• Acta Via Serica
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.33-50
• /
• 2016

The article studies the new situation in international long distance trade after the emergence of new superpower - Arab Caliphate - in Eurasian overland tracks of the Great Silk Road. The stages of Arab advancement along trade routes and outcomes of their contestation with the strong tribal confederations of Turkic nomads in Central Asia and the Caucasus are highlighted. A special focus is made upon the relationship of Arabs with Khazar Turks who have endured severe clashes with strongest army of the time in the region. Khazar kingdom survived and even expanded its control over the tracks of international trade in the western part of Eurasia. The research describes the way how trade partnership between Arabs and Turks was shaped in the aftermath of military clashes. Existing scholarly views on the role of Khazar in Silk Road are reviewed and unattended evidence of Arab sources are involved to support concluding points that Khazar state managed to consolidate various actors for maintenance of international trade such as so called Rus warriors and merchants in the west of Volga, nomadic tribes in Eurasian steppes, and Jewish trading gild named ar-rahdaniyya in Arab sources. It is asserted that Khazar state since the second half of 9th century through its decline in mid 10th century not only served as transit space for goods of exporting countries but also exported goods of its own crafts and natural resources.

• Acta Via Serica
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.69-93
• /
• 2016

This article compares two Iranian towers (burj) of the Saljuq period (c.1037-1194) with two Chinese Pagodas (t'a) of the Song dynasty (c.960-1279) in order to identify common cultural trends in medieval Iranian and Chinese architecture. To this end, the Iranian towers of Tuqrul in Rayy and Chihil Dukhtar in Damghan are compared with their Chinese counterparts of the Iron Pagoda in Kaifeng and the Pizhi Pagoda in Changqing. The two Iranian towers have much simpler architectural decorations compared to the splendid Song pagodas, which are decorated with statues and colorful paintings. The similarities in form, however, suggest common functions provided by the architecture. Both the Saljuq and Song towers had astronomical and military functions, position identification for travelers, and symbolic meanings, as well as their main functions as tombs. By applying comparative studies on the forms and functions of the Tuqrul and Chihil Dukhtar towers on the one hand, and the Iron and Pizhi Pagodas, on the other hand, this article aims to contribute new insights regarding common social trends shared by the medieval Iranian and Chinese and illustrated by their architecture. Extensive and distinguished publications on the general subject of art and architecture during the reign of the two dynasties under discussion already exist, as fully referenced below, but the specific comparative themes regarding the individual sites discussed here are the first in any study of this kind.

• Acta Via Serica
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.105-117
• /
• 2016

The Silk Road named by Ferdinand von Richthofen was not designated as a specific route. A lot of East-West trade routes had already existed across the continent and the geographical scope and definition of the Silk Road is still expanding. In particular, the claim that the Eastern end of the Silk Road reaches Gyeongju is an example of this expansion. Burial treasures from tombs on the Korean Peninsula have already been identified as products from the Sassanian Dynasty of Persia, and various archaeological and epical evidences support this finding. However, the specific route where these exchanges were made, around the 6th-8th centuries, has yet to be identified. Maritime as well as inland routes can easily be hypothesized. The Silk Road was largely activated by the Yam postal system with the expansion of the Mongol Empire. It not only served as an effective pathway for the Yuan to rule over the Goryeo, but also connected the Eastern end of the Silk Road to Gyeongju. This can explain the situation since the 13th century. Therefore, this paper claims that the Yeokcham system had been operating on the Korean Peninsula since the Unified Silla Kingdom, the previous period of Goryeo, or perhaps even before then. The Yeokcham should thus be regarded as a prototype of the Mongolian Yam, and the Korean peninsula should be recognized as another route which contributed specifically to the development of the Silk Road, not just as a user or a beneficiary.

