This is a history of the world viewed from the perspective of the lands between the Mediterranean and the Himalayas. As the Oxford scholar author points out, this is the home of most civilizations and religions. The rise of Europe was neither inevitable, nor pre-ordained and most western historians fail to focus on the lands around the Black and Caspian Seas, the original center of the world.
Persia was the first great empire and creator of laws and civilization. It was conquered by Alexander the Great, whose successors ruled in the east for three centuries and began organizing the foundation of a trading system along the Silk Road.* The Chinese engaged from the east and the Romans entered from the west. It was the wealth of Egypt and its trading as far east as India that propelled the greatness and wealth of Rome. The draw of the east was so compelling that Rome moved its capital to Constantinople. "The ancient world was much more sophisticated and interlinked than we sometimes like to think."
Many and various religions competed in the area. "Religions rose and fell as they spread across Eurasia, fighting each other for audiences, loyalty and moral authority." Buddhism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism were the dominant ones. Christianity, pioneered throughout the Roman Empire by Constantine, was to eventually succeed in the east, not through conquest, but by acceptance. The rulers of Persia felt comfortable with and promoted religious tolerance. Indeed by the seventh century, it appeared as if Christianity was ready to dominate the east.
In the century before the rise of Islam, the known world saw devastation everywhere. "The scale of death was unimaginable." From China to the Mediterranean, "Bubonic plague brought catastrophe, despair and death". Then, there was a major war between the Roman and Persian Empires. In southwest Arabia, a trend toward monotheism was building and in 610, a trader named Muhammad received inspiration from Allah. As the world struggled with the consequences of plague and war, he offered spiritual salvation that brought with it economic rewards. Expanding the religion through the sword, Islam quickly conquered Arabia and Persia. Its expansion was aided by Christians and Jews because from their perspective, "it looked inclusive and conciliatory, and offered hope of calming tensions." Within a century, Islam spread from Arabia to Spain and China. The wealth that flowed to the center led to the construction of one of the great cities of the world. It was called the city of peace - Baghdad. The new-found prosperity of the Arab world led to innovation, urbanization, advances in medicine and mathematics and an upgrading of the quality of life, while in poverty stricken Europe, life went on with little change. Europe was an intellectual backwater restricted by a fundamentalist religion. "The Islamic conquests created a new world order, an economic giant, bolstered by self -confidence, broadmindedness and a passionate zeal for progress"
In the later centuries of the millennium, the steppes increasingly influenced the civilized world. The Rus traded furs and slaves and, in the 11th century, the Seljuk Turks and other nomads were on the move. The Seljuks became rulers in Baghdad. Turmoil threatened Jerusalem and the faltering rulers in Constantinople asked for help from the west. Thus, began the Crusader era. In the summer of 1099, Jerusalem fell along with Antioch, Tyre and Tripoli. "Over the next two centuries, enormous effort went into holding the territories conquered in the First Crusade. Serving the King of Jerusalem meant serving God. The road to Jerusalem became the road to heaven." Additionally, the Muslim naval domination of the eastern Mediterranean was broken by the Italian city-states, of which Venice was foremost. They traded with and supplied the Crusaders. Venice was granted special trading privileges in the Byzantine Empire and there was a general increase in trading volumes between Europe and the Muslim world. The Crusader era began to end in 1187, when Saladin retook Jerusalem, and in 1204, when the Fourth Crusade sacked Constantinople.
Into this world where religions and empires wrestled for hegemony came the greatest disruption in recorded history - the Mongols. The contemporary world described them as it did the Huns centuries before. They were wild animals wearing the skins of dogs and mice. "Although the Mongols seemed to be chaotic, bloodthirsty and unreliable, their rise was not the result of a lack of order, but precisely the opposite: ruthless planning, streamlined organization and a clear set of strategic directives were the key to establishing the largest land empire in history." In half-a-century, they conquered China, India, the steppes, Russia and as far west as Palestine and Poland. They did wreak havoc wherever they went. But only initially. Soon, the rules, trading systems and governing procedures laid down by the Mongols led to a vast increase in trade and increase in wealth throughout the world. The significant movement of peoples around the world in the 13th and 14th centuries fostered an environment in which another great disrupter would once again emerge- the Black Death. From China to Ireland, millions upon millions died. However as society rebuilt after the plague, there were increases in wealth and prosperity in both Europe and Asia.
From Europe, there was exploration that led the Portuguese east into Asia and the Spanish west to the New World. Armed with superior weapons, the Europeans plundered America, Africa and Asia and built the foundation for the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution. Soon, the British and the Dutch joined the action. The wealth created in Europe increased demand for luxury goods throughout the Middle East and Asia and led to a rising tide of wealth around the world. "Continents were now connected to each other, linked by flows of silver."
The British East India Company, which traded with and eventually occupied the sub-continent had a significant impact on the history of the Silk Road. With their Russian rivals, they played 'The Great Game' throughout the area. The Russians moved aggressively into central Asia. Only Persia and the Ottoman Empire could hold them off. The Russian interest in Persia was so great and so anxiety inducing to the British, that the author posits that the Triple Entente was an attempt to befriend Russia and turn its gaze toward Europe. Then, World War I destroyed the finances of all it's European participants. "The experience of war had been shattering; it made control of the Silk Road and its riches more important than ever."
In May of 1908, one of the most important events in world history happened in Persia when British drillers found "the motherlode, striking oil and sending black gold into the air." Earlier the Shah, in desperate need of funds, had handed the oil over to the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, thus beginning a tension that would eventually explode in the form of Islamic fundamentalism. The British then asked the Arabs to support them in the war against the Ottomans and promised them independence. The British reneged, split the Middle East with the French, promised the Zionists Palestine and further planted seeds of fissures to come. A little bit further south, the Americans joined the party when they set up the Arabian American Oil Company. Relying on a system that put monarchs on thrones, the western system 'managing' the Middle East's oil wealth held through WWII. It was successful in the early days of the Cold War, but fell apart over Arab nationalism and US support of Israel. Twice in the 1970's OPEC brought the west to its knees with supply boycotts and price increases. And in 1979, the Iranian Revolution placed the most important oil power firmly in the anti-western camp. The fuel that ran the modern world and all of its attendant wealth and power was on its own. The US intervened aggressively in 1991 and disastrously in 2003.
The region's natural resources are leading to a rebirth of the world's center. Pipelines and railroads criss-cross the area. Airports and cities are rising from the steppe. "The Chinese government is building networks carefully and deliberately to connect to minerals, energy sources and access to cities, harbors and oceans." IPhones are manufactured in western China. Yale, Columbia and NYU have campuses in the Persian Gulf. The US has 'pivoted' its foreign policy to Asia. President Xi has spoken of 'One Belt, One Road'. Hopefully, a new Silk Road is in the offing.
In the preface to this book, the author points out his coming of age realization that the Eurocentric view of the world often taught is, in fact, not quite correct. He is, of course, not plowing any new ground on that front. Nor does he stick to his core themes, as he spends chapter after chapter going far and wide discussing Europe and even the US at length. Any well-read person knows that the history of the world is one of trade, migration and a vast sea of people, ideas, and religions mingling and evolving from one end of the Eurasian land mass to the other and that before the discovery of the New World. What the author has done, in my opinion, is put it together better, particularly in the first millennium, than many of the other books that I've read.
*The phrase was coined by a 19th century German history professor.
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