From Sasanian Persia to the Tarim Basin: Pre islamic Iranian Art and Culture along the Silk Road (Ferdows. Collana di Studi iranici e islamici) Paperback – April 21, 2021

This volume collects a series of articles focusing on various aspects of the art of Persia and Central Asia in the pre-Islamic era that the author has published over the last fifteen years. The period examined goes from the reign of the Sasanian dynasty (224-651) to the arrival of the Arabs in the seventh century, and the consequent (but not immediate) process of Islamization of the entire territory between the eastern borders of the Roman Empire and China. This vast territory – during the period examined in those articles – was mainly inhabited by peoples who spoke Iranian languages such as Persian, Bactrian, Chorasmian, Sogdian and Khotanese. They followed the precepts of the so-called “Zoroastrian” religion, although the Turkish cultural element had already begun to appear throughout the region at least since the sixth century CE. Read more