Empires and Exchanges in Eurasian Late Antiquity: Rome, China, Iran, and the Steppe, ca. 250–750

541 Pages·2018·73 MB·English

by  Nicola Di Cosmo

empires and exchanges in eurasian late antiquity
Empires and Exchanges in Eurasian Late Antiquity offers an integrated picture of
Rome,China,Iran,andtheSteppesduringaformativeperiodofworldhistory.Inthe
half-millenniumbetween250and750CE,settledempiresunderwentdeepstructural
changes, while various nomadic peoples of the steppes (Huns, Avars, Türks, and
others) experienced significant interactions and movements that changed their
societies, cultures, and economies. This was a transformational era, a time when
Roman,Persian,andChinesemonarchsweremutuallyawareofcourtpractices,and
when Christians and Buddhists criss-crossed Eurasian lands together with mer-
chants and armies. It was a time of increased circulation of ideas and material
goods. This volumeprovidesaconceptualframeforlocatingthese developmentsin
the same space and time. Without arguing for uniformity, it illuminates the inter-
connectionsandnetworksthattiedcountlesslocalculturalexpressionstofar-reaching
interregionalones.
NicolaDiCosmoistheHenryLuceFoundationProfessorofEastAsianStudiesat
the Institute for Advanced Study. He has held positions at the University of
Cambridge, Harvard University, and Canterbury University in New Zealand. His
publicationsincludeAncientChinaandItsEnemies:TheRiseofNomadicPowerin
EastAsianHistory(2002),Manchu-MongolRelationsontheEveoftheQingConquest
(2003),TheCambridgeHistoryofInnerAsia:TheChinggisidAge(2009),Warfarein
InnerAsianHistory(500–1800)(2002),andMilitaryCultureinImperialChina(2011).
MichaelMaasistheWilliamGainesTwymanProfessorofHistoryatRiceUniversity,
wherehealsodirectsthePrograminAncientMediterraneanCivilizations.Aformer
Director inByzantineStudiesat DumbartonOaks,hehaspublished widely inlate
antiquehistory,includingExegesisandEmpireintheEarlyByzantineMediterranean,
Junillus Africanus andthe Instituta RegulariaDivinae Legis(2003), The Cambridge
CompaniontotheAgeofJustinian(2005),andTheCambridgeCompaniontotheAge
ofAttila(2014).
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e
mpires and exchanges in
eurasian late antiquity
250–750
Rome, China, Iran, and the Steppe, ca.
Edited by
nicola di cosmo
InstituteforAdvancedStudy,Princeton
michael maas
RiceUniversity
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in memoriam
mark whittow
(1957–2017)
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contents
ListofMapsandFigures pagexi
ListofContributors xiii
PrefaceandAcknowledgments xv
ListofAbbreviations xviii
Maps xix
introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
NicolaDiCosmoandMichaelMaas
PartI HistoricalThresholds 17
1
how the steppes became byzantine: rome and the
eurasian nomads in historical perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
MichaelMaas
2
therelationsbetweenchinaandthesteppe:fromthe
xiongnu to the tü rk empire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
NicolaDiCosmo
3
sasanian iran and the projection of power in late
antique eurasia: competing cosmologies and
topographies of power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
MatthewP.Canepa
4
tradeandexchangesalongthesilkandstepperoutes
in late antique eurasia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
RichardLim
5
sogdian merchants and sogdian culture on the silk
road. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
RongXinjiang
vii
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viii * Contents
6
“charismatic”goods: commerce, diplomacy,
and cultural contacts along the silk road in late
antiquity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
PeterBrown
7
thesynthesisofthetangdynasty:theculminationof
china’s contacts and communication with eurasia,
310–755. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
ValerieHansen
8
central asia in the late roman mental map, second to
sixth centuries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
GiustoTraina
PartII Movements,Contacts,andExchanges 133
9
genetic history and migrations in western eurasia,
500–1000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
PatrickJ.Geary
10
northern invaders: migration and conquest as
scholarly topoi in eurasian history. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
MichaelKulikowski
11
chinese and inner asian perspectives on the history
of the northern dynasties (386–589) in chinese
historiography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
LuoXin
12
xiongnu and huns: archaeological perspectives
on a centuries-old debate about identity
and migration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
UrsulaB.Brosseder
13
ethnicityandempireinthewesterneurasiansteppes 189
WalterPohl
14
the languages of christianity on the silk roads and
the transmission of mediterranean culture into
central asia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
ScottFitzgeraldJohnson
15
thespreadofbuddhistculturetochinabetweenthe
third and seventh centuries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
MaxDeeg
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Contents * ix
16
the circulation of astrological lore and its
political use between the roman east, sasanian iran,
central asia, india, and the tü rks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
FrantzGrenet
17
luminousmarkers:pearlsandroyalauthorityinlate
antique iran and eurasia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
JoelWalker
PartIII Empires,Diplomacy,andFrontiers 269
18
byzantium’s eurasian policy in the age of the tü rk
empire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
MarkWhittow
19
sasanian iran and its northeastern frontier:
offense, defense, and diplomatic entente. . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
DanielT.Potts
20
infrastructures of legitimacy in inner asia:
the early tü rk empires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
MichaelR.Drompp
21
the stateless nomads of central eurasia . . . . . . . . . . 317
PeterB.Golden
22
aspectsofeliterepresentationamongthesixth-and
seventh-century türks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
SörenStark
23
patterns of roman diplomacy with iran and the
steppe peoples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
EkaterinaNechaeva
24
collapse of a eurasian hybrid: the case of the
northern wei. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
AndrewEisenberg
25
ideological interweaving in eastern eurasia:
simultaneous kingship and dynastic competition,
580–755. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
JonathanKaramSkaff
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x * Contents
26
followers and leaders in northeastern eurasia, ca.
seventh to tenth centuries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400
NaomiStanden
epilogue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419
AverilCameron
GlossaryofChineseTerms 431
Bibliography 439
Index 487
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maps and figures
maps
Eurasia
1 TheRomanEmpire,ca.400andca.620 pagexx
2 IranandneighboringregionsduringtheSasanianEmpire xxii
3 TheMiddleEast xxv
4 Eurasiantradingcenters,6th–7thcenturies xxvi
5 InnerAsia xxviii
6 ThegreatestextentoftheNorthernWei,469–530 xxx
7 NortheasternEurasia,7thand8thcenturies xxxii
8 NortheasternEurasia,9thand10thcenturies xxxiv
9 EasternEurasia,ca.582 xxxvi
figures
8.1 PeutingerMap 128
12.1 Metalliccauldrons 178
16.1 ImprintofaSasanianseal 237
16.2 ImprintofaSasanianseal 237
16.3 ImprintofaSasanianseal 238
16.4 Sasanianmagicalamulet,reverse 239
16.5 ImprintofaSasanianseal,legend“Arwand-Shābuhr” 239
16.6 ImprintsofSasanianseals 240
16.7 PlatefromKlimova,Iran,seventhcentury(?) 242
16.8 Turfanscroll,eighth–ninthcenturies 244
16.9 Turfanscroll,detail(Nirṛti) 245
16.10 Turfanscroll,detail(Virgoanddecan) 245
16.11 Turfanscroll,detail(Aquariusandtwodecans) 246
16.12 Turfanscroll,detail(Twins) 247
16.13 Samarkand,Ambassadors’Painting,ca.660,southernwall,
centralpart 248
16.14 Ambassadors’Painting,northernwall,leftpart 249
16.15 Ambassadors’Painting,easternwall 249
xi
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