The Silk Road. Episode 3 / series producer & director, Richard Downes ; BBC Scotland.

Format:

Video

Contributor:

Downes, Richard, producer, director.

BBC Scotland, production company.

Series:

Academic Video Online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Trade routes--Asia.

Trade routes.

Asia--Commerce--History.

Asia.

Silk Road.

Genre:

Documentary television programs.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (53 minutes)

Place of Publication:

London, England : BBC Worldwide, 2016.

Language Note:

In English.

System Details:

video file

Summary:

Covering 5,000 miles, passing through 13 countries and crossing some of the most dramatic landscapes on the planet, this is the fascinating story of the lucrative trade route which changed the course of civilization forever. In this extraordinary series, Dr Sam Willis explores how the fortunes of the West were shaped by the East, beginning with the story of a Chinese Emperor who was so desperate to protect his lands against his enemies that he reached out beyond his borders into the unknown, for one of the most important game changers in human history - horses. And in return for these legendary steeds, the Emperor was willing to trade the most precious material in his world, silk. In the final episode of his series tracing the story of the most famous trade route in history, Dr Sam Willis continues his journey west in Iran. The first BBC documentary team to be granted entry for nearly a decade, Sam begins in the legendary city of Persepolis - heart of the first Persian Empire. Following an ancient caravan route through Persia's deserts, he visits a Zoroastrian temple where a holy fire has burned for 1,500 years, and Esfahan, one of the Silk Road's architectural jewels and rival to Sam's next destination - Istanbul. In the ancient capital of Byzantium, Sam discovers how the eastern Roman Empire was ruled through silk and how Venetian merchants cashed in on the wealth and trade it generated. Sam's last stop takes him full circle to Venice. Visiting Marco Polo's house, Sam reminds us how the great traveller's book was one of the first to link east to west and how the ideas and products that trickled down the Silk Road not only helped to trigger the Renaissance, but set Europe on a path of unstoppable change.

Participant:

Presented by Dr. Sam Willis.

Notes:

Title from resource description page (viewed March 06, 2019).

OCLC:

1096480932