Book Review of ‘The Silk Roads’ by Peter Frankopan.
By: Azhar Zeeshan
Tags: International Relations, Books, Politics, Silk Road, History Of The World

“The age of the west is at crossroads, if not at the end”. ~Frankopan

A report published in 2010 by the Defense Ministry of England, entails a list of challenges, that Britain and the West, in general, has likely to face in the forthcoming future. ‘The Period up to 2040 will be a period of transition,’ the report stated. Along with the other challenges, such as climate change, growing radicalization, the report identifies, an enthralling challenge as well; “Shift in Power from West to the East”.

The content of the concerned report, to a great extent, encapsulates the central theme of “Silk Roads.” It is all about the social, political, and economic history of the world, covers the time period from antiquity to the present century. What’s idiomatic about the book is the deviation of the author. The deviation from mainstream narrative related to the history of the world. To put it bluntly, the picture depicted by the author regarding the history of the world is at odds with the mainstream narrative, put forth by most historians, that is highly occidental oriented in nature. ‘East/Orient’, the author argued, was the center of Social, Political, and Economic activities, rather than West.’ He further went on, ‘and to East, the future belongs’.

The first half of the book primarily deals with the glorious past of the east. For instance, a mesmerizing picture of the lavish courts of the Ancient Persian Empire has been depicted in the most absorbing way by the author, bespeaks of the colossal wealth they possessed. Likewise, sophisticated and grandiose infrastructure that had been erupted by Egyptians, Mesopotamians, and Persians in BC’s, which is yet to be comprehended, inkling about the intellectual superiority of the orient. Had it not been for the complex and sophisticated knowledge of arts and architecture, they wouldn’t have been able to design such monumental buildings.

The chapters followed, entail an epic story of how economic and political power, incrementally shifted towards the west as time went by. What’s epic in it, is all it came at the expense of the East. In a bluff manner, whether it was the Greek-Roman Empire of antiquity, Britain or Spanish Empire of Modernity or the neo-imperial power of US, all developed & flourished, thanks to the riches of the ‘Jewel in the Crown- India,’ to the Africa-American and Asian Colonies. It reminds me of one of the famous speeches, delivered by Dr. Shashi Tharoor at Oxford Union, entitled “British Does owe reparations”. In the said speech, he lambasted Imperial Britain, stated bluntly, “As a matter of fact, the very Industrialization of Imperial Britain premised upon the De-Industrialization of India.” Pointing to the colossal exploitation of Indians at the hand of Britain and mocking the maxim of, ‘The sun never sets on Britain Empire’, he said, ‘It is because even the God couldn’t trust Britain in dark’.

The author concludes the book with a forecast. A forecast about the Political and Economic future of the world, that according to him would belongs to the Orient. Of the many factors he identifies, and which let him conclude so, the important one is ‘Resources.’ The vast reservoirs of Natural Resources such as Oil and Gas, that rest in the womb of the Caspian Sea, Caucasus and the Persian Gulf, the leviathan of fertile plains of Central Asia and those lies to the North of Black Sea, would be instrumental in determining the political and economic fate of the world in the foreseeable future. Moreover, the rise of China at breakneck speed, the growing influence of Russia in political affairs of the Middle East, Central Asia, Ukraine in particular, and in the world in general, speaks for itself where things are heading.

To cut the long story short, ‘the orient,’ which fell victim to the biases and prejudices of the ‘occident’ for the most part of its history, in fact, has remained an area of interest, at least for those, who have dreamt about dominating the globe. The eastward expansion of the Greeks Romans, Portuguese, Britain, Nazis, and the massive interest shown by the United States in the orient contemporary, indicates, where “the heart of World lies.”

A single word that could aptly describe the “Silk Roads” is ‘treasure.’ There is so much I want to add, which unfortunately I couldn’t, in this brief piece of writing. It was a long journey of 24 days, more than 500 pages across the world, which just came to an end. Peter Frankopan! You were an amazing guide.