 1425-1435) ordered eunuch Zheng He to lead giant fleets across the seas. But soon after Zheng He’s seventh and last voyage in the 1430s, the Ming emperors put an end to this activity and ordered all records of previous voyages to be destroyed. Chinese writer Luo Maodeng (罗懋登), knowing the history of some of these voyages, wished to preserve a record of them, but, conscious of the possible penalty, decided to record the facts “under a veil”, in his 1597 novel, An Account of the Western World Voyage of the San Bao Eunuch (《三宝太监西洋记》). This is what Dr. Sheng-Wei Wang has concluded after reading and analysing Luo’s novel. Her book, The last journey of the San Bao Eunuch, Admiral Zheng He, shows the methodology and evidential arguments by which she has sought to lift the veil and the conclusions she suggests, including the derivation of the complete trans-Atlantic navigational routes and timelines of that last journey and the idea that Zheng He’s last expedition plausibly reached the ancient American Indian city, Cahokia, in the U.S. central Mississippi Valley in late autumn, 1433, long before Christopher Columbus set foot for the first time in the Americas. She supports the hotly debated view that Ming Chinese sailors and ships reached farther than previously accepted in modern times and calls for further research. She hopes this book will become an important step in bridging the gap in our understanding of ancient China-America history in the era before the Age of Discovery. An interesting contribution to an ongoing debate. This edition has 48 scattered b/w illustrations and 8 b/w plates.</span>Hans van Roonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13577124666014224950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440874506535632537.post-77312151162884191222020-04-16T17:41:00.002+02:002020-04-16T17:41:37.741+02:00Empire of Horses by John Man<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6kaTFt1MHH79TFhc_usyQCIcmtxdjM-sfrJhXfEjC8V9se-2rU8pUvALhj5voEW9QE0S-4w0RobFSj8efd5oUMjQt6LhqW4zo9Vpj3isgGt4aHkEfrxDmVr3eZaTO8ToxhCxW6HDEFHk/s1600/51qqhL7UunL._SX331_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="333" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6kaTFt1MHH79TFhc_usyQCIcmtxdjM-sfrJhXfEjC8V9se-2rU8pUvALhj5voEW9QE0S-4w0RobFSj8efd5oUMjQt6LhqW4zo9Vpj3isgGt4aHkEfrxDmVr3eZaTO8ToxhCxW6HDEFHk/s400/51qqhL7UunL._SX331_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="a-size-large" id="productTitle" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.3 !important; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">The First Nomadic Civilization and the Making of China</span> </span></h1>
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<span class="a-size-large" id="productTitle" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.3 !important; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><span style="font-size: small;">by <span class="author notFaded" data-width="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=John+Man&text=John+Man&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books-uk" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration: none;">John Man</a></span> </span></span></h1>
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<span class="a-size-large" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.3 !important; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 1px 18px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Hardcover:</span> 336 pages</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Publisher:</span> Pegasus (3 Mar. 2020)</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Language:</span> English</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-10:</span> 1643133276</li>
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The author of landmark histories such as <span style="font-style: italic;">Genghis Khan, Attila</span>, and <span style="font-style: italic;">Xanadu</span>invites us to discover a fertile period in Asian history that prefigured so much of the world that followed.</div>
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The people of the first nomadic empire left no written records, but from 200 bc they dominated the heart of Asia for four centuries, and changed the world in the process. The Mongols, today's descendants of Genghis Khan, see these people as ancestors. Their rise cemented Chinese identity and inspired the first Great Wall. Their descendants helped destroy the Roman Empire under the leadership of Attila the Hun.</div>
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We don't know what language they spoke, but they became known as <span style="font-style: italic;">Xiongnu</span>, or <span style="font-style: italic;">Hunnu</span>, a term passed down the centuries and surviving today as "Hun," and Man uncovers new evidence that will transform our understanding of the profound mark they left on half the globe, from Europe to Central Asia and deep into China.</div>
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Based on meticulous research and new archaeological evidence, <span style="font-style: italic;">Empire of Horses</span> traces this civilization's epic story and shows how this nomadic cultures of the steppes gave birth to an empire with the wealth and power to threaten the order of the ancient world.</div>
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Hans van Roonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13577124666014224950noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440874506535632537.post-72173589855369652512020-04-14T12:55:00.002+02:002020-04-14T12:55:48.427+02:00Walking to Samarkand<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="a-size-extra-large" id="ebooksProductTitle" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.2 !important; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Great Silk Road from Persia to Central Asia</span></span></h1>
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by <span class="author notFaded" data-width="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=Bernard+Ollivier&text=Bernard+Ollivier&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=digital-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration: none;">Bernard Ollivier</a></span></div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Hardcover:</span> 312 pages</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Publisher:</span> Skyhorse (28 May 2020)</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Language:</span> English</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-10:</span> 1510746897</li>
