The second Silk Roads Era, c.400–1000 CE, was a transformative period in world history. In this engaging holistic analysis, Craig Benjamin explores the developments that made it possible. Utilizing an extensive range of sources, he explores the consequences of Islamic expansion and the gripping contest that ensued between Chinese, Turkic, Tibetan and Muslim armies. Readers follow the generals who fought for control of Inner Asia, travels with the Sogdian and Muslim caravans that traversed challenging land routes, and voyages on sturdy commercial vessels that sailed enormous distances across the Indian Ocean Basin. The study also highlights two key events of the mid-eighth century, the Battle of Talas and the An Lushan Rebellion, which had devastating consequences. Benjamin demonstrates how this history still resonates in the region today, and how much the past continues to shape the present and future of our world.

‘Brilliant! A remarkably clear, detailed, up-to-date and often vivid account of a crucial era in the history one of world history’s most complex and most important phenomena: the Silk Road trade routes that have linked East and West Eurasia for millennia.’

David Christian - author of A History of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia

‘Craig Benjamin’s fascinating study examines the land- and sea-based Silk Roads in the era between the end of the great classical empires and the advent of the Mongols, a period often overlooked in the long history of these essential trade networks. He focuses not only on the military and political developments that made transregional travel and commerce safe and profitable, but also on the cultural flowering that trade facilitated in vibrant cities and rulers’ courts. The book makes clear why a single battle in a part of the world far distant from centers of power matters so much in understanding world history.’

Merry Wiesner-Hanks - author of A Concise History of the World (2nd Edition, 2026)