When Asia Was the World

While European civilization stagnated in the Dark Ages," Asia flourished as the wellspring of science, philosophy, and religion. Linked together by a web of spiritual, commercial, and intellectual connections, the distant regions of Asia's vast civilization, from Arabia to China, hummed with trade, international diplomacy, and the exchange of ideas. Stewart Gordon has fashioned a compelling and unique look at Asia from AD 700 to 1500,a time when Asia was the world,by relating the personal journeys of Asia's many travellers.

“"In this slim volume, Stewart Gordontakes readers on a journey from Morocco to Manchuria, acquainting them with thelives, experiences, and reflections of eight great travelers from the centuriesbetween 618 and 1521. The splendors of courtly life, the austerity of Buddhistmonasteries, and the rigors of sea travel and the silk roads all come to lifethrough these travelers' eyes. Gordon's narratives are leavened with just theright amount of historical context to help readers navigate."--J.R. McNeill,Georgetown University, author of The Human Web and Something NewUnder the Sun”

"[A] reliable collection. The author provides background information and explanation so that complex interactions become accessible to the reader, and the book is enhanced by good illustrations and a very useful bibliography."
--Saudi Aramco World Magazine
"[Gordon's] stories of travelers and explorers of Asia provides a compelling, lively account."
--Midwest Book Review
"A timely book to encourage open-mindedness toward different cultures."
--Library Journal
"An excellent examination of civilizations whose achievements are probably unfamiliar to many in the West."--Booklist
"An extraordinary look at the Middle Ages."
--Deseret News
"Engaging and compact book arrives in the nick of time to expand our knowledge of world history...Gordon reveals the vibrancy and sophistication seen in the vast territory...The first-person accounts provide vivid and distinctive perspectives on each epoch and set of territories without overwhelming us with encyclopedic details. A chapter on one particular person, in Gordon's hands, becomes a miracle of compression...[A] short but fascinating survey."
--Shelf Awareness
"Gordon writes clearly...Due to Gordon's straightforward prose and the interweaving of journal entries from each traveler, chapters come alive with humanness, personality, and suspense. The book is well-documented...Gordon packs this slim volume with fascinating facts."--Charleston Post & Courier
"If trade is what unites the modern global system and if Asia is the focal point for the new century, then the people and events so carefully described in When Asia Was the World are the ones we need to know in order to understand where we are now. It is a book as much about our future as our past."--Jack Weatherford, author of Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
"In this slim volume, Stewart Gordon takes readers on a journey from Morocco to Manchuria, acquainting them with the lives, experiences, and reflections of eight great travelers from the centuries between 618 and 1521. The splendors of courtly life, the austerity of Buddhist monasteries, and the rigors of sea travel and the silk roads all come to life through these travelers' eyes. Gordon's narratives are leavened with just the right amount of historical context to help readers navigate."--J.R. McNeill, Georgetown University, author of The Human Web and Something New Under the Sun
"Provide[s] an intimate complement to David Levering Lewis's God's Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe, 570-1215 (2008)."
--Kirkus Reviews
"Refreshing...Reframes the genre...with zest, graceful scholarship, and great skill in providing illuminating contexts."
--ForeWord
"Stewart is a compelling writer...When Asia Was the World will help raise popular awareness that the Earth's history didn't begin in Europe."--Milwaukee Shepherd Express

Stewart Gordon is Senior Research Scholar at the centre for South Asian Studies at the University of Michigan, and author of three books on Asia. He lives in Ann Arbor.

While European civilization stagnated in the Dark Ages," Asia flourished as the wellspring of science, philosophy, and religion. Linked together by a web of spiritual, commercial, and intellectual connections, the distant regions of Asia's vast civilization, from Arabia to China, hummed with trade, international diplomacy, and the exchange of ideas. Stewart Gordon has fashioned a compelling and unique look at Asia from AD 700 to 1500,a time when Asia was the world,by relating the personal journeys of Asia's many travellers.

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