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<span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-style: italic;">Walking to Samarkand</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> is journalist Bernard Ollivier’s stunning account of the second leg of his 7,200-mile walk from Istanbul, Turkey, to Xi’an, China, along the Silk Road--the longest and perhaps most mythical trade route of all time. Picking up where </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-style: italic;">Out of Istanbul</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> left off, Ollivier heads out of the Middle East and into Central Asia, grappling not only with his own will to continue but with new, unforeseen dangers.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">After crossing the final mountain passes of Turkish Kurdistan, Ollivier sets foot in Iran, keen on locating vestiges of the silk trade as he passes through Persia’s modern cities and traditional villages, including Tabriz, Tehran, Nishapur, and the holy city of Mashhad. Beyond urban areas lie deserts: first Iran’s Great Salt Desert, then Turkmenistan’s forbidding Karakum, whose relentless sun, snakes, and scorpions pose continuous challenges to Ollivier’s goal of reaching Uzbekistan.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Setting his own fears aside, he travels on, wonderstruck at every turn, borne by a childhood dream: to see for himself the golden domes and turquoise skies of Samarkand, one of Central Asia’s most ancient cities. But what Ollivier enjoys most are the people along the way: Askar, the hospitable gardener; the pilgrims of Mashhad; and his knights in shining armor, Mehdi and Monir. For, despite setting out alone, he comes to find that walking itself—through a kind of alchemy—surrounds him with friends and fosters fellowship.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">From the authoritarian mullahs of revolutionary Iran to the warm welcome of everyday Iranians—custodians of age-old, cordial Persian culture; from the stark realities of former Soviet republics to the region’s legendary bazaars—veritable feasts for the senses—readers discover, through the eyes of a veteran journalist, the rich history and contemporary culture of these amazing lands.</span></div>
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Hans van Roonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13577124666014224950noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440874506535632537.post-44088843709025684572020-04-13T12:34:00.001+02:002020-04-13T12:34:12.351+02:00Lecture of an hour on Buddhist Art by Mimi Gardner Gates (April 2019)<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hJXRHYrWg4w" width="700"></iframe><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">THE PAULINE AND JOSEPH DEGENFELDER FAMILY DISTINGUISHED LECTURE IN CHINESE ART</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Caves of Dunhuang: Buddhist Art on China’s Silk Road </span></h2>
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Mimi Gardner Gates, Director Emerita, Seattle Art Museum</div>
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Sunday, April 14, 2019, 2:00 p.m.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">The spectacular Buddhist caves of Dunhuang, on the Silk Road in the Gobi Desert in northwest China, are a UNESCO World Heritage site. This lecture presents the sites’ sculptures and wall paintings, among the finest and earliest examples of Buddhist art in China. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Used by Buddhist monks since the AD 300s, the caves were the focus of worship and cultural interaction for thousands of years; they also served as a rich repository for precious art treasures and manuscripts that were rediscovered in the early 1900s. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Dr. Mimi Gardner Gates, president of the American Friends of the Dunhuang Foundation, addresses the challenges of preserving the site today, as undertaken by the Dunhuang Academy in collaboration with the Getty Conservation Institute in Los Angeles.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b>Mimi Gardner Gates</b>: A Chinese art history scholar, Mimi Gardner Gates earned a BA from Stanford University and a PhD from Yale University. Now director emerita, she was director of the Seattle Art Museum for 15 years (1994–2009). Under her leadership, the Olympic Sculpture Park was created, the downtown museum was expanded, and the artistic program achieved a high level of excellence. Prior to moving to Seattle, she was curator of Asian art (1975–1986) and director (1987–1994) of the Yale University Art Gallery. Among the numerous exhibitions she has organized, </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic;">Cave Temples of Dunhuang: Buddhist Art on China’s Silk Road</span><span style="background-color: white;">was held in 2016 at the Getty Center, Los Angeles. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">She currently chairs the Dunhuang Foundation and the board of managers of the Blakemore Foundation. She is a member of the board of the Terra Foundation for American Art, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Northwest African American Museum, and Copper Canyon Press. Gates is a former fellow of the Yale Corporation and the founder of the Gardner Center for Asian Art and Ideas at the Seattle Art Museum. </span></div>
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Hans van Roonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13577124666014224950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440874506535632537.post-42752122691374526152020-04-13T11:36:00.002+02:002020-04-13T11:36:22.073+02:00The Metal Road of the Eastern Eurasian Steppe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr7fZx6GCQPFyRgsCh7RS-MLe1w2veEwFdIoEwr9ahgSWew2L7H9fzT5uxGeRh__yMechxC8Tvk1OPVIdtp3TPZ9yF353h6l1YyVBADPnT59ZmaX8VpAIyPdYDA5hUiKO10-VpsBjlwJw/s1600/41sm-o-f0BL._SX313_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="315" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr7fZx6GCQPFyRgsCh7RS-MLe1w2veEwFdIoEwr9ahgSWew2L7H9fzT5uxGeRh__yMechxC8Tvk1OPVIdtp3TPZ9yF353h6l1YyVBADPnT59ZmaX8VpAIyPdYDA5hUiKO10-VpsBjlwJw/s400/41sm-o-f0BL._SX313_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="252" /></a></div>
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<span class="a-size-large" id="productTitle" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 19px !important; line-height: 1.3 !important; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">The Formation of the Xiongnu Confederation and the Silk Road</span> </h1>
