logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2024
33m 10s

The Silk Road: Where Cultures Collided

History Hit
About this episode

At the edge of the Gobi Desert, Dunhuang was once a bustling oasis on the famous Silk Road connecting China and the Mediterranean. For more than 1000 years, Dunhuang was an important pilgrimage site and a cultural melting pot where ideas, technologies and art flowed freely - encompassing multiple languages, faiths and cultures - and spanning literature, astronomy, medicine, politics and art.


Dr. Eleanor Janega goes to the British Library and meets curator Mélodie Doumy to get a rare glimpse into life in Dunhuang in a new exhibition of manuscripts, documents and artworks which remained sealed for nearly 900 years. 


Gone Medieval is presented by Dr. Eleanor Janega. The editor is Ella Blaxill and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.


Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.


Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘MEDIEVAL’ https://historyhit.com/subscription


You can take part in our listener survey here: https://uk.surveymonkey.com/r/6FFT7MK


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Today
Richard II & Richard III: Shakespeare's Version
Did Shakespeare shape the way we remember England's Plantagenet kings more than history itself? How much of his plays Richard II and Richard III are fact, fiction, or Tudor propaganda?Professor Emma Smith joins Matt Lewis to separate the history from drama, and discover how Shake ... Show More
56m 37s
Sep 22
Henry IV & Henry V: Shakespeare's Version
Did Shakespeare teach us about England's greatest kings, or fabricate its greatest historical myths? How much of what you think you know about Henry IV and Henry V is actually true?Shakespeare's history plays continue to define our understanding of medieval England, the Plantagen ... Show More
1 h
Sep 18
Peasants' Revolt on Film: The Uprising Reviewed
How accurate is Hollywood's take on the Peasants' Revolt? It is 1381, and England is at breaking point. A civilian army of thousands stormed the capital, making demands of King Richard II. Now, Paul Greengrass’s new film, The Uprising, brings the revolt to the big screen, starrin ... Show More
1h 2m
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2024
The Silk Road: everything you wanted to know
The Silk Road is one of the most famous trade routes in history, a vast interconnected network along which not only goods but ideas, knowledge and culture flowed. Sam Willis joins Rebecca Franks to discuss its remarkable history and answer listener questions on the subject, spotl ... Show More
32m 14s
Nov 2024
The Silk Road
For centuries, a vast and vibrant trade route connected the East and West. Its stories contain legendary names, like Marco Polo. Not only did it spread rare goods across the world, but ideas and belief systems too. It was known as "The Silk Road." Explore the history, culture, an ... Show More
51m 42s
May 2024
Origins of the Silk Road
<p>The Silk Road was a pivotal ancient exchange network that connected the grassy steppes of Asia and the Middle East with the western world. The passage of goods, ideas and technologies along this bustling commercial artery was crucial to the development of the ancient East and ... Show More
43m 4s
Sep 2024
Ancient India and China: from golden to silk roads
The best-selling historian William Dalrymple presents India as the great superpower of ancient times in The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World. He argues that for more than a millennium India art, religions, technology, astronomy, music and mathematics spread fa ... Show More
42m 10s
Aug 2016
Valerie Hansen on the Silk Road and Dunhuang
Through remarkable archaeological excavations, Valerie Hansen, author of "The Silk Road: A New History," pieces together the dynamic and complicated history of the Silk Road. Hansen discusses the impact of micro exchanges along these prolific trade routes, the cultural and histor ... Show More
49m 37s
Mar 2024
132. Journey to Nalanda and the Library of Jewels
In late autumn, 629 AD, Xuanzang set out for the great university of Nalanda from Chang’an. Across the desert, over the Pamirs, and through multiple robberies, it was an epic journey. As he neared the Buddhist heartlands, he saw Buddhism in decline with its monasteries increasing ... Show More
46m 38s
Jun 2025
The Kushan Empire
<p>Embark on an epic journey with Tristan Hughes and acclaimed author William Dalrymple as they unravel the enigma of the Kushan Empire, the ancient superpower of Central Asia. Together they tell the riveting stories behind the Empire's rise in Bactria (modern-day Afghanistan), t ... Show More
59m 20s
May 2021
Ancient Afghanistan: The Land of a Thousand Cities
<p>Situated north of the Hindu Kush and south of the Oxus (Amu Darya) River, the history of the ancient region of Bactria is rich and diverse. From the Oxus Civilisation that flourished in the Bronze Age to the Persian Empire, Alexander the Great, the Greco-Bactrians and the Kush ... Show More
51m 54s