During the second millennium B.C., Indo-European peoples, which were known archaeologically as the Andronovo culture, settled in Southern Kazakhstan. They left behind a rich repository of petroglyphs, which they carved into stone cliffs at their cultic centres. While petroglyphs can be difficult to date, because the stone had existed for millennia before being carved upon, the techniques used to carve the pictographs have assisted in the dating process.
Founded in 1351, the city of Ayudhya was an important economic and political center of Siam for more than 400 years. Despite being situated about 90 kilometers from the coast and away from the main international sea-routes that pass Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, by the second half of the fifteenth century Ayudhya had become a major political center in the Menam Basin, as well as an important trading post.
The Omani people’s initial interest in the sea in the third century BC was probably a result of the following: Oman’s location at the cross-roads between South East Asia, the Middle East and Africa; its long shorelines; and its safe natural harbours in Muscat, Sohar and Qalhat, which become successful trading posts for maritime trade from and to East and West.
Remote and mysterious 7th–8th century China provided a natural source of stories that could neither be verified nor disputed. As a consequence, knowledge of China of early Arab/Islamic traders on the Silk Route was based on rather basic, mythical, information. These stories were easily categorized into the three literary genres of the time, The Rihla (travelogues); The ‘Aja’ib (miracles); and Al-Faraj ba'da a-Shidda wa-l-diq, which drew both a cultured readership and an avid oral audience.
The resurgence of ethno religious groups claiming their descendancy from the earliest Muslim communities who settled in Quanzhou has led to the Ding lineage being incorporated into the Hui people in 1979. The Hui people form the largest of 10 Muslim nationalities in China and are the 20th century descendants of Arab and Persian ancestors. This is borne out by the abundance of preserved family genealogies, gravestones, stele inscriptions and dynastic records, which are now recognized as part of local Chinese culture.
The Chinese began to forge links with and travel to many countries in Southeast Asia from early times. This can be seen from archaeological finds across the region and is recorded in the literature of the time. Inscriptions in the form of epigraphic materials also provide insights into the travels of the Chinese during the period, including likely origins and departure and arrival sites.
Perceptions of China have varied from one era to another, and include the “China of Marvels”, the “China of Enlightenment” or the “China of Exotics”. The “China of Marvels” caught the public’s imagination in medieval times with China being seen as highly advanced in many areas, compared to Western countries. But by the 13th century and the Yuan dynasty, this positive perception changed rapidly when China adopted anti-foreign policies.
Researchers agree that silk production began in China in the first millennium B.C. and that this led to the creation of the first Silk Roads, which connected to the Roman Empire, via India, Persia, Afghanistan, the Pamir mountains and beyond. By the first centuries B.C., it is clear from archaeological finds in Viet Nam that trading links had developed there and that silk was being produced and woven in the Giao Chi region.
The Topkapi Palace in Istanbul has one of the most valuable collections of Chinese and Japanese porcelain in the world. The palace was built in the 1460s and was the residence for the imperial family until the mid-19th century. Now a museum, its famous collection of porcelain dates back to the 13th century and includes over 1,000 pieces of blue and white celadon and over 3,000 pieces of Yuan, Ming and Vietnamese ware, including some of the finest blue and white examples from the Ming Dynasty.
The maritime routes of the Silk Road were the main porcelain and Spice Roads, as well as direct avenues of contact between the East and the West. Throughout time, maps and charts have reflected the cultural exchanges taking place between the East and the West, including international trade and religious activities Shifts in knowledge, power and culture resulting from the Silk Routes have been captured in a rang of maps, including the Ptolemy World Map (150 AD), the Islamic World Map (1154 AD), the Catalan Atlas (1375), and the Korean World Map 1402.