• Acta Via Serica
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.119-135
• /
• 2016

The initial phase of the Mongol invasion resulted in the establishment of relative political stability in the vast expanses of Eurasia, which came under the control of a single political entity - the Mongol realm. This contributed to a fairly rapid restoration of the commercial links and trade routes between the East and the West. During this period, Chinese silk again became available in large quantities in the Western markets. At the same time, the beginning of silk production and manufacturing of silk fabrics in Italy and the fashion flash for these goods in Western countries affected trade between Europe and the Muslim world. The centers of silk production in the Ilkhanid Empire were some provinces of Azerbaijan and Persia, where from it was exported in large numbers along the trade routes of Anatolia and Syria to the Mediterranean ports and further to the west. There are numerous testimonies of European travelers, and Muslim authors related the international silk trade in 13th-15th centuries, ie in the era from the Mongol Ilkhanid Empire till the reign of the Turkman Aqqoyunlu dynasty. One of the most informative documentary sources on this issue are the legislative codes (kanuname) of sultan Uzun Hasan from the Aqqoyunlu dynasty regarding the eastern provinces of the Asia Minor. This article presents and analyzes the information from these documents concerning the whole range of goods related to silk and silk fabrics trade in the period under the consideration.

• Strategy21
• /
• s.43
• /
• pp.249-271
• /
• 2018

최근 카자흐스탄이 러시아나 서구제국들이 아닌 중국과의 에너지 외교에 큰 진전을 보이고 있듯이, 중국은 미국이나 러시아를 자극하지 않은 채로 중앙아시아제국들과의 경제협력을 확대하고 이를 통한 성공적인 에너지안보체제를 구축하고자 한다. 그러나 역사적으로 일정지역에 중국인들의 진출이 늘어나거나 중국인들의 경제적 영향력이 제고되면, 중국정부의 대상지역에 대한 영향력도 제고되었다는 사실로 미루어, 중국의 해외투자 또는 해외이주와 연관된 중국정부의 연계전략에 대한 주의가 요구된다. 중국정부는 해외투자 또는 해외이주지원이라는 명목으로 제주도의 해군기지 주변 강정마을에 대한 부동산 구매를 시도하고 있으며, 그 밖의 한국 내 미군기지 주변에도 중국인타운을 형성하는데 보이지 않는 정부차원의 지원을 확대하고 있다. 이와 같은 현상은 일본 내 미군기지, 특히 오키나와 미군기지 주변과 사스마섬의 일본 자위대 기지 주변에서도 동일하게 전개되고 있다. 이런 중국정부의 의도는 한국과 일본에 주둔하고 있는 미군기지에 대한 견제장치인 동시에 해당지역 주민들에 대한 중국의 영향력 제고를 목적적 결과물로 노정하고 있는 것이다. 중국자본과 중국인들의 한국과 일본 현지진출은 경제적 이해를 넘어서는 외교적, 군사적 문제까지도 야기할 수 있고 이로 인한 국가간 갈등요인이 제고될 수 있는 만큼, 중국의 해외투자 연계전략에 대한 보다 철저한 관리 감독이 필요하다.

• Acta Via Serica
• /
• v.2 no.2
• /
• pp.7-27
• /
• 2017

The present study aims to do a documental study of the Mongol invasion and the fall of Baghdad (the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate) in 1258 CE. It is a case study on a document and two comments on it, which were originally recovered from the burial shroud of a person killed during $H{\ddot{u}}leg{\ddot{u}}^{\prime}s$ conquest of Baghdad. This document was later inserted by someone (possibly by one of its two commentators) in a section of a primary manuscript of Kitab al-Wara'a (written in 1147 CE). Then Osman ibn ${\dot{G}}{\bar{a}}nim$ al-Hiti and Ṭahir ibn '$Abd-All{\bar{a}}h$ ibn Ibrahim ibn Aḥmad, as commentators, wrote their comments about the document. Although these documents are in the form of fragmentary notes, they are rare primary sources that depict the events and the conditions of the siege, the conquest of Baghdad and the collapse of Abbasid Caliphate. This article, while providing images, revised texts, and translations of the documents, aims to introduce them and to explore the civil factors contributing to the fall of Baghdad.

