Samarkand the Center of the World

Samarkand the Center of the World PDF Author: Matteo Compareti
Publisher: Mazda Publishers
ISBN: 9781568593050
Category : Archaeology, Medieval
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"In antiquity Samarkand was the capital of the Persian province of Sogdiana. Its language, culture, and "Zoroastrian" religion closely approximated those of the Persians. Following its conquest by Alexander, its strategic position and fertile soil made Sogdiana a coveted prize for Late Antique invaders of Central Asia. Around 660 CE - at the dawn of Arab invasion - local king Varkhuman promoted the execution of a unique painted program in one of his private rooms. Each wall was dedicated to a specific population: the north wall, the Chinese; the west, the Sogdians themselves; the east, the Indians and possibly the Turks. The south wall is probably the continuation of the scene on the west wall. In Chinese written sources, some support for this concept of the "division of the world" can be found. Accidentally discovered during Soviet times, the room was named "Hall of the Ambassadors" due to the representations of different peoples. However, many aspects of its painted program remain obscure. This study offers new ideas for better identifications of the rituals celebrated by the people on the different walls during precise moments of the year."--

Samarkand the Center of the World

Samarkand the Center of the World PDF Author: Matteo Compareti
Publisher: Mazda Publishers
ISBN: 9781568593050
Category : Archaeology, Medieval
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"In antiquity Samarkand was the capital of the Persian province of Sogdiana. Its language, culture, and "Zoroastrian" religion closely approximated those of the Persians. Following its conquest by Alexander, its strategic position and fertile soil made Sogdiana a coveted prize for Late Antique invaders of Central Asia. Around 660 CE - at the dawn of Arab invasion - local king Varkhuman promoted the execution of a unique painted program in one of his private rooms. Each wall was dedicated to a specific population: the north wall, the Chinese; the west, the Sogdians themselves; the east, the Indians and possibly the Turks. The south wall is probably the continuation of the scene on the west wall. In Chinese written sources, some support for this concept of the "division of the world" can be found. Accidentally discovered during Soviet times, the room was named "Hall of the Ambassadors" due to the representations of different peoples. However, many aspects of its painted program remain obscure. This study offers new ideas for better identifications of the rituals celebrated by the people on the different walls during precise moments of the year."--

Sogdian Traders

Sogdian Traders PDF Author: Étienne de la Vaissière
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9047406990
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 432

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Book Description
The Sogdian Traders were the main go-between of Central Asia from the fifth to the eighth century. From their towns of Samarkand, Bukhara, or Tashkent, their diaspora is attested by texts, inscriptions or archaeology in all the major countries of Asia (India, China, Iran, Turkish Steppe, but also Byzantium). This survey for the first time brings together all the data on their trade, from the beginning, a small-scale trade in the first century BC up to its end in the tenth century. It should interest all the specialists of Ancient and Medieval Asia (including specialists of Sinology, Islamic Studies, Iranology, Turkology and Indology) but also specialists of Medieval Economic History.

The Golden Journey to Samarkand

The Golden Journey to Samarkand PDF Author: James Elroy Flecker
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : English poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 88

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Book Description


The World's Must-See Places

The World's Must-See Places PDF Author: DK Eyewitness
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0756695899
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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Book Description
The World's Must-See Places takes you on a tour of over 100 of the world's greatest sights. In true DK Eyewitness Travel Guide style, each page of the book will show you what other books only tell you, with unique 3-D cutaway artworks that let you look inside each building as if you were there. Each featured sight has been selected for its uniqueness, or its historical or architectural importance, and many are included on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites. Situated across the five continents, the sights include iconic landmarks, such as Chartres Cathedral and Sydney Opera House, and lesser-known gems, including the Kairouan Mosque in Tunisia and the Toshu-gu Shrine in Japan. In addition to engaging text that describes each sight, sidebars and text panels cover topics such as the architectural style of the building, the architect and his works, or historic events or people that shaped the building as we know it today. This book will not only inspire readers to visit some, if not all, of the featured sights, but will also appeal to armchair travelers who prefer to view the sights from the comfort of their own home.

