The Silk Roads

I had become uneasy about the relentlessly narrow geographic focus of my classes at school, which concentrated solely on western Europe and the United States and left most of the rest of the world untouched.

Today, much attention is devoted to assessing the likely impact of rapid economic growth in China... But neither offers the best vantage point to view the world’s past and its present.

Far from being on the fringe of global affairs, these countries lie at its very centre – as they have done since the beginning of history.

It was here that some of the first recorded laws were disseminated nearly 4,000 years ago by Hammurabi, King of Babylon, who detailed his subjects’ obligations and set out fierce punishments for their transgressions.

Their success owed much to their openness, to judge from the Greek historian Herodotus. 'The Persians are greatly inclined to adopt foreign customs,' he wrote.

Trade flourished in ancient Persia, providing revenues that allowed rulers to fund military expeditions targeting locations that brought yet more resources into the empire.

A highly educated bureaucracy oversaw the efficient administration of the day-to-day life of the empire, recording everything from payments made to workers serving the royal household, to validating the quality and quantity of goods bought and sold in marketplaces.

For Alexander, as for all ancient Greeks, culture, ideas and opportunities – as well as threats – came from the east.

The Persian Empire was a land of plenty that connected the Mediterranean with the heart of Asia.

‘I underwent much toil and trouble for the good of the yazads [divine powers] and the rulers, and for the good of my own soul.’