Empires and Exchanges in Eurasian Late Antiquity. Rome, China, Iran, and the Steppe, ca. 250-750

This article reviews a collection of twenty-six studies on Eurasia in Late Antiquity, edited by Nicola Di Cosmo and Michael Maas (2018). Aside from presenting a brief summary of all the chapters included in the volume, I discuss several contributions at length and engage with the methodology outlined by the editors in the Introduction. While the book focuses on Late Antique steppe empires (Huns, Türks, Avars, etc.) and the multiple ways these interacted with the great sedentary states of Eurasia (Byzantium, Iran, China), many chapters offer exciting new perspectives on a score of other topics, such as Silk Road trade, religion, history of science, migration, diplomacy and political ideology. On the whole, Empires and Exchanges is an extremely valuable addition to the growing number of studies that attempt to provide a holistic approach to Eurasian history.

History, Archaeology and Cultural Comparison

Ian Morris’s Why the West Rules – for Now (2010) is a brilliant book, dealing with Eurasian history from the first civilisations to the present. It takes an intermediate position in the famous debate about Europe and the rest of the world and European dominance during the last few centuries. Morris uses all kinds of sources. However, his general approach is staunchly materialistic: the motors of history are fear, sloth and greed. Cultural differences do exist, but can be explained by the former factors. This is an attitude not confined to archaeologists, nor necessarily shared by all of them, but may nevertheless have something to do with Morris’s background in this field. One objection is that Morris may have underestimated the importance of institutional factors; he does not discuss the division of Europe into separate states, which has often been regarded as a central factor in ‘the Rise of the West’. This in turn raises the question of the ‘two hand-maidens’ and their relationship to the EU. If political division is an essential feature of Europe, what will happen if this division disappears?