Knowingo
The cover of The Silk Roads

The Silk Roads

Peter Frankopan, 2015

From Alexander's conquests to the war on terror, the lands between the Mediterranean and China shaped world history through faith, slaves, silver, oil and war, and they are rising again.

Get the app Read on the web

27 parts, about 51 minutes to read.

Why read it

  • Retells world history from the lands linking east and west, where empires, faiths and trade met, rather than from Europe
  • Helps you see today's struggles over oil, Iran and Central Asia as the latest chapter of a very long story
  • Follows goods like silk, furs, slaves, silver, oil and wheat to show how trade routes shaped wars and religions

Who it is for

  • Readers who learned history mainly through Europe
  • People trying to understand the Middle East and Central Asia today
  • Travelers curious about the ancient trade routes

What the summary covers

  1. Preface1 min
  2. The Creation of the Silk Road2 min
  3. The Road of Faiths2 min
  4. The Road to a Christian East2 min
  5. The Road to Revolution2 min
  6. The Road to Concord2 min
  7. The Road of Furs2 min
  8. The Slave Road2 min
  9. The Road to Heaven2 min
  10. The Road to Hell2 min
  11. The Road of Death and Destruction2 min
  12. The Road of Gold1 min
  13. The Road of Silver2 min
  14. The Road to Northern Europe2 min
  15. The Road to Empire2 min
  16. The Road to Crisis2 min
  17. The Road to War2 min
  18. The Road of Black Gold2 min
  19. The Road to Compromise2 min
  20. The Wheat Road2 min
  21. The Road to Genocide2 min
  22. The Road of Cold Warfare2 min
  23. The American Silk Road2 min
  24. The Road of Superpower Rivalry2 min
  25. The Road to Catastrophe2 min
  26. The Road to Tragedy2 min
  27. Conclusion: The New Silk Road1 min

Recommended by

  • William DalrympleHistorian and author
    This is history on a grand scale, with a sweep and ambition that is rare.

About the author

  • Peter FrankopanBritish historian and professor of global history at Worcester College, Oxford
    • Born 22 March 1971; British historian and writer.
    • Educated at Eton College, he took a degree in Byzantine history at Jesus College, Cambridge, and a doctorate at Corpus Christi College, Oxford.
    • Professor of Global History at Oxford University, where he is Director of the Oxford Centre for Byzantine Research.
    • Senior Research Fellow at Worcester College, Oxford since 2000.
    • His first history book, The First Crusade: The Call from the East, was published in 2012.
    • The Silk Roads was named the Daily Telegraph History Book of the Year 2015.
    • In 2023 he published The Earth Transformed: An Untold History, a history of the world written from an environmental perspective.
    • Named one of the world's 50 top thinkers by Prospect magazine in 2019.

More books like this