Considering The East For A Change
I thought my 6th grade history teacher was way off base until this week. I have a very clear memory of Mr. Spence telling us that, even though we would learn that Greece and Rome were the center of civilization, Persia should really have that title. In all of my years studying and teaching history, I have only read sporadic and spotty support for Mr. Spence’s theory, until now.
In his book, The Silk Roads, Peter Frankopan sets out on the arduous and often overwrought task of correcting the illusion that all roads trace back to Rome (or Athens). This book is over 500 pages long, and the notes/bibliography is well over 100 pages! To say that Frankopan has done his due diligence is an understatement. He convincingly shows that the network of avenues labeled the Silk Roads, have long been the conduits through which society, religion, and even fashion have traveled. So many little details in this book sent me on Google searches with the question, “Is that really true?” leading the way. It is difficult for me to imagine a time when Muslims and Jews interacted peaceably as a matter of course. I struggled to accept some of Frankopan’s more charitable offerings relating to Ghengis Khan and the Mongols in chapter nine, but his evidence bore out. Even Frankopan’s theory that the Black Death which scorched the Earth in the 14th century “turned out to be the catalyst for social and economic change”[1] makes an odd kind of sense as he has laid out the evidence.
While all of this information captured my historian’s heart, what strikes me the most is the way Frankopan manages to do what I may have considered impossible – he shifts the focus from West to East. Even in the parts of the book where Frankopan’s focus is decidedly Eurocentric, there is always an eye to the East, a re-telling of history as we have heard it. Just as Thomas Oden shifted our ideas about Africa’s role in Christianity,[2] Frankopan shifts the map just a bit to allow our focus to rest on a new center. This reminded me of the “new” maps that are being made for classrooms which put the 
continents in scale and decenter the imperial West. Suddenly the history of the world looks very different when assumptions about Western dominance and European colonialism are viewed through an unfamiliar lens.
I am not fully convinced of all of Frankopan’s assertions, but I am intrigued enough to look further into possibilities I have never considered. I think, after all, this is what Frankopan (and Mr. Spence) would ask of each of us if we were to have that conversation. Rather than demanding we agree, a good teacher opens our minds with the invitation to “consider this…”
[1] Peter Frankopan, The Silk Roads: A New History of the World, (New York: Vintage Books, 2015) 186.
[2] Thomas C. Oden, How Africa Shaped the Christian Mind, (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2007).
About the Author
Kristin Hamilton
12 responses to “Considering The East For A Change”
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There are logical reasons why we focus on Euro-centric History. Many of us have genealogical roots in Europe and see “them” as “us.” For example, there are still German and Czech towns in Texas with a lot of pride in their heritage.
As I read The Silk Roads, I wondered how someone from Latin America view’s Europe–Spain in particular. As the book explains, Spain viewed the people of the “New World” as primitives to be conquered. On one hand, the Spaniards and the Portuguese were brutal toward the indigenous peoples. On the other hand, these countries primarily sent men who married the local women–modern Latinos have European roots as well as Indigenous roots.
Spanish language, culture, and religion has been instilled into most of Latin America. I will need to ask some of my Latino friends about how they view their European heritage.
This is an excellent point, Stu. I need to do more research. Let me know what you find out!
Yes, Kristin, I agree. I think Frankopan pulled it off.
Some would say, “Of course. If the Garden of Eden is over there somewhere, then history started in the East!”
500 pages is long, and yet short for a history of the whole world! Since most of us have grown up with the western version, this provided a much needed balance. You seem to enjoy the challenge of new perspectives. I do too.
I do, Mary! When I was teaching history, a colleague gave me the book Lies My Teacher Told Me and it made me eager to hear the alternative stories out there.
Even a weed has its benefits. While the Black Plague obviously decimated Europe, and Genghis Khan was a brutal leader, his religious tolerance and the industrial recovery of Europe after the Plague are good reminders that events and people are never one-dimensional. Thanks Kristin!
You are so right, Katy. And some weeds have more benefits than others!
Beautifully said, “Frankopan shifts the map just a bit to allow our focus to rest on a new center.” Yes, it was intriguing to hear history recounted from a different perspective and vantage point. I think we have been misled in our history education. Someone needs to write a new history book for our schools that is more inclusive of minority and ethnic perspectives. I nominate you :).
Ha! Unfortunately there is almost no way to write a history book without bias, Jen. I think the most important thing is to admit the biases up front.
I had a “Mr. Spence” too. To this day I am thankful for those teachers who look beyond the textbook to the bigger picture and as Christal said, “hold many stories in tandem” so that the students can see a bigger and clearer picture. Thank God for the “Mr. Spences” of this world!
HI Kristen,
My middle school History teacher was great. I really hated history and don’t remember what he said, but he sure was good looking. LOL
Reading this book I believe was to help us ee Asia in a different light as we prepare for our next adventure.
Kristen,
I loved reading your post this week – a fellow historians take on a good and unfamiliar history.
Two things in your post stood out to me:
1 – You highlight Frankopan’s treatment of the Black Death, which stood out to me. It also read like an chapter of freakonomics….
2 – I also really loved your description of the section on Genghis Khan as ‘charitable’. I thought it was a potent reminder that even a history designed to help us see our biases – may have biases of it’s own.
Kristin I think much like how your Mr. Spence planted a seed, I believe Frankopan’s discussion of shifting the narrative from the west to the east is attempting to do the same. By no means is this book the end all be all to eastern history but I do believe it challenges other scholars to engage, reflect, research and discuss history from a nuanced perspective. I appreciate the fact that he is sharing a new world view that was sparked by his curiosity of the shaping of our world. It begs the question in my mind as a leader what intrigues me? What curiosity do I have about the world that could shift the current narrative in a new direction? #foodforthought