Steel and silk -- Silk in Roman society -- The Chinese empire and the Xiongnu -- The discovery of the west -- Securing the silk routes -- The Kushan empire -- The Sogdian intermediaries -- Caspian routes and the Crimea -- Black Sea voyages -- The Sarmatians -- The Parthian empire -- Parthia and...

"From the Netherlands to the Ottoman Empire, to Japan and India, this groundbreaking volume confronts the complex and diverse problem of the formation of fiscal states in Eurasia between 1500 and 1914. This series of country case studies from leading economic historians reveals that distinctive...

Intro -- Table of contents -- Preface -- Introduction: Silk on the Silk Roads. Exchange between East and West in Antiquity Berit Hildebrandt -- 1. Looking towards the West - how the Chinese viewed the Romans Liu Xinru -- 2. Textiles and trade in South Asia during the Proto-Historic and Early...

Silver, Money and Credit gathers a collection of contributions by leading specialists on the role of silver in Ancient Mesopotamia. The volume is a tribute to Robartus J. van der Spek, professor emeritus at the VU University Amsterdam. The thematic core area is the documentation concerning...