Just Released!

This first English translation of the ‘Chronicle on the Western Regions’ from the Hou Hanshu presents an

intriguing picture of a little-known period of history – the origins of the Silk Road. The information is thought to have

been collected from soldiers, merchants, explorers and spies. The text is based on a report presented to the Chinese Emperor An, circa 125 CE, by Ban Yong, his

senior general in the Western Regions. The Chronicle contains the earliest geographical, historical, political and cultural information in Chinese on the Roman Empire, Egypt, India, Parthia, and many other kingdoms, as well as their products, and the routes between them. Along these

trade routes an exchange of philosophies, goods and technologies developed on a scale that would not be seen again for 1400 years. The text itself deserves to be better known. The translated text, faced with the original Chinese, is amply annotated. Included are 20 appendices and two maps showing the main centres and routes. This treasure house of remarkable facts and speculations should appeal to both scholars and the curious. The translator and author, John Hill, an independent scholar, has been fascinated by the exchange of peoples, cultures, religions and trade between Asia, Europe and Africa since his youth. He has travelled extensively in Asia since 1973 exploring archaeological sites, museums and routes. He began work on this book in 1979 while living in India and has continued gathering information, communicating with historians and other specialists around the world ever since. Their generous contributions have helped make this book an authoritative and useful historical source. John now lives in tropical far north Queensland, Australia, almost 300 km from the nearest traffic lights.

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Through the Jade Gate to Rome A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty. 1st to 2nd Centuries CE

by John E. Hill

Paperback, self-published via BookSurge Publishing, 714 pages.

ISBN-13: 978-1-4392-2134-1 Now available at: www.BookSurge.com, www.Amazon.com, www.Abebooks.com and www.Alibris.com Now available at Amazon.com for US$ 31.59 plus postage. Trade enquiries: BookSurge Publishing’s customer service department: phone: 866-308-6235 option 6, or email: customerservice@booksurge.com. Note: At the moment the book is only available through the above distributors.

The Author at home