Jonathan Tucker is a former associate director of the Indian and Southeast Asian department at Spink and Son and has operated a gallery in St Jamess, London, with his wife Antonia Tozer since 2000. He is also a consultant for Bonhams and is a recognised authority in the field of Indian and Southeast Asian art, particularly in sculpture. He lived in Asia for eleven years and spent many years exploring the ancient trade routes between China and Europe, travelling the entire length of the Silk Road with the exception of Iraq. He is the author of The Silk Road: Art and History (Philip Wilson Publishers), an illustrated and annotated map of the Silk Road for Odyssey Travel Guides; The Silk Road: China and the Karakorum Highway (I.B. Tauris); and The Troublesome Priest: Harold Davidson, Rector of Stiffkey.
Praise for Jonathan Tuckers The Silk Road: Art and History.
An enormous and beautiful book [], the most informative work on the subject I have yet seen.
Literary Review
Jonathan Tuckers handsome and informative new volume fills an important niche [] [It] conveys a palpable sense of place without losing the monumentality of scale and panoramic sweep.
Annette L. Juliano, Orientations
This book is a Silk Road bible, a well-constructed and beautiful collation of a mass of information and knowledge on a truly fascinating corner of the world. But be warned: read The Silk Road and youll want to experience it for yourself [] a feat worthy of accolades and to top it all off, the book is filled with excellent, and at times breathtaking, photography.
Geographical Magazine
A most handsome volume, admirable in scope and reliable in detail [] it will serve as a treasured compendium.
John Keay, The THES
This is a book to fascinate [] not only those interested in the past, but also those keen to understand the present.
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society
This is a beautifully designed and produced work [] undoubtedly one of the fullest and clearest and certainly the best illustrated introductions to this vast and bewildering subject.
Asian Affairs
An exquisitely produced major achievement [] very highly recommended.
Minerva
The SILK
ROAD
Central Asia, Afghanistan and Iran
A TRAVEL COMPANION
Jonathan Tucker
First published in 2015 by I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd
I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd
London New York
www.ibtauris.com
Copyright 2015 Jonathan Tucker
Copyright Foreword 2015 Paul Theroux
The right of Jonathan Tucker to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Every attempt has been made to gain permission for the use of the images in this book. Any omissions will be rectified in future editions.
References to websites were correct at the time of writing.
ISBN: 978 1 78076 925 7
eISBN: 978 0 85773 926 1
A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
A full CIP record is available from the Library of Congress
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: available
For Antonia, Jack and Grace
Illustrations
Figures
The Khyber Pass, Pakistan (photograph by Antonia Tozer) |
Kabul, Afghanistan (photograph by Antonia Tozer) |
Babur: A ruler from whose brow shone the Light of God, Kabul, Afghanistan (photograph by Antonia Tozer) |
The Great Buddha, Bamiyan, Afghanistan (photograph by Antonia Tozer) |
A camel caravan on the road to Bamiyan, Afghanistan (photograph by Antonia Tozer) |
The mud walls of the Bala Hissar (Fort) at Balkh, northern Afghanistan (photograph by Antonia Tozer) |
Masjed-I-Hajji Piyada (Masjed-I-No Gumbad the mosque with nine domes) at Balkh, northern Afghanistan (photograph by Antonia Tozer) |
Limestone relief depicting Buddha Sakyamuni seated beneath the bodhi tree, flanked by two attendant monks (Museum of the History of the People of Uzbekistan, Tashkent) |
Painted clay head of a princely donor wearing a conical hat (Institute of Fine Arts, Tashkent) |
The Gateway to Sogdiana Iron Gate Pass, the Buzgala Defile, near Derbent, Uzbekistan (photograph by Antonia Tozer) |
The World Conqueror, Temuchin, known as Genghis Khan (National Palace Museum, Taiwan, Republic of China) |
Ruins of the Mongol capital at Karakorum, Upper Orkhon River, Mongolia (photograph by Antonia Tozer) |
Golden lads and girls all must, As chimney-sweepers, come to dust. Victims of the Mongols, Forty Mullahs Hill, Kunya Urgench, Turkmenistan (authors photograph) |
The skull and reconstructed face of Timur (Gerasimov, 1971) |
The skull and reconstructed face of Timur (Gerasimov, 1971) |
Mausoleum of Sultan Sanjar at Merv, Turkmenistan (authors photograph) |
White and grey marble statue of Rodoguna (Antonia Tozers photograph) |
A Turkmen bazaar (authors collection) |
The east walls of the Ichan Kala, Khiva, Uzbekistan (photograph by Antonia Tozer) |
Overall view of the ruins of Gurganj (Kunya Urgench), former capital of Khorezm, now in Turkmenistan (photograph by Antonia Tozer) |
The ships graveyard. Beached trawlers at Moynaq, Uzbekistan, formerly on the Aral Sea (photograph by Antonia Tozer) |
Mausoleum of Ismail Samanid, Bukhara, Uzbekistan (authors photograph) |
The Kalan Complex, Bukhara, Uzbekistan (photograph by Antonia Tozer) |
Southern portal, Magok-I-Attari (Tomb of Attari) Mosque, Bukhara, Uzbekistan (authors photograph) |
The Rabat-I-Malik Caravanserai, near Navoi, Uzbekistan (photograph by Antonia Tozer) |
Sogdian clay ossuary and deformed skulls (Museum of Afrasiab, Samarkand) |
The Registan Square, Samarkand, Uzbekistan (photograph by Antonia Tozer) |
The Gur-e Mir, Samarkand, Uzbekistan (authors photograph) |
Bibi Khanum Mosque, Samarkand, Uzbekistan (authors collection) |
The entrance towers of the Ak Serai (White Palace), Shakhrisabz, Uzbekistan (authors photograph) |
Villager of the Yagnob valley, Tajikistan (photograph by Antonia Tozer) |
The minaret at Uzgen, Kyrgyzstan, before restoration (authors collection) |
The Ankhor Chaikana (teahouse), Ankhor Chaikana, Tashkent, Uzbekistan (authors collection) |
The Burana minaret, Chuy Valley, northern Kyrgyzstan (photograph by Antonia Tozer) |
A gilded-silver ewer (Guyuan Museum, Ningxia province, China) |
The Holy Shrine of Imam Reza, Masshad, Iran (photograph by Antonia Tozer) |
Miyan Dasht Caravanserai, Semnan province, Iran (photograph by Antonia Tozer) |
The Gonbad-e Kavus, Golestan province, Iran (photograph by Antonia Tozer) |
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