• Acta Via Serica
• /
• v.2 no.2
• /
• pp.29-46
• /
• 2017

Chinese literature once had its splendid era in the Tang and Song Dynasties culminating in Tang poetry and influencing the literatures of its neighboring countries. However, during the past centuries, it has largely been "marginalized" on the map of world literature. On the one hand, large numbers of foreign literary works, especially those from Western countries, have been translated into Chinese, exerting a huge influence on the formation of a sort of modern Chinese literary tradition. On the other hand, few contemporary Chinese literary works have been translated into the major foreign languages. With the help of the rise and flourishing of comparative literature, contemporary Chinese literature has been moving toward the world and had its own Nobel laureate. The author, after analyzing the reasons why Chinese literature has been "marginalized," argues that Chinese literature will develop steadily in the age of globalization. Globalization in China has undergone three steps: first, it has made China passively involved in this irresistible trend; second, the country has then quickly adapted itself to this trend; and third, China has started to play an increasingly leading role in the first decade of the present century. In this way, contemporary Chinese literature and comparative literature studies will steadily develop with the help of the "Belt and Road" initiative.

• Acta Via Serica
• /
• v.2 no.2
• /
• pp.47-68
• /
• 2017

To the Greeks, the Ottoman era was a "Dark Age" one that comprised a threat to their Greek Orthodox identity. The identities of Orthodox and Hellene were integral parts in the construction of their national history. In fact, the Morea Uprising, which began in 1821, was symbolized by a priest blessing the Greek flag in Aya Lavra Church. One of the most common national myths is religious oppression of the Christian population during the Ottoman Era, namely Turkokratia. They identified Ottomans as Asian barbarians who did not let Greeks practice their religion freely, and who furthermore forced them to change their religion. These kinds of beliefs, which might be taken as religious propaganda, are today still highlighted both in Greek textbooks and in publications supported by the church and books and newspapers published in their affiliated institutes. The underlying truth behind all these propagandist statements is Islamophobia. The existence of Islamophobia in the Balkans, where religious nationalism is intense, has caused nations to hold to these kinds of mythical beliefs. Most of the time the stories and narratives have been used for history building. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the effect of the anti-Islam propaganda of the church in Greece on the state and the people using Greek sources. The references are Greek religious textbooks and books and newspapers published by church-supporting publishing houses.

• Acta Via Serica
• /
• v.2 no.2
• /
• pp.89-112
• /
• 2017

Today, we face many problems at the planetary, national, local, and personal level. What is interesting and important is the fact that the environmental crisis that we have been facing since the 1960s is seen by many environmentalists as a crisis of Western civilization, a slow collective suicide, and "the defining challenge of our age." This fact has encouraged many environmentalists, thinkers, and activists to turn to the wisdom of the East for a better and deeper understanding of nature and humanity for a sustainable future. Moreover, environmental, social, and economic threats are aimed at everyone without discrimination, be they Christian, Jew, Muslim, or Buddhist. Therefore, the very nature of the environmental crisis and challenge requires a cooperative, global response. In this context, this study suggests that Eastern societies may re-discover the richness of their own traditions in the light of pressing environmental problems and offer new insights to respond to these problems. This paper will explore the possibility and relevance of Sir Muhammad Iqbal's (1877-1938) ideas for an attitude of reverence and care for nature. It will suggest that his ideas could enlarge and enrich our perspective of ourselves vis $\grave{a}$ vis nature, and raise our "ecological consciousness" and moral responsibility to take action for the environment. It will be argued that Iqbal, as a great and towering son of the Silk Road and a bridge between East and West, is still relevant for us.

• Acta Via Serica
• /
• v.2 no.2
• /
• pp.133-162
• /
• 2017

The Bering Strait crossing would link the entirety of Eurasia to the entirety of the Americas, and it can be seen as a natural extension of the historical Silk Road. There are some immense geopolitical benefits to such a project. It would bring about a profound and lasting change to the global economic and political outlook. The most valued function of the Bering Strait crossing and the extension of the associated railroad network would be to release the massive natural resources trapped underneath the tundra and permafrost for the benefit of Russia and the world. Moreover, the railroad project(s) would also build development corridors in those underdeveloped parts of the Russian Federation. The development of the resources and their rapid transportation to the global markets would contribute not only to the overall development of the region but also would be valuable for the resource-poor countries of Northeast Asia such as Japan, Korea, and China (relative to its economic size). This paper will explore the possible impact(s) of the Bering Strait crossing as a formidable infrastructure project for the economic development of the Russian Far East (RFE) from the Russian perspective under the frame of geopolitics. Furthermore, it will equally scrutinize the implications for the adjacent countries in the region.