Title: The Jewish Communities of the Silk Roads
Subject Classification:  History, Religion and Faith  
BIC Classification: HB, HR
BISAC Classification: HIS022000, REL040030, SOC008070
Binding: Hardback, eBook
Planned publication date: Apr 2026
ISBN (Hardback): 978-1-83711-709-3
ISBN (eBook): 978-1-83711-710-9

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Description

This book examines the intersection of commerce, culture, and ethics through the experiences of Jewish merchants, travelers, and communities from the Mediterranean to East Asia. It draws from sources such as the Sefer Massa’ot by Benjamin of Tudela, the writings of Petahia of Regensburg, and modern scholarship, to reconstruct a transcontinental Jewish world that is deeply linked to the Silk and Indian Ocean trade routes. It is indirectly linked with the UNWTO program on the Silk Roads.

Starting with the early Radhanite traders of the 8th century and continuing to the cosmopolitan rabbis and merchants of the 18th century, the work traces Jewish mobility as both a practical necessity and a cultural vocation. It illustrates how faith, trade, and identity were intertwined across fluctuating political and religious landscapes, encompassing Islamic caliphates, Christian kingdoms, and the emerging Atlantic world.

The book also explores the moral complexities within these networks, including Jewish involvement in and resistance to the slave trade, rabbinic debates on economic ethics, and the often-overlooked presence of Black Jews in Africa, Europe, and the Americas, and Indian and Chinese Jews. By connecting ancient trade routes to modern heritage projects like UNESCO’s Slave Route Initiative, the narrative invites a dialogue between historical memory and contemporary discussions on race, diaspora, and belonging.

Biography

Author(s):  Robert Lanquar is the Commissioner of the Córdoba World Convivence Forum, Foundation Paradigma, based in Córdoba, Spain, and an UCO Honorary Professor. A former International Civil Servant (UNWTO), he has been professor of various European and African Universities and also worked as an expert for International Governmental Organizations (IGO), including the World Bank and UN Environment.

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