More than a century ago, Russian Orientalists advanced a number of erroneous assumptions about Central Asian history that even today remain embedded within the “Silk Road” paradigm. This presentation illustrates how this received wisdom continues to shape our understanding of early modern Central Asian history, and how recent work in Indian history demonstrates the need to rethink these longstanding ideas and approach historical work on the Silk Road with a more critical perspective. The presentation draws on Scott Levi’s more than fifteen years of work on the subject, which has culminated in the recent publication his new book, Caravans: Indian Merchants on the Silk Road (Penguin, 2015)
For more information, visit the Department of History website.
