Lands of Asia layouts (Eng) 26.11.21

part iv | migrations of cultures
has a similar headdress. Clearly, such similarities could not have come about through the
convergent evolution of the Khorezmian statuary ossuaries and Etruscan kenops.
Most likely, long before the Christian Era, Khorezm was part of the network of
roads connecting the Mediterranean Sea and Central Asia, and the vicissitudes of fate
meant that its peoples travelled to different parts of the oikumene. It is well known
that in the 5th century BC, Khorezmians had lived in Egypt, perhaps for several
generations, on the island of Elephantine, located on the lower Nile.
Thereafter, Central Asia’s ties with the Apennine Peninsula and, especially with
the Roman Empire, became stronger and more active.
Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire, was one of the starting points of the Silk
Road. From here and from the other Roman cities, trade caravans moved eastwards by
land and sea, along with diplomatic embassies and military legions sent to fight Rome’s
ancient rival, the powerful Parthian Kingdom (mid-3rd century BC to AD 226).
The Romans had varying degrees of success in their wars with the Parthians,
and the battles contributed to the existence of large numbers of Roman prisoners
in Central Asia, although it is likely that some Romans arrived here even earlier. The
Parthian kingdom served as an obstacle to the passage of Roman goods to the East
Map of the ancient world in the 2nd century AD.
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