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<span style="color: #111111;">by </span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="138" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=Jianhua+Yang&text=Jianhua+Yang&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books-uk" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration: none;">Jianhua Yang</a><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;">, </span></span></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="132" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_2?ie=UTF8&field-author=Huiqiu+Shao&text=Huiqiu+Shao&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books-uk" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration: none;">Huiqiu Shao</a><span style="color: #555555;"> and </span></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="104" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_3?ie=UTF8&field-author=Ling+Pan&text=Ling+Pan&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books-uk" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration: none;">Ling Pan</a></span></div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Hardcover:</span> 640 pages</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Publisher:</span> Springer; 1st ed. 2020 edition (21 Feb. 2020)</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Language:</span> English</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-10:</span> 9813291540</li>
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<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This book is one of the first to systematically explore cultural interactions between the Northern Zone of China and the Eurasian Steppe, with a focus on the formation process of the Xiongnu Confederation and the Silk Road. Combining partition and staging analyses, the authors adopt a broad perspective, viewing the Northern Zone as part of the Eurasian Steppe and combining history with culture by investigating the spread of bronze artifacts. In addition, with more than three hundred figures and color photographs, it offers readers a uniquely grand panorama of two thousand years of cultural interactions between the Northern Zone of China and the Eurasian Steppe.</span></div>
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Hans van Roonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13577124666014224950noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440874506535632537.post-10848559883077060972020-04-12T22:23:00.001+02:002020-04-12T22:23:16.088+02:00Lives of Sogdians in Medieval China<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKyCUYKnb3X8vkBlc8x74gmGGlN7GDhKNEI8UXQSqQGu4aNMPhgk-xS7RNVde8HDu88hbXhvtjWIpgKUecQi-vSpJho9UcTtuQQ0xb0kI_FCVJupN1Q_rCmsw_ta3_MM69AbkS4D9i2AU/s1600/31lNQJmxOZL._SX364_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="366" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKyCUYKnb3X8vkBlc8x74gmGGlN7GDhKNEI8UXQSqQGu4aNMPhgk-xS7RNVde8HDu88hbXhvtjWIpgKUecQi-vSpJho9UcTtuQQ0xb0kI_FCVJupN1Q_rCmsw_ta3_MM69AbkS4D9i2AU/s400/31lNQJmxOZL._SX364_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="292" /></a></div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">By </span><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">Moritz Huber</span></li>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Hardcover:</span> 350 pages</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Publisher:</span> Harrassowitz (31 Mar. 2020)</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Language:</span> English</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-10:</span> 3447113804</li>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lato;">Sogdians, a group of Central Asians based between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, played a significant historical role at the crossroads of the Silk Roads. Travelling the world as caravan leaders, organised in trading networks, they were found from Byzantium to the Chinese heartland. The Sogdian language was a candidate for the lingua franca of the Silk Roads for some hundred years and Sogdians acted as polyglot mediators at courts and prominent translators of Buddhist texts. In the Chinese capitals, fire temples were erected for their use and the exotic products they imported were cherished by the people and the court.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lato;">This socio-historical study by Moritz Huber provides a translation of the transmitted Chinese records on Sogdians in Sogdiana and China and combines them with archaeological evidence to present a differentiated picture of their presence in China from the 3rd to 10th century CE. Besides the transcription and translation of all epitaphs of Sogdians from an archaeological context, used to tell their interconnected biographies, as well as a detailed discussion of their political organisation in China under the sabao 薩保/薩寶, this publication further includes a case-study of the Shi 史 families in Guyuan 固原, Ningxia 寧夏 Province.</span>Hans van Roonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13577124666014224950noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440874506535632537.post-21461581756956843762020-04-12T18:45:00.000+02:002020-04-12T18:45:22.625+02:00Along the Silk Roads in Mongol Eurasia <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGSRWY126Osti0Myh5AB4xslwxpHL3S_B41FQIlvvdBAKk18pNSeo3hQbv91zbSnWEgmKbJap9LPs4zK9Ggu2uF3lSuQHFo3A_q8-rQdPM-GjrPZhvTcq2hvx5CeevzPBjYbRHqB0JS6g/s1600/51ZjbcW0S0L._SX331_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="333" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGSRWY126Osti0Myh5AB4xslwxpHL3S_B41FQIlvvdBAKk18pNSeo3hQbv91zbSnWEgmKbJap9LPs4zK9Ggu2uF3lSuQHFo3A_q8-rQdPM-GjrPZhvTcq2hvx5CeevzPBjYbRHqB0JS6g/s400/51ZjbcW0S0L._SX331_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span class="a-size-large" id="productTitle" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.3 !important; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><span style="font-size: small;">Generals, Merchants, and Intellectuals</span></span></h1>
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<span style="color: #111111;">by </span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=Michal+Biran&text=Michal+Biran&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books-uk" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration: none;">Michal Biran</a><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;">, </span></span></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_2?ie=UTF8&field-author=Jonathan+Brack&text=Jonathan+Brack&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books-uk" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration: none;">Jonathan Brack</a><span style="color: #555555;"> and </span></span><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_3?ie=UTF8&field-author=Francesca+Fiaschetti&text=Francesca+Fiaschetti&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books-uk" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration: none;">Francesca Fiaschetti</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111;"> </span></div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Hardcover:</span> 342 pages</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Publisher:</span> University of California Press (25 Aug. 2020)</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Language:</span> English</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-10:</span> 0520298748</li>
