Synopsis

The Silk Road which connected Europe and Asia operated as the global crossroads for trade, culture and religion. Central Asia functioned as the central hub of this ancient network for many centuries and was a cultural melting pot where Zoroastrian, Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim, Christian and other communities shared a distinctive inter-civilisational environment for intellectual and religious exchanges. Professor Peter Frankopan, author of “The Silk Road: A New History of the World” will speak in this seminar and examine the historical role of this diverse religious environment in shaping religious diversity and cohesion during its time. The presentation will examine the intricate nature of religious and cultural interactions, and its role in shaping the interconnected world we know today. The discussion will provide valuable insights into the significance of historical perspectives on religious pluralism in the context of modern global challenges.

About the Speaker 

Peter Frankopan is Professor of Global History at Oxford University and UNESCO Professor of Silk Roads Studies at King’s College, Cambridge. His books include The First Crusade: The Call from the East (2012) which was described as ‘over-turning a millennium of scholarship’ (The Times) and ‘the most significant contribution to re-thinking the origins and causes of the First Crusade for a generation’ (The Times Literary Supplement). The Silk Roads: A New History of the World (2015), which was described ‘not just the most important history book in years, but the most important in decades’ (Berliner Zeitung). It was named one of the Sunday Times Books of the Decade (2010-19) and as one of the 25 most important books translated into Chinese, alongside Pride and Prejudice and A Hundred Years of Solitude. His book, The New Silk Roads: The Present and Future of the World (2018) was awarded the Carical Prize for Social Sciences in 2019.

Peter’s most recent book is The Earth Transformed: An Untold History (2023), which looks at the role played by climate, nature the environment since the dawn of time has been a major bestseller around the world. It was a Financial Times, Sunday Times, Le Point, Guardian Book of the Year, and The Times History Book of the Year. According to the Financial Times, ‘Humanity has transformed the Earth: Frankopan transforms our understanding of history.’

Peter is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, the Royal Geographic Society, the Royal Society of Literature, the Royal Asiatic Society and the Royal Anthropological Institute, He is also President of the Royal Society for Asian Affairs. He advises governments, multi-lateral institutions around the world about global affairs. Often described as a ‘rockstar’ academic (BBC News, New Statesman, The Times, Der Spiegel), Peter has been called ‘the first great historian of the 21ˢᵗ century’ (DCM magazine).