Despite the significant gains made in world history theory and pedagogy over recent decades, certain groups and processes are still largely absent from the mainstream textbooks. Arguably the most significant of the neglected groups are the great pastoral nomadic confederations of ancient Central Asia, who played a critical role in facilitating the establishment of long-distance trade routes that connected Han China, Central Asia, and the Mediterranean Basin into the largest system of commercial and intellectual exchanges hitherto seen in human history. Indeed, the earliest and arguably most significant ‘Silk Roads Era’ (c.100 BCE–250 CE) is often paid lip service only in the textbooks, and key players in these cross cultural exchanges–particularly the Xiongnu, Yuezhi, and even the mighty Kushan Empire–are inexcusably absent. For this reason alone, Connections across Eurasia is an important, timely, and very useful addition to the pedagogical literature on the Silk Roads.

A word first about the intent of the series–Explorations in world history–so admirably assembled by editors Kevin Reilly and Robert Strayer. The premise upon which the series is based is the argument that ‘world history has come of age’, and that many experienced, university-level world history teachers are looking for a pedagogical alternative (or at least a supplement) to the standard ‘large and inclusive core textbook’. This McGraw-Hill series now includes half a dozen relatively slender volumes, each focused on a particular theme that is explored in its global context. Each volume is also dedicated to conveying the results of the most recent scholarship in a manner that is readable and accessible to undergraduate students. The most recent volume on the Silk Roads is a perfect example of the series approach, and is the sort of book that should be welcomed by ‘ancient’ world history teachers at colleges everywhere.

Authors Xinru Liu and Lynda Shaffer cover a great deal of ground in this 262-page-long volume, but do so in a way that manages to incorporate a surprising amount of detail into a coherent, readable narrative. They begin in the second century BCE with a discussion of the ecology of Central Asia, and end some fifteen hundred years later with a consideration of the impact of the Mongols on trans-Eurasian exchange. Chapter One describes interactions between the early Han and the nomadic confederations of the Xiongnu and the Yuezhi. For too long the history of these nomadic groups has largely been confined to specialist monographs; so Liu and Shaffer's consideration of their roles is welcome (although specialists might quibble with one or two details of their account). Also important is their description of the expedition of Han envoy Zhang Qian as he pursued the migrating Yuezhi half way across Central Asia. Despite twice being detained by the Xiongnu, and probably having long been given up for dead by Han Wudi, the emperor who dispatched him, Zhang Qian was able to interest the emperor in the possibility of mercantile and imperial expansion to the west. Once the Han became involved with their Central Asian neighbours, the Silk Roads began to flourish.

Chapter Two looks at the establishment of the land routes from the Roman and Arabian perspectives, and also at the importance of early maritime routes as outlined in the invaluable first-century-CE mariners’ handbook, the Periplus Maris Erythrae, which demonstrates the incredible diversity and vibrancy of the port cities of ancient India. Even more useful in redressing decades of neglect is the authors’ account of the Kushan Empire, which is barely mentioned in the majority of standard world history textbooks, despite the fact that, as Liu and Shaffer point out, for the first two centuries of the Common Era ‘the Kushan Empire was one of the world's richest and most strategically placed powers on the globe’ (p. 56). For this generally accurate inclusion alone, Connections across Eurasia makes a seriously useful addition to the pedagogical resources available to world history teachers.

Chapter Three includes a succinct account of the spread of Mahayana Buddhism to China, and of the establishment of Buddhist monastic settlements. Chapter Four further explores the theme of the Silk Roads as conduits for the spread of global religions (particularly Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, and Christianity) and also considers the way these cultural exchanges evolved under new Eurasian powers such as the Tang, Sassanians, and Byzantium. The impact of the establishment of Muslim states on trans-Eurasian trade is considered in Chapter Five, where the authors demonstrate the positive attitude of the Islamic faith towards mercantile activity with a series of well-chosen quotes from the Quran and Hadith.

Chapter Six returns to the theme of maritime trade, providing a brief history of the development of the major sea routes of the China Seas and Indian Ocean between 900 and 1300. Finally, in Chapter Seven, Liu and Shaffer comment on the impact of the Mongols on trans-Eurasian trade, offering a far more nuanced account than the standard Pax Mongolica argument found in the majority of textbooks. They argue that, while pursuing their own political and military interests, Mongol leaders did in fact inadvertently distribute ‘talents and skills to a vast area of Eurasia’ (p. 231), although the traditional, land-based silk routes ‘were almost completely destroyed’ (p. 225). On the other hand, ‘the patterns of trade in the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean were not disrupted, but reinforced by Mongol rule in China’ (p. 239). The book concludes by noting that the arrival of Portuguese ships in these regions had such a profound impact on the ancient routes that ‘the long-standing commercial networks of the Southern Ocean were changed beyond recognition’ (p. 252).

These comments reinforce the central premise of this volume, and indeed of the entire series–the exploration of significant themes of world historical significance in a genuinely global context. Every world history teacher worth his salt tries to convince his students that the world was changed forever by the levels of trans-Eurasian cultural exchange that took place along the Silk Roads. That case will be a lot easier to make in the classroom now, following the publication of Connections across Eurasia, which restores many long-neglected key players to the ancient Eurasian stage, and offers as neat and absorbing an account of 1500 years of extraordinarily important cultural interaction as one is likely to find anywhere.