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<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, Chinggis Khan and his heirs established the largest contiguous empire in the history of the world, extending from Korea to Hungary and from Iraq, Tibet, and Burma to Siberia. Ruling over roughly two thirds of the Old World, the Mongol Empire enabled people, ideas, and objects to traverse immense geographical and cultural boundaries. Along the Silk Roads in Mongol Eurasia reveals the individual stories of three key groups of people-military commanders, merchants, and intellectuals-from across Eurasia. These annotated biographies bring to the fore a compelling picture of the Mongol Empire from a wide range of historical sources in multiple languages, providing important insights into a period unique for its rapid and far-reaching transformations. Read together or separately, they offer the perfect starting point for any discussion of the Mongol Empire's impact on China, the Muslim world, and the West and illustrate the scale, diversity, and creativity of the cross-cultural exchange along the continental and maritime Silk Roads. Features and Benefits: Synthesizes historical information from Chinese, Arabic, Persian, and Latin sources that are otherwise inaccessible to English-speaking audiences. Presents in an accessible manner individual life stories that serve as a springboard for discussing themes such as military expansion, cross-cultural contacts, migration, conversion, gender, diplomacy, transregional commercial networks, and more. Each chapter includes a bibliography to assist students and instructors seeking to further explore the individuals and topics discussed. Informative maps, images, and tables throughout the volume supplement each biography.</span></div>
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Hans van Roonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13577124666014224950noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440874506535632537.post-79309687207619919742019-12-30T17:26:00.002+01:002019-12-30T17:26:33.629+01:00Non-Han Literature Along the Silk Road<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWFz2mTLZR5YuIGofwtzgUnTZjon0ZXvNkPJxWoG-SOtO5rdEzjA6qtxTVPpWIKI-dn3XGF0wYWROaU1-sEwCxA6IpniPkB96FKtFX3J10_hm_GCMnYJ7Llw7_EDav3IPu0x5dVk1onEs/s1600/41AKgIAotdL._SX331_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="333" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWFz2mTLZR5YuIGofwtzgUnTZjon0ZXvNkPJxWoG-SOtO5rdEzjA6qtxTVPpWIKI-dn3XGF0wYWROaU1-sEwCxA6IpniPkB96FKtFX3J10_hm_GCMnYJ7Llw7_EDav3IPu0x5dVk1onEs/s400/41AKgIAotdL._SX331_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;">by </span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=Xiao+Li&text=Xiao+Li&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books-uk" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration: none;"><b>Xiao Li</b></a> <span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;">(Editor)</span></span></span><br />
<span class="author notFaded" data-width="" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span class="author notFaded" data-width="" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;"></span></span></span><br />
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Hardcover:</span> 151 pages</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Publisher:</span> Springer; 1st ed. 2020 edition (2 April 2020)</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Language:</span> English</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-10:</span> 9811396434</li>
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This volume includes outstanding scientific articles on documents written in ancient languages such as Tocharian, Sogdian, Khotanese, and Old Uyghur. Its chief aims are to contribute to the present state of research by adding essential findings on newly discovered historical documents; to present a multi-dimensional investigation of diverse aspects including the history, religion, art, literature, and social life along the Silk Road; and to outline potential future research directions for non-Han literature studies and inspire research into other aspects, such as economics and comparative studies.</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> About the Author</span></h3>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Dr. Xiao Li</span>, a professor at the School of Chinese Classics, Renmin University of China, has participated in archaeological fieldwork and pursued extensive research on the prehistoric and historical periods in northwestern China and Central Asia. With his outstanding experience, both in fieldwork and theoretical research, he has considerable expertise in the archaeology and history of Xinjiang, the origin and development of the central Asian civilizations, and the modes of interactions between Xinjiang and Central Asia.</div>
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Hans van Roonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13577124666014224950noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440874506535632537.post-1841344730441446302019-12-27T11:41:00.000+01:002019-12-27T11:41:05.896+01:00Caravanserai: Traces, Places, Dialogue in the Middle East<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp21jnri9K_pTioVAk7hEkdkg2ALENKLqsNLvc-Slf7Qiovofbqv3SWjT6r6Ovb8pnPIe3g0psldiPT8V3-jEEXPtB2dB-K5kJ52GG7mpZCwFJY_kiMWlV3s6zfLl7AdpRGse58wlleZU/s1600/51%252BXpDp-U3L._SY351_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="353" data-original-width="499" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp21jnri9K_pTioVAk7hEkdkg2ALENKLqsNLvc-Slf7Qiovofbqv3SWjT6r6Ovb8pnPIe3g0psldiPT8V3-jEEXPtB2dB-K5kJ52GG7mpZCwFJY_kiMWlV3s6zfLl7AdpRGse58wlleZU/s400/51%252BXpDp-U3L._SY351_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
By <span style="background-color: whitesmoke; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">Tom Schutyser</span><br />
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Hardcover:</span> 180 pages</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Publisher:</span> 5 Continents Editions; Bilingual Edition: English & French ed. edition (30 Jan. 2019)</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Language:</span> English, French</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-10:</span> 887439604X</li>
