The bizarre shopping list
The invisible hitchhikers
Ideas, espionage, and stolen secrets
Legendary beasts and extreme travelers
misslily Intercept secret messages to learn how valuable ideas were stolen along the Silk Road.
misslily The Spread of Zero
It's just a dot, It's just a dot, Riding caravans to Baghdad.
misslily Byzantine Emperor Justinian sent Nestorian monks to steal live cocoons and mulberry seeds from China, where revealing the secret meant death.
Which empire broke the Chinese silk monopoly after acquiring smuggled silkworms in 552 CE?
misslily Captured Tang Dynasty artisans built Samarkand's first paper mills, sparking a global book boom.
Which battle in 751 CE led to the spread of papermaking technology from China to the Islamic world?
Which Central Asian oasis city became the first major center of paper production outside of China?
Secret agents: The Byzantine Empire broke China's 3,000-year-old silk monopoly by sending two monks to smuggle silkworms inside hollowed-out walking sticks.
Which conqueror brought Greek culture deep into Central Asia, sparking this unique artistic fusion?
Why do early Buddhist statues from the Gandhara region look remarkably like ancient Greek gods?
The cultivation of silkworms for the production of silk. In 552 AD, Nestorian monks smuggled silkworm eggs to Constantinople, ending China's monopoly on the trade.
Which region is credited with inventing the mathematical concept of zero that traveled west?
Which Persian mathematician's work in Baghdad helped popularize Hindu-Arabic numerals along trade routes?