
After Alexander
Central Asia before Islam
Oxford University Press
Published on 26. July 2007
Book
Hardback
532 pages
978-0-19-726384-6 (ISBN)
Description
This is a new study of the history, archaeology and numismatics of Central Asia, an area of great significance for our understanding of the ancient and early medieval world. This vast, land-locked region, with its extreme continental climate, was a centre of civilization with great metropolises. Its cosmopolitan population followed different religions (Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Buddhism), and traded extensively with China, India, the Middle East, and Europe. The millennium from the overthrow of the first world empire of Achaemenian Persians by Alexander the Great to the arrival of the Arabs and Islam was a period of considerable change and conflict.
The volume focuses on recent investigations in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. It provides a complex analysis of the symbiosis between the city life based on oases, and the nomadic peoples grazing their animals in the surrounding semi-deserts. Other topics include the influence of the Greek colonists on military architecture, and the major impact of the Great Kushans on the spread of Buddhism and on the development of the Central Asian metropolis. And although written documents rarely survive, coinage has provided essential evidence for the political and cultural history of the region.
These essays will be of interest to the scholar, the student, and the armchair traveller
The volume focuses on recent investigations in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. It provides a complex analysis of the symbiosis between the city life based on oases, and the nomadic peoples grazing their animals in the surrounding semi-deserts. Other topics include the influence of the Greek colonists on military architecture, and the major impact of the Great Kushans on the spread of Buddhism and on the development of the Central Asian metropolis. And although written documents rarely survive, coinage has provided essential evidence for the political and cultural history of the region.
These essays will be of interest to the scholar, the student, and the armchair traveller
Reviews / Votes
...overall the project is a successful one. The contributions will be of interest to specialists and a few may serve as valuable introductions for a general audience and students. * Andrew Glass International Institute for Asian Studies *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Scholars and students of the history and archaeology of central Asia, numismatists.
Illustrations
7 colour plates, numerous halftones and line drawings
Dimensions
Height: 253 mm
Width: 195 mm
Thickness: 42 mm
Weight
1510 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-726384-6 (9780197263846)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Editor
Keeper of Coins and Medals, The British Museum, London
Honorary Professor, University College London; Fellow of the British Academy