The Silk Roads: A New History of the World

“While such countries may seem wild to us, these are no backwaters, no obscure wastelands. In fact the bridge between east and west is the very crossroads of civilisation. Far from being on the fringe of global affairs, these countries lie at its very centre—as they have done since the beginning of history.”

Frankopan introduces the goal of his alternative world history: To show that the lands of Asia, especially Mesopotamia and Central Asia, have always been at the “very centre” of history. This is in part because these regions behave as a kind of “bridge,” connecting East and West and thus facilitating the movement of goods, culture, and ideas.

“From the beginning of time, the centre of Asia was where empires were made.”

The first words of Chapter 1 set the tone for Frankopan’s book, which seeks to shift the focus of historiography away from Europe and toward Central Asia and Mesopotamia. Frankopan seeks to establish that it was this region, not Europe, that facilitated many of the most important historical developments since antiquity because of its position at the crossroads between East and West.

“We think of globalisation as a uniquely modern phenomenon; yet 2,000 years ago too, it was a fact of life, one that presented opportunities, created problems and prompted technological advance.”

Frankopan recasts globalization as a driving force of world history since ancient times. This project is related to his argument against Eurocentrism, as he refutes the common view that the European “Age of Exploration” initiated globalization. For Frankopan, globalization is rather a phenomenon with its origins in the East, in the silk road and other trade routes that passed through Central Asia and Mesopotamia to connect the Mediterranean and the Pacific.