The art of seal engraving is a cornerstone of Chinese fine arts. The seal was originally used as a signature or sign of authority, but it came to be used by all social classes and in much of Asia. The ...

There is still much to be discovered about the crafts and techniques of metalwork, ceramic and sculpture in sixteenth to nineteenth century Iran, Afghanistan, Transoxania, Western China and India. In ...

Located on two islands close to the shore at 180 miles south from Dar es-Salaam are the remains of two port cities, Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara. Kilwa Kisiwani has been occupied from the 9 th ...

This manuscript, held by the Muslim Board of Uzbekistan, is the earliest existent written version of the Koran. It is the definitive version, known as the Mushaf of Othman, superseding all other ...

The trading routes across Asia permitted not only the passage of goods but also of ideas. Scientists and scholars travelled along these routes too, moving from court to court, and so scientific ...

The Azerbaijani Mugham is a traditional musical form, characterized by a large degree of improvisation. The Mugham, though a classical and academic art, draws upon popular bard melodies, rhythms and ...

Religious movements and religions have had an important role on the history of the Silk Roads. It is notably the case of Buddhism which had a considerable influence on the early trade routes. Within ...

In the 1980s, the Istituto italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente (ISMEO) carried out excavations in Nepal in cooperation with the Lumbini Development Trust. In Gotihawa, these excavations were ...

Education in arts and sciences was often directed by religious institutions in the Middle Ages. Mosques, maktabs (elementary religious schools) and madrasas (secondary religious schools) were ...

The frankincense trees of Wadi Dawkah and the remains of the caravan oasis of Shisr/Wubar and the affiliated ports of Khor Rori and Al-Baleed vividly illustrate the trade in frankincense that ...

A large and impressive network of sea routes that linked the East and West stretching from the west coast of Japan, through the Islands of Indonesia, around the Indian subcontinent to the Iranian ...

The Silk Roads were a driving force behind significant cultural exchange across many different parts of the world. Throughout the long history of these routes, a blending of civilizations and people ...