The Silk Road Anecdotes

The Silk Road Anecdotes

A Potpourri of History, People, Trade and Culture

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Author: nousheenkhan

July 4, 2021 nousheenkhan

TRADE ON THE VOLGA RIVER

June 6, 2021June 6, 2021 nousheenkhan

When Baghdad was an Intellectual Powerhouse

May 31, 2021June 1, 2021 nousheenkhan

Taxila : Where East and West actually met

December 22, 2020 nousheenkhan

The Movers and Shakers of the Mongolian Empire : The Women !

July 25, 2020December 22, 2020 nousheenkhan

Ibn Khaldun : Who was he ?

March 11, 2020 nousheenkhan

The hybrid culture of the Kingdom of Khotan

November 3, 2019November 3, 2019 nousheenkhan

Samarkand – The Rich, Fertile City (Part II : Islamic Era)

October 6, 2019November 3, 2019 nousheenkhan

Samarkand – The Rich, Fertile City (Part I: Pre-Islamic Era)

September 22, 2019 nousheenkhan

Buddhism and the Silk Route

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The city of Samarkand (in present day Uzbekistan) needs no introduction. The ancients called the area that is today Uzbekistan as Transoxiana i.e. Central Asia north of the river Oxus, the once great river known as Amu Darya. Samarkand is one of the oldest, continually inhabited cities in Central Asia and possibly the world.
At Nava Vihāra and Bamiyan, Buddha images had ‘moon discs’ or halo iconographically represented behind or around their heads. This led to the poetic depiction of pure beauty as someone having “the moon-shaped face of a Buddha.”
A Buddhist legend says that Buddha himself had chosen two merchants from Balkh as his first disciples who created the first Stupa. There is ample archaeological evidence of the influence of Buddhism in Central Asia and China. Under the Kushans, trade flourished and so did Buddhism which often followed the footsteps of the trade caravans. At the end of the 1st century BC, Buddhist monks had established a monastery in Termez on the north banks of the river Oxus. 
You can read more about the Sogdians and the Iranian hero Rustam on my blog:
'The Forty Rules of Love' is one of the most memorable fiction books that I have read and then re-read. As much as it touched my heart, the novel also facilitated intellectual widening. It introduced me to the story of Rumi and Shams Tabrizi, which propelled me to read more about Sufism and its origins. I was aware of Sufism, but never explored it deeply. That was until I read this book.
The Silk Route comprised of terrestrial routes but it is relatively lesser known that it included maritime routes as well. The sea routes were used between 1st- 6th century AD between Mediterranean Basin and India during Roman Era.

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The Silk Road Anecdotes
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