The Tibetan Empire in Central Asia: A History of the Struggle for Great Power among Tibetans, Turks, Arabs, and Chinese during the Early Middle Ages

by Christopher I. Beckwith

Overview

This narrative history of the Tibetan Empire in Central Asia from about A.D. 600 to 866 depicts the struggles of the great Tibetan, Turkic, Arab, and Chinese powers for dominance over the Silk Road lands that connected Europe and East Asia. It shows the importance of overland contacts between East and West in the Early Middle Ages and elucidates Tibet's role in the conflict over Central Asia.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691216300
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	07/21/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	292
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Christopher I. Beckwith is Associate Professor of Central Eurasian Studies at Indiana University. He received a 1986 MacArthur Fellowship.

Editorial Reviews

"[The] author has succeeded in his task, thanks to his sound method of analysis and to his command of the languages of the relevant texts: Tibetan, Chinese, Arab, Turkic. Particularly the thorough and felicitous utilization of the Arab sources is one of the most pleasant features of the book."—-Luciano Petech, Central Asiatic Journal

"A most impressive work by an excellent scholar."—-Richard N. Frye, International Journal of Middle East Studies

From the Publisher

"An absorbing and highly original narrative of imperial rivalries that is of particular interest to comparative historians."

Choice

A most impressive work by an excellent scholar.

International Journal of Middle East Studies - Richard N. Frye

[The] author has succeeded in his task, thanks to his sound method of analysis and to his command of the languages of the relevant texts: Tibetan, Chinese, Arab, Turkic. Particularly the thorough and felicitous utilization of the Arab sources is one of the most pleasant features of the book.

Central Asiatic Journal - Luciano Petech

A most impressive work by an excellent scholar.
— Richard N. Frye

International Journal of Middle East Studies

[The] author has succeeded in his task, thanks to his sound method of analysis and to his command of the languages of the relevant texts: Tibetan, Chinese, Arab, Turkic. Particularly the thorough and felicitous utilization of the Arab sources is one of the most pleasant features of the book.
— Luciano Petech

Central Asiatic Journal