When Asia Was the WorldHachette Books, 2008 - 228 pages While European intellectual, cultural, and commercial life stagnated during the early medieval period, Asia flourished as the wellspring of science, philosophy, and religion. Linked together by a web of religious, commercial, and intellectual connections, the different regions of Asia's vast civilization, from Arabia to China, hummed with commerce, international diplomacy, and the brisk exchange of ideas. Stewart Gordon has fashioned a fascinating and unique look at Asia from A.D. 700 to 1500, a time when Asia was the world, by describing the personal journeys of Asia's many travelers-the merchants who traded spices along the Silk Road, the apothecaries who exchanged medicine and knowledge from China to the Middle East, and the philosophers and holy men who crossed continents to explore and exchange ideas, books, science, and culture. |
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Abraham bin Yiju Aden Afghanistan Almish Arab armies arrived Asian world Babur Baghdad beads Buddha Buddhist Cairo caliph capital caravan cardamom Central Asia ceramics ceremony China Chinese cities coast of India conquest court courtly Damascus Delhi dynasty early elite emperor empire Fargana Flecker fleet Genghis Khan Geniza Goitein honor horses Huan Huan’s Ibid Ibn Battuta Ibn Fadlan Ibn Sina Ibn Sina’s imperial important India Indian Ocean Intan Shipwreck Islam Java Jewish Kabul Khazar Khwarizm king king’s kingdoms Ma Huan Madmun Malabar Coast Malacca Mangalore Mecca memoir merchants Middle East miles monasteries Mongols monks Muslim nobles nomads ofHiuen-Tsiang ofthe pattern pepper Persia port Portuguese region religion religious robes routes scholars sects ships Silk Road slave Southeast Asia Spain spices Sri Lanka steppe Sufi sultan Suma Oriental Tang tenth century thousand Tomé Pires trade translated traveled University Press Uzbegs wrote Xuanzang Yiju’s