Southern Silk Road In the Footsteps of Sir Aurel

by Baumer, Christoph

• ISBN13: 9789748304397
• ISBN10: 9748304396
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-07-05
• Publisher: Orchid Press

Table of Contents

Foreword	x
Acknowledgements	x
Preface: The Fascinating Lop Nor Mystery	xi
A Bridge between the Orient and the Occident	1	(24)
Geography, Climate and People of the Tarim Basin
The Three Silk Roads of the Tarim Basin
Rome and the Mysterious Seres
The ``Pax Mongolica'' and the Renaissance of the Overland Routes
The Secret of Sericulture
From Faxian the Itinerant Monk to Marco Polo
Indo-European Migration into the Tarim Basin	25	(10)
The Stone Age
The Bronze Age
The Iron Age
Great Powers on the Silk Road	35	(8)
The Han Emperor Wu Di Conquers the Tarim Basin
China and Tibet fight for Control over the Silk Road
Tibetans and Uighurs on the Southern Silk Road
A Meeting Place of Religions	43	(10)
Local Popular Beliefs
Buddhism and Hellenism
Nestorian Christians in the Middle Kingdom
Protection for Manichaeans along the Silk Road
Islam in the wake of the Arab Conquest
Kashgar, the Kingdom of Khotan, Rawak Stupa and Fort Mazar Tagh	53	(18)
Kashgar: Fulcrum of Trade on the Silk Road
The Kingdom of Khotan
Islam Akhun's Forgeries
Rawak: a Marvel of Graeco-Buddhist Sculpture
The Tibetan Fort Mazar Tagh
Dandan Oilik, the Secret City	71	(20)
Hedin's March of Death
Hedin's discovers Dandan Oilik
The Rediscovery of Dandan Oilik
Temples and Ruins of Dandan Oilik
Karadong, a fortified Caravanserai of the Han	91	(6)
The Sealed Archives of Niya	97	(10)
Endere and Miran: Evidence of Tibetan Predominance	107	(14)
Endere-Xuang Zang's Tuhuoluo
Miran-Zenith of Graeco-Buddhist Art
A Contemporary of Seven Hedin and Sir Aurel Stein remembers
The Lop Nor Mystery	121	(8)
Earliest Reports
The Controversy between Prejevalsky and von Richthofen
Hedin's Journeys to the Lop Nor
A Riddle and its Solution
Loulan, Ghost City on Lake Lop Nor	129	(8)
Epilogue	137	(1)
Chronology of Chinese Dynasties	138	(1)
Notes	139	(3)
Bibliography	142	(5)
List of Illustrations and Credits	147	(2)
Indices	149