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<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">A 'caravanserai' is a roadside inn found along ancient caravan routes in the Muslim world. For centuries the caravanserais served as staging posts in the Middle East and Central Asia, providing accommodation to traders, pilgrims, and other travellers along the Silk Road that connected China, India, and Europe. The caravanserais were vital nodes in what was in effect the first globalised overland network and trading system. Thousands of these caravanserais were built and successfully operated. They survived empires, caliphates and wars until the demise of the caravan trade. Those that have not vanished, have become crumbling ruins, or survive as hotels, museums, shops, storage space, living quarters, or military outposts. In the tumultuous state of relations between the Western and Muslim worlds today, the caravanserais stand as evidence of ancient multi-cultural exchange and trade. They inspire the quest to find such new platforms of multi-cultural dialogue for the future.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Belgian photographer Tom Schutyser has travelled the Silk Road numerous times in fifteen years, first photographing caravanserais in northeast Iran. For this project, Schutyser chose the levant region of Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan, photographing both ruined and restored caravanserais as well as the landscape and surroundings of these buildings, seeking to capture the sense of history still present in these places. His stunning, powerful photographs, illuminated by contributions from some of the most eminent writers, thinkers, and journalists specialising in the Middle East and foreign relations, combine to present a new dimension on the debate about the region as it is today.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Text in English and French.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.23em;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"> About the Author</span></h3>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Tom Schutyser</span> is a Belgian documentary photographer and researcher who specialises in architecture and history. His coverage of caravanserais has been shown in galleries in Paris, Beirut, and Portland, Oregon. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Andrew Lawler</span>, a contributing editor to science and archaeology magazines, also writes for <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic;">Smithsonian, Discover, National Geographic</span> and other publications. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Reza Aslan</span>, a scholar of religions and Professor of Creative Writing at University of California at Riverside, a member of the Council on Foreign relations and a bestselling author. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Rachid al-Daif</span> is a writer whose novels have been translated from Arabic into eleven languages. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Robert Fisk</span> is a multiple award-winning journalist on the Middle East, based in Beirut. He writes for <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic;">The Independent </span>and other publications. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Dominique Moïsi</span> is a senior adviser at the French Institute for International relations (IFrI), and the author of several books on international affairs. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Paul Salem</span> is director of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Middle East Center.</div>
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Hans van Roonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13577124666014224950noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440874506535632537.post-53644258052460560562019-12-26T00:03:00.000+01:002019-12-26T00:03:22.975+01:00The Mongols in Iran: Qutb Al-Din Shirazi's Akhbar-i Moghulan <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5HBXN0sfr1bteB4KMLnkR5VXmRF_ykPqFLhRB9UBTbSjyey_3xZo2tUVwKEqKjLYeFDBau0521s_vdep71DspHu_16iJ1RLkqbHRnEaNp1OvLBIwnlTNZF8ASIblvS61KiqxTI2V7xvw/s1600/41m32r4kOYL._AC_UY436_QL65_ML3_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="436" data-original-width="274" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5HBXN0sfr1bteB4KMLnkR5VXmRF_ykPqFLhRB9UBTbSjyey_3xZo2tUVwKEqKjLYeFDBau0521s_vdep71DspHu_16iJ1RLkqbHRnEaNp1OvLBIwnlTNZF8ASIblvS61KiqxTI2V7xvw/s400/41m32r4kOYL._AC_UY436_QL65_ML3_.jpg" width="251" /></a></div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">By George Lane</span></li>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Hardcover:</span> 136 pages</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Publisher:</span> Routledge; 1 edition (7 May 2018)</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Language:</span> English</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-10:</span> 1138500526</li>
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The polymath, Qutb al-Dīn Shīrāzī, operated at the heart of the Ilkhanate state (1258–1335) from its inception under Hulegu. He worked alongside the scientist and political adviser, Nasir al-Dīn Ṭūsī, who had the ear of the Ilkhans and all their chief ministers. </div>
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<span style="font-style: italic;">The Mongols in Iran</span> provides an annotated, paraphrased translation of a thirteenth-century historical chronicle penned, though not necessarily authored, by Quṭb al-Dīn Shīrāzī. This chronicle, a patchwork of anecdotes, detailed accounts, diary entries and observations, comprises the notes and drafts of a larger, unknown, and probably lost historical work. It is specific, factual, and devoid of the rhetorical hyperbole and verbal arabesques so beloved of other writers of the period. It outlines the early years of the Chinggisid empire, recounts the rule of Hulegu Khan and his son Abaqa, and finally, details the travails and ultimate demise and death of Abaqa’s brother and would be successor, Ahmad Tegudar. Shirazi paints the Mongol khans in a positive light and opens his chronicle with a portrait of Chinggis Khan in almost hallowed terms. </div>
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Throwing new light on well-known personalities and events from the early Ilkhanate, this book will appeal to anyone studying the Mongol Empire, Medieaval History, and Persian Literature.</div>
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Hans van Roonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13577124666014224950noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440874506535632537.post-3887731886619433702019-12-25T22:37:00.000+01:002019-12-25T22:37:10.304+01:00Making Mongol History: Rashid Al-Din and the Jami' Al-Tawarikh<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-IHDbQW2UH14nkiFhO0N8ScLYs5pHeravbfFdQnmAbwr-_X_SlkXpLPl0fB8GzUdcdAWlZOBt9QudXKGFD0yCRX4rMKEsWBDXHNSwSTZlyYQwvGB4GnVnu3E06haJeqXPlWXJI7pX8iA/s1600/51T7NrQuWfL._SX334_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="336" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-IHDbQW2UH14nkiFhO0N8ScLYs5pHeravbfFdQnmAbwr-_X_SlkXpLPl0fB8GzUdcdAWlZOBt9QudXKGFD0yCRX4rMKEsWBDXHNSwSTZlyYQwvGB4GnVnu3E06haJeqXPlWXJI7pX8iA/s400/51T7NrQuWfL._SX334_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="268" /></a></div>
by <b>Stefan Kamola</b><br />
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Hardcover:</span> 320 pages</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Publisher:</span> Edinburgh University Press (31 Aug. 2019)</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Language:</span> English</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-10:</span> 1474421423</li>
