More than Silk on the Silk Roads: Sogdians and Cultural Exchange Across Eurasia

Too often, teaching the Silk Roads means focusing on how goods moved between societies at either end of the Silk Roads. While understanding how Chinese silk reached the Mediterranean is important, I often think that the focus on the edges of Eurasia, while overlooking the societies in Central Asia, is similar to the tendency of coastal Americans to refer to the middle of the country as ‘flyover states’. We know people live in the middle of these landmasses, but we focus more on the coastal edges. Ask yourself when was the last time you focused on the critical role of the Sogdians in facilitating trade across Eurasia?

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