Treasures of the Great Silk Road

June 24, 2013
This comprehensive study of Central Asia and its antiquities is a well-documented and scholarly examination of the region's rich history and diverse cultures. Knobloch, who first visited in 1959 returned in the late 1990s to research and photograph the region. The major cities, past and present, along the ancient Silk Road are exhaustively detailed along with the invasions that swept into each area. He offers an intriguing look at the Zarafshan Valley and the city of Samarkand, a major nexus of the trade route, paying particular attention to architectural forms along the wayâcitadels, bridges, domes and cupolas, mosques, tombs, and palaces. Knobloch describes the natural landscape features that impacted trade and created various diversions from the original route, noting how in the 15th and 16th centuries oases were abandoned as maritime routes replaced overland trade. Other challenges included the inability of "petty local rulers" to guarantee caravan security, and he concludes with a look back at the travails of Afghanistan and the losses of its treasures during its history of conflicts up to the present day. Knobloch's material, however fascinating and meticulously presented, is vast in its scope and will test the attention spans of general interest readers. 100 photos, 25 maps.