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<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This book examines the life and work of Rashid al-Din Tabib (d. 1318), the most powerful statesman working for the Mongol Ilkhans in the Middle East. It begins with an overview of administrative history and historiography in the early Ilkhanate, culminating with Rashid al-Din's Blessed History of Ghazan, the indispensable source for Mongol and Ilkhanid history. Later chapters lay out the results of the most comprehensive study to date of the manuscripts of Rashid al-Din's historical writing. The complicated relationship between Rashid al-Din's historical and theological writings is also explored, as well as his appropriation of the work of his contemporary historian, `Abd Allah Qashani</span>Hans van Roonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13577124666014224950noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440874506535632537.post-31786266143596500072019-12-25T10:40:00.002+01:002019-12-25T10:40:24.297+01:00The Muslim Merchants of Premodern China: The History of a Maritime Asian Trade Diaspora, 750-1400<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0klM1WuIFCv_Ew7Y05mL-66nrg8wWqqXLakSZ2QtGoik_ayfasSzF4UuVgM4sg4Rh3IiZiA6GtvhlibSwWsGZplPkjqLTSSLdjgEqjkoFRPXXQGomLjTPQseB62YmOc6L1dH4e6IiOTI/s1600/41%252ByNJwz3ML._SX331_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="333" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0klM1WuIFCv_Ew7Y05mL-66nrg8wWqqXLakSZ2QtGoik_ayfasSzF4UuVgM4sg4Rh3IiZiA6GtvhlibSwWsGZplPkjqLTSSLdjgEqjkoFRPXXQGomLjTPQseB62YmOc6L1dH4e6IiOTI/s400/41%252ByNJwz3ML._SX331_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">by </span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=John+W.+Chaffee&text=John+W.+Chaffee&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books-uk" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration: none;">John W. Chaffee</a></span></h1>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Paperback:</span> 212 pages</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Publisher:</span> Cambridge University Press (23 Aug. 2018)</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Language:</span> English</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-10:</span> 1107684048</li>
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<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(31, 31, 30); color: #1f1f1e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">In this major new history of Muslim merchants and their trade links with China, John W. Chaffee uncovers 700 years of history, from the eighth century, when Muslim communities first established themselves in southeastern China, through the fourteenth century, when trade all but ceased. These were extraordinary and tumultuous times. Under the Song and the Mongols, the Muslim diaspora in China flourished as legal and economic ties were formalized. At other times the Muslim community suffered hostility and persecution. Chaffee shows how the policies of successive dynastic regimes in China combined with geopolitical developments across maritime Asia to affect the fortunes of Muslim communities. He explores social and cultural exchanges, and how connections were maintained through faith and a common acceptance of Muslim law. This ground breaking contribution to the history of Asia, the early Islamic world, and to maritime history explores the networks that helped to shape the pre-modern world.</span></div>
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<br />Hans van Roonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13577124666014224950noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440874506535632537.post-60306206215582925362019-05-14T13:31:00.000+02:002019-05-14T13:31:07.748+02:00Iran After the Mongols<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ShkiIYNFBLhrFco2E56ONg1OBIBAknLIXEYR-X4-s0RJhb7ceNvW_x3JDYF6NE_t24MroR-goQ7QVjk7Kx48W4YQsVsa-DXLaTLy7a2fNGHh3gSw7B7LZjOIy7V8DfVM39gr9cUGWoI/s1600/91pYv80yUFL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ShkiIYNFBLhrFco2E56ONg1OBIBAknLIXEYR-X4-s0RJhb7ceNvW_x3JDYF6NE_t24MroR-goQ7QVjk7Kx48W4YQsVsa-DXLaTLy7a2fNGHh3gSw7B7LZjOIy7V8DfVM39gr9cUGWoI/s400/91pYv80yUFL.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span class="a-size-large" id="productTitle" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 19px !important; line-height: 1.3 !important; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">Iran After the Mongols</span></h1>
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<span class="a-size-medium a-color-secondary a-text-normal" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important; font-size: 17px !important; font-weight: 400 !important; line-height: 1.255 !important; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">Hardcover</span> <span class="a-size-medium a-color-secondary a-text-normal" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important; font-size: 17px !important; font-weight: 400 !important; line-height: 1.255 !important; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">– 16 May 2019</span></h1>
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<b>by <span class="author notFaded" data-width="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&text=Sussan+Babaie&search-alias=books-uk&field-author=Sussan+Babaie&sort=relevancerank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration: none;">Sussan Babaie</a></span></b></div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Hardcover:</span> 320 pages</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Publisher:</span> I.B. Tauris (16 May 2019)</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Language:</span> English</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-10:</span> 1788315286</li>
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<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Following the devastating Mongol conquest of Baghdad in 1258, the domination of the Abbasids declined leading to successor polities, chiefly among them the Ilkhanate in Greater Iran, Iraq and the Caucasus. Iranian cultural identities were reinstated within the lands that make up today's Iran, including the area of greater Khorasan. The Persian language gained unprecedented currency over Arabic and new buildings and manuscripts were produced for princely patrons with aspirations to don the Iranian crown of kingship. This new volume in "The Idea of Iran" series follows the complexities surrounding the cultural reinvention of Iran after the Mongol invasions, but the book is unique capturing not only the effects of Mongol rule but also the period following the collapse of Mongol-based Ilkhanid rule. By the mid-1330s the Ilkhanate in Iran was succeeded by alternative models of authority and local Iranian dynasties. This led to the proliferation of diverse and competing cultural, religious and political practices but so far scholarship has neglected to produce an analysis of this multifaceted history in any depth. Iran After the Mongols offers new and cutting-edge perspectives on what happened. Analysing the fourteenth century in its own right, Sussan Babaie and her fellow contributors capture the cultural complexity of an era that produced some of the most luminous masterpieces in Persian literature and the most significant new building work in Tabriz, Yazd, Herat and Shiraz. Featuring contributions by leading scholars, this is a wide-ranging treatment of an under-researched period and the volume will be essential reading for scholars of Iranian Studies and Middle Eastern History.