The Stone Tower: Ptolemy, The Silk Road, And A 2,000-Year-Old Riddle

This book is very lucidly written about an ancient thoroughfare from east to west & vice versa, which not only transformed the world in terms of trade from China ( silk), Rome (wine), India ( cotton), Ferghana valley (horses), human migrations and the flow of religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity..... Takes us to an interesting world of ancient cartography and the amazing history of the centre of learning in Alexandria story of the journey/migration of horses & cavalry changed warfare in the East -China, India... How the maritime Spice route complemented the Silk Route & ultimately took over as the primary thoroughfare. Of course, solving the riddle of the stone tower is more from common sense rather than pure cartography. Absolutely fascinating tale about a part of the world & a time period of which we know so little.

Most of the information is available around the World Wide Web. It is suitable as a primer for those who want an introduction to the Silk Road