Upon reading this chapter, my first impression was an enlightened realization on how valuable that map quiz actually was! Memorizing the places on those two maps as well as reading ‘Foreign Devils’ gave me a much better understanding of the geographical context and people I was so overwhelmed by in my first blog entry.
A first point of interest in this chapter, as briefly discussed in class, was the mummification discoveries. I won’t get into this part too much considering we’ve talked about it already, but the fact that there are methods to trace the general migration pattern of these European ‘Tocharians’ into Loulan from as long as 4000 years ago is simply amazing.
The history of the Sogdians is fascinating because we see the early developments of the trade routes. They were well known as far as Greece because of Alexander the Great, and they appeared to have managed to monopolize a triangle trade route with India and China. The map quiz helped me put a perspective of their general whereabouts because on page 68 it is noted that Panjikent was a Sogdian city, and Samarkand, previously Marakanda, was the Sogdian capital. Now that I can visualize this area, I can see how it was so accessible to Alexander the Great and his army.
After reading the list of items Sogdian merchants transported (I.e. Chinese paper) I believe that it would not be a far stretch to suggest that Sogdian merchants were responsible for the transportation paper manufacturing. The establishment of paper manufacturer in Samarkand in the eight century led to the gradual transmission of paper-making in Europe (67).
Another interesting fact about the Sogdians, is that the Sogdian merchants and travellers were mainly responsible for the spread of Zoroastrianism along the Silk Roads and into China and India. Though the religion was only tolerated in China in the Tang dynasty, the Sogdians can be said to be responsible for Zoroastrian believers that to this day remain in India.
Side note… I loved the bit at the end about Marco Polo. I never knew that he traveled with his family, it’s amusing to me to refer to them as “The Polos.”
A first point of interest in this chapter, as briefly discussed in class, was the mummification discoveries. I won’t get into this part too much considering we’ve talked about it already, but the fact that there are methods to trace the general migration pattern of these European ‘Tocharians’ into Loulan from as long as 4000 years ago is simply amazing.
The history of the Sogdians is fascinating because we see the early developments of the trade routes. They were well known as far as Greece because of Alexander the Great, and they appeared to have managed to monopolize a triangle trade route with India and China. The map quiz helped me put a perspective of their general whereabouts because on page 68 it is noted that Panjikent was a Sogdian city, and Samarkand, previously Marakanda, was the Sogdian capital. Now that I can visualize this area, I can see how it was so accessible to Alexander the Great and his army.
After reading the list of items Sogdian merchants transported (I.e. Chinese paper) I believe that it would not be a far stretch to suggest that Sogdian merchants were responsible for the transportation paper manufacturing. The establishment of paper manufacturer in Samarkand in the eight century led to the gradual transmission of paper-making in Europe (67).
Another interesting fact about the Sogdians, is that the Sogdian merchants and travellers were mainly responsible for the spread of Zoroastrianism along the Silk Roads and into China and India. Though the religion was only tolerated in China in the Tang dynasty, the Sogdians can be said to be responsible for Zoroastrian believers that to this day remain in India.
Side note… I loved the bit at the end about Marco Polo. I never knew that he traveled with his family, it’s amusing to me to refer to them as “The Polos.”