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Sussan Babaie</b> is Andrew W. Mellon Reader in the Arts of Iran and Islam at The Courtauld Institute of Art, London. She has previously taught and resesarched at Smith College, the University of Michigan and as the Allianz Visiting Professor at Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich.Her exhibitions include the guest-curated Strolling in Isfahan at the Sackler Museum of Harvard University and she is the co-editor of Persian Kingship and Architecture (I.B.Tauris, 2015) and the award-winning monograph, Isfahan and its Palaces: Statecraft, Shiism and the Architecture of Conviviality in Early Modern Iran.</span></div>
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Hans van Roonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13577124666014224950noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440874506535632537.post-74582470717883056542019-05-14T11:27:00.001+02:002020-04-13T12:24:31.109+02:00Digital exhibition "The Sogdians: Influencers on the Silk Roads" available<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/y6zKxdNQqr4" width="700"></iframe><br />
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<span class="posted-on" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #444444;"><a href="https://www.freersackler.si.edu/the-sogdians-influencers-on-the-silk-roads/" rel="bookmark" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #444444; text-decoration: none;">May 7, 2019</a></span></div>
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<a href="https://sogdians.si.edu/nara-to-nancy/">The Sogdians: Influencers on the Silk Roads</a></h1>
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Who were the Sogdians? While mostly lost to history, these ancient people of the Silk Roads shaped the world around them—not with an empire or an army but through trade.</div>
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<figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-461985" class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_461985" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline; float: right; margin: 1em 0px 1.5em 1.5em; max-width: 100%; width: 300px;"><a href="https://www.freersackler.si.edu/?attachment_id=461985" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #4c7693;"><img alt="Sogdian Trade Route Map" class="wp-image-461985 size-medium" data-attachment-id="461985" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Sogdian Trade Route Map" data-large-file="https://i1.wp.com/www.freersackler.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Sogdian-Trade-Route-Map-1.jpg?fit=876%2C666&ssl=1" data-medium-file="https://i1.wp.com/www.freersackler.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Sogdian-Trade-Route-Map-1.jpg?fit=300%2C228&ssl=1" data-orig-file="https://i1.wp.com/www.freersackler.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Sogdian-Trade-Route-Map-1.jpg?fit=1915%2C1457&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1915,1457" data-permalink="https://www.freersackler.si.edu/the-sogdians-influencers-on-the-silk-roads/sogdian-trade-route-map-2/" height="228" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" src="https://i1.wp.com/www.freersackler.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Sogdian-Trade-Route-Map-1.jpg?resize=300%2C228&ssl=1" srcset="https://i1.wp.com/www.freersackler.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Sogdian-Trade-Route-Map-1.jpg?resize=300%2C228&ssl=1 300w, https://i1.wp.com/www.freersackler.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Sogdian-Trade-Route-Map-1.jpg?resize=768%2C584&ssl=1 768w, https://i1.wp.com/www.freersackler.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Sogdian-Trade-Route-Map-1.jpg?resize=1024%2C779&ssl=1 1024w, https://i1.wp.com/www.freersackler.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Sogdian-Trade-Route-Map-1.jpg?resize=480%2C365&ssl=1 480w, https://i1.wp.com/www.freersackler.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Sogdian-Trade-Route-Map-1.jpg?resize=263%2C200&ssl=1 263w, https://i1.wp.com/www.freersackler.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Sogdian-Trade-Route-Map-1.jpg?resize=200%2C152&ssl=1 200w, https://i1.wp.com/www.freersackler.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Sogdian-Trade-Route-Map-1.jpg?w=1752&ssl=1 1752w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="300" /></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-461985" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #736551; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; margin: 0.8075em 0px; text-align: inherit;">Land and sea trade routes in the first millennium CE. Bukhara and Samarkand were major cities in Sogdiana.</figcaption></figure><br />
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One of the first references to the Sogdians dates to the fifth century BCE. They were known for their importance on the trade routes that crisscrossed Asia, from the Mediterranean to the Sea of Japan. The Sogdian homeland, in present-day Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, was famous for its bountiful oases that served as crucial stopovers between expansive deserts and rugged mountains.</div>
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The Sogdians traded silk from China, horses from Uzbekistan, gemstones from India, musk from Tibet, and furs from the northern steppes. Skilled artisans, they made and sold luxurious objects, particularly metalwork and textiles, across the Asian steppe and into China. They also exported fashions, dances, and music traditions. In addition to serving as diplomats and translators, the Sogdians were instrumental in spreading Buddhism, Christianity, and Manichaeism, a dualistic Iranian religion founded in the third century CE. The Sogdians largely disappeared by the eighth century, and their language, architecture, and history were lost to time.</div>
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Archaeological discoveries—from ancient letters to monumental wall paintings—have allowed scholars to reconstruct some of the extraordinary contributions Sogdians made to Late Antiquity. To learn more about these dynamic people who crossed geographic, political, and cultural boundaries, the Freer|Sackler assembled an international team of scholars, convened workshops across the world, and worked with graduate students for almost a decade.</div>
