Textiles serve as vital historical records, reflecting a long-standing tradition shaped by trade, cultural exchange, and symbolic meaning, in which global motifs such as the Dragon and Phoenix were adapted into a distinctive local artistic heritage. This article aims to demonstrate this through the example of the Armenian Dragon and Phoenix carpet tradition.

The Sasanian Empire, the last native Persian dynasty to rule Iran before the Arab conquest, was a juggernaut of the ancient world. At its height, its realm stretched from Central Asia in the east to the Sea of Marmara in the west, and its armies proved a match for Rome’s mighty legions time and time again. The empire was also a cultural titan,its reign marking a golden age in Iranian civilization and witnessing a flourishing of art, architecture, and learning. And one of the ways that the Sasanians displayed this flourishing culture, just as previous Iranian dynasties did before them, was through food.

The Topkapı Sarayı Müzesi Kütüphanesi in Istanbul preserves a Ghaznavid-era bilingual manuscript, Tafsīr-i munīr (MS. TSMK EH.209), produced in 484 AH / 1091 CE under Sultan Ibrāhīm. It is among the earliest surviving examples of a Qur’anic exegesis combining the Arabic text with a Persian commentary attributed to Abū Naṣr al-Ḥaddādī. Executed by the calligrapher ‘Uthmān ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Warrāq al-Ghaznavī, only its eighth volume survives today. The fate of the remaining volumes—whether lost, dispersed, or destroyed—remains unknown. This study draws in part on direct consultation of the manuscript at the Topkapı Palace Library.

From the ashes of the once so mighty Samanid Empire arose a new superpower, led by the amīrs’ former servants. Nurtured in the rough steppes of Central Asia and battle-hardened through the incessant warfare that terrorized the waning Abbasid Caliphate, these Turkic warlords would change the course of history, heralding the start of the Turkic age in Islamic history. They built upon the traditions set by their Persian and Arabic predecessors but simultaneously established an entirely new model of rulership which became ingrained in Central Asia’s political ideology. Lauded by many as the architects of a vibrant culture, and spurned by others as a destructive force that signalled the end of the Islamic Golden Age, this dynasty’s legacy continues to puzzle moralists and historians alike to this day. Enter the Ghaznavids. This first article in a series about this dynasty aims to shed some light on the circumstances in which this sultanate grew, and the figures who lifted the Afghan city of Ghazna from a regional town to the centre of Islam’s first Turkic superpower.

The circulation of illustrated manuscripts and the mobility of artists and visual models across the Ottoman, Safavid, and Central Asian worlds formed one of the most dynamic artistic networks of the early modern Islamic world. Far from being isolated artistic traditions, these regions were linked through political conquest, diplomatic exchange, royal patronage, and interregional trade. Illustrated manuscripts, luxurious objects combining calligraphy, painting, and book arts, played a particularly important role within this network. Their movement between courts, often accompanied by the migration of artists and the transfer of visual motifs, created a shared visual culture across Iran, Anatolia, and Central Asia while simultaneously shaping the distinctive artistic traditions of each region.

"it was Sogdian, a language originally spoken in the province of Sogdiana and the city of Samarkand in modern-day Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, that became the lingua franca of the Silk Road in that part of Central Asia. Turkic peoples such as the Uyghurs, whose native language differed greatly from Indo-European Sogdian, also used this language for administration. The Sogdians were known as industrious merchants, and it was through trade that they spread their language as far as western China, among other means by founding merchant colonies in Chinese Turkestan."

Located in northern Iran stands a monumental fortification that utterly dwarfs Hadrian’s Wall: the Great Wall of Gorgan. Although it lacks the popular renown of its Roman counterpart, this vast structure has been described as one of the most sophisticated and ambitious frontier walls ever constructed, and arguably the largest single defensive wall in history. This article examines the historical circumstances that gave rise to the Great Wall of Gorgan, before exploring how the Sassanians built and operated this remarkable defensive system. It will then turn to the strategic considerations that ultimately led to the wall’s construction.

Sailing up the Tigris from the south, one of the many great spectacles that awaited ancient travellers was the awe-inspiring sight of Aššur’s ziggurat, visible from far away, arising atop a 40 meter high cliff that dominated the landscape. This structure was the ultimate proof of the Assyrians’ dedication to their patron god, who not only embodied the synonymous city of Aššur, but also represented the power of the Assyrian empire itself. Who was this Aššur? How was he envisaged by his worshippers and what importance did he carry for them? As we shall see momentarily, this proves to be a much harder question than one might expect.

In her first article for Along the Silk Road on Persian miniature painting, Dr. Shadabeh Azizpour discusses Kamal al-Din Behzād. Master Kamal al-Din Behzād (1456–1535) was one of the most prominent painters (naqqāshs) active in the artistic circles of Herat and Tabriz during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, under the Timurid and Safavid dynasties.

In his article, Yonghyup Oh chronicles the famed Tang invasions of Korea during the seventh century and places them in a wider historical perspective, paying particular attention to their consequences for East Asian history.