Tourism in Central Asia

Tourism in Central Asia PDF Author: Kemal Kantarci
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1771880554
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 398

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Book Description
This book will be a major resource for all academic researchers and practitioners interested in issues dealing with the development of tourism, its potential and challenges, and policy and regulatory issues in the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. These countries are gaining more attention as emerging destinations. There is limited research that focuses on these countries with respect to their potential and characteristics as tourism destinations. This book aims to be an invaluable source for both practitioners and academicians who are in international marketing and tourism. The central Asia region (also termed the Silk Road region) as an emerging destination is ripe for future tourism development. The region is rich with historical, cultural, and natural beauty that could provide significant utility to many potential visitors. This book brings together key writings on this topic in a single resource.

Samarkand (Eng)

Samarkand (Eng) PDF Author: Hillel Zaltzman
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780989443821
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 786

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Book Description
The Jewish undergorund life in the Soviet Union.

When Asia Was the World

When Asia Was the World PDF Author: Stewart Gordon
Publisher: Da Capo Press
ISBN: 0306815567
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
Describes the important influence of Asia's great civilization on the West, as traveling merchants, scholars, philosophers, and religious figures brought the wisdom of China and the Middle East to medieval Europe during the Dark Ages.

Routledge Revivals: Trade, Travel and Exploration in the Middle Ages (2000)

Routledge Revivals: Trade, Travel and Exploration in the Middle Ages (2000) PDF Author: John Block Friedman
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1351661329
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 758

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Book Description
First published in 2000, Trade, Travel, and Exploration: An Encyclopedia covers the people, places, technologies, and intellectual concepts that contributed to trade, travel and exploration during the Middle Ages, from the years C.E. 525 to 1492. This comprehensive reference work contains entries on a large number of subjects, including familiar topics such as the voyages of Columbus and Marco Polo, and also information that is more difficult to find, for example, the traditions of travel among Muslim women and the influence of Viking travel on navigation and geographical knowledge. Bringing together more than 175 scholars from a variety of disciplines, it minimizes Eurocentric bias and offers extensive coverage of such topics as travel within Inner Asia, Mongol society, and the spread of Buddhism. Including an extensive map program and more than 125 illustrations, as well as bibliographies, a comprehensive index and "see also" references, Medieval Trade, Travel, and Exploration is a valuable reference guide for undergraduate and graduate students, scholars and also the general reader.

The Silk Roads

The Silk Roads PDF Author: Peter Frankopan
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 1101946334
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 688

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Book Description
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • Far more than a history of the Silk Roads, this book is truly a revelatory new history of the world, promising to destabilize notions of where we come from and where we are headed next. "A rare book that makes you question your assumptions about the world.” —The Wall Street Journal From the Middle East and its political instability to China and its economic rise, the vast region stretching eastward from the Balkans across the steppe and South Asia has been thrust into the global spotlight in recent years. Frankopan teaches us that to understand what is at stake for the cities and nations built on these intricate trade routes, we must first understand their astounding pasts. Frankopan realigns our understanding of the world, pointing us eastward. It was on the Silk Roads that East and West first encountered each other through trade and conquest, leading to the spread of ideas, cultures and religions. From the rise and fall of empires to the spread of Buddhism and the advent of Christianity and Islam, right up to the great wars of the twentieth century—this book shows how the fate of the West has always been inextricably linked to the East. Also available: The New Silk Roads, a timely exploration of the dramatic and profound changes our world is undergoing right now—as seen from the perspective of the rising powers of the East.

The Golden Apple of Samarkand

The Golden Apple of Samarkand PDF Author: Lala Wilbraham
Publisher: Unicorn
ISBN: 9781913491802
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
Lala plays with her diamond ring, mesmerized as always by the distant world it conjures for her and the jewel's extraordinary trajectory from Tsarist Russia to twenty-first-century England. An unexpected invitation has arrived and, at last, she will be able to visit Lentvaris, her paternal grandmother's ancestral home, a splendid East European estate where princely art collections, spectacular jewellery, extravagant balls and performing dwarves, coexisted with philanthropy on a grand scale and a deep sense of noblesse oblige.The First World War irrevocably altered the family's privileged lives, Lala's great-uncle was forced to flee with the last of the Romanov dynasty and her great-grandfather auctioned off his art treasures. The Second World War lost Lentvaris for ever. Lala's grandfather died in a Soviet gulag. Her grandmother, aunt and father survived harsh imprisonment and afterwards crossed continents eventually finding precarious stability living as émigrés in South America. This is an epic story of dramatic escapes, concealed treasures, a lost paradise, but especially of the courage, strength and resilience shown by the female side of Lala's family, and of the power of love, humour and hope.