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<figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-461987" class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_461987" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 1em 0px 1.5em; max-width: 100%; width: 1999px;"><a href="https://www.freersackler.si.edu/object/F1915.110/" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #4c7693;"><img alt="carved brown stone showing figures and divinities" class="wp-image-461987 size-full" data-attachment-id="461987" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"NeilGreentree","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"The Smithsonian continues to research information on its collections. Contact Smithsonian for current status.","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Frontal from the base of a funerary couch with Sogdian musicians and dancers and Buddhist divinities Buddhist sculpture","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Frontal from the base of a funerary couch with Sogdian musicians and dancers and Buddhist divinities Buddhist sculpture" data-large-file="https://i2.wp.com/www.freersackler.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/F1915.110.jpg?fit=876%2C320&ssl=1" data-medium-file="https://i2.wp.com/www.freersackler.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/F1915.110.jpg?fit=300%2C110&ssl=1" data-orig-file="https://i2.wp.com/www.freersackler.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/F1915.110.jpg?fit=1999%2C731&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1999,731" data-permalink="https://www.freersackler.si.edu/the-sogdians-influencers-on-the-silk-roads/frontal-from-the-base-of-a-funerary-couch-with-sogdian-musicians-and-dancers-and-buddhist-divinities-buddhist-sculpture-2/" height="320" sizes="(max-width: 876px) 100vw, 876px" src="https://i2.wp.com/www.freersackler.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/F1915.110.jpg?resize=876%2C320&ssl=1" srcset="https://i2.wp.com/www.freersackler.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/F1915.110.jpg?w=1999&ssl=1 1999w, https://i2.wp.com/www.freersackler.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/F1915.110.jpg?resize=300%2C110&ssl=1 300w, https://i2.wp.com/www.freersackler.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/F1915.110.jpg?resize=768%2C281&ssl=1 768w, https://i2.wp.com/www.freersackler.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/F1915.110.jpg?resize=1024%2C374&ssl=1 1024w, https://i2.wp.com/www.freersackler.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/F1915.110.jpg?resize=480%2C176&ssl=1 480w, https://i2.wp.com/www.freersackler.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/F1915.110.jpg?resize=547%2C200&ssl=1 547w, https://i2.wp.com/www.freersackler.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/F1915.110.jpg?resize=200%2C73&ssl=1 200w, https://i2.wp.com/www.freersackler.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/F1915.110.jpg?w=1752&ssl=1 1752w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="876" /></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-461987" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #736551; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; margin: 0.8075em 0px; text-align: inherit;">Frontal from the base of a funerary couch with Sogdian musicians and dancers and Buddhist divinities. China, purportedly Anyang, Northern Qi dynasty (550–577 CE). Marble with traces of pigment. Freer Gallery of Art, Gift of Charles Lang Freer, <a href="https://www.freersackler.si.edu/object/F1915.110/" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #4c7693;">F1915.110</a>.</figcaption></figure><br />
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<a href="https://sogdians.si.edu/nara-to-nancy/" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #4c7693;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;">The Sogdians: Influencers on the Silk Roads</span></a> is a new digital exhibition that explores Sogdian art through existing material culture. It focuses on the golden age of the Sogdians, from the fourth to the eighth centuries CE, when Sogdiana flourished through trade and agriculture. Sogdian emigrant communities spread across China, South and Southeast Asia, and into the Central Asian steppe and Mongolia. During these centuries, a highly sophisticated and distinct Sogdian urban culture developed, epitomized by richly colored wall paintings and exceptional textiles, metalwork, and sculptures.</div>
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Various dimensions of Sogdian culture, from art, music, and feasting to religious and funerary practices, are presented in this digital exhibition. New 3-D models of metalwork objects, photographs of archaeological sites, and international scholarship reveal new details about these forgotten people. Investigate Sogdian objects, travel the Silk Roads on an interactive map, and watch leading scholars discuss their latest research as you discover the most important people you’ve (maybe) never heard of.</div>
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Explore the digital exhibit: <a href="http://www.freersackler.si.edu/sogdians" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #4c7693;">www.freersackler.si.edu/sogdians</a></div>
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="580" src="https://sketchfab.com/models/97882a1915844f03b5e7ed6c228db104/embed?autostart=1" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-width: 100%;" width="1200"></iframe></div>
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Explore this 3-D interactive model of a winged camel ewer, late 7th or early 8th century, now in the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. Model © The State Hermitage Museum, S-11.</div>
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This online exhibition is made possible through the generosity of the Leon Levy Foundation, with additional support from the Thaw Charitable Trust and the Smithsonian Provost Scholarly Studies Award program.</div>
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We warmly recognize the collaboration of the State Hermitage Museum, the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (NYU), XE: Experimental Humanities and Social Engagement (NYU), the Bard Graduate Center, and the Association Sauvegarde Peinture Afrasiab.</div>
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This piece is part of a series on <span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;">The Sogdians: Influencers on the Silk Roads. </span>Check back for additional posts from our collaborators.</div>
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Hans van Roonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13577124666014224950noreply@blogger.com8