The Caucasian Silk Roads and Eurasian Connectivity, 500-1405

The book aims to present a history of the Silk Roads in the Caucasus region from the sixth century to the early fifteenth century-the end of the Mongol-Timurid era and the beginning of the Age of Discoveries, which began ushering in shifts in global connectivity. The volume is based on a range of Georgian, Armenian, Western, Arab, and Persian sources that are often neglected in other works on the Silk Roads. The book demonstrates that the Caucasus served as a major highway in connecting the Eurasian steppes with the Middle East and the Black Sea with inner Asia.

1. Introduction. - 2. Sasanian Iran, Byzantium, and Transcontinental Trade in the 6th century Caucasus. - 3. The Caucasus and Eurasian Silk Roads in 7th-11th Centuries. - 4. Trade Routes in 10th-13th Century Caucasus. - 5. Kingdom of Georgia and Silk Roads in 11th-13th Centuries. - 6. Khvarazmians, Mongols and the Decline of Silk Roads in the Caucasus. - 7. Tamerlane, the Caucasus and Silk Roads. - 8. Conclusion.