The concept of the "Seidenstrassen" (Silk Road) was created by the German geographer F. von Richthofen (1833-1905) in 1877. The "Seidenstrassen" means communication between China and the Roman cultural area. To prove the route of dissemination of silk, Richthofen not only focused on geographical substantiality, based on the routes of the Chinese Zhang Qian and the Roman Ptolemy, but also on etymological, historical, and religious sources. In fact, his Silk Road concept has the trade of silk as well as the humanistic ideas of cultural exchange. It is worth noting that in his book China, Richthofen presented the Silk Road as a space-time concept that considers the length of space as well as the length of time by highlighting humanistic examples that came into modern times through the Sea Route. Later, the English term "Silk Road" appeared in 1938, the Japanese term "シルクロ-ド" (sirukurodo) in 1939, and the Korean term "실크로드" (silkrodeu) in 1952.

The Silk Road usually implies a network of trade and communications that stretched from east to west and connected China and the countries of the Far East via Central Asia and the Middle East to the eastern Mediterranean, or through the northern coast of the Caspian Sea and the Volga basin to the Black Sea coast. However, at certain historical stages, a network of maritime and overland routes stretching from north to south, commonly called the Volga-Caspian trade route, also played a significant role in international trade and cultural contacts. The geopolitical realities of the early Middle Ages relating to the relationship of Byzantium, the Sassanid Empire, and the West Turkic Khaganate, the advance of the Arab Caliphate to the north, the spread of Islam in the Volga region, the glories and fall of the Khazar State, and the Scandinavian campaigns in the Caucasus, closely intertwined with the history of transport and communications connecting the north and south through the Volga-Caspian route. In a later era, the interests of the Mongolian Uluses, and then the political and economic aspirations of the Ottoman Empire, the Safavid State, and Russia, collided or combined on these routes. The article discusses trade contacts existing between the north and the south in the 15th and first half of the 17th century along the routes on the western coast of the Caspian Sea.

The extensive maritime trade network between the Harappan and Mesopotamian civilizations as early as the $3^{rd}$ millennium BCE is a testimony to the long maritime trade history of India. From the dawn of the historical epoch, the maritime trade network of India expanded extensively. The findings of a large number of coins, pottery, amphorae and other materials from Italy and various other European countries, west Asia, China, Korea, Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia and Far-East countries in India, particularly in the coastal regions, are a testimony to the dynamic maritime trade of India with other countries in the early period. Similarly, pottery, sculptures, inscriptions and other materials of Indian origin are also found in those countries. The depiction of different types of ships on the coins, paintings, sculptures, seals and sealing, exhibit the variety of vessels used for navigation and other purposes in the early period. The over 7500 km-long coastline of India is well known for its seaports located at river mouths or outlets to the sea. The Periplus Maris Erythraei, Ptolemy, and Indian literary sources mention many seaports on the western coast of India. Interestingly, archaeological investigations in many of these port towns have yielded material evidence exhibiting their dominant role in transoceanic trade and commerce with many countries in the early period. This paper discusses in detail all the major ancient seaports on the western coast of India and their maritime trade activities. At the outset, the paper briefly deals with the Harappan's maritime network, their seaports and the type of ships of that period. Following this, the maritime trade network of India during the historical period with various countries in the east and west, the traces of Indian influence and materials abroad and foreign materials found in India, the products exported from India, the trade winds and navigational devices and the depiction of ships on the coins, paintings, and sculptures of the period are discussed in detail. After briefly highlighting the coastline of India and its favourable nature for safe anchorage of ships and the strategic position of the seaports of western India, an extensive account of the major ancient seaports of western India like Barygaza, Ashtacampra, Gundigar, Kammoni, Khambhat, Bardaxema, Suparaka, Calliena, Semylla, Sanjan, Naura, Tyndis, Muziris, Nelcynda and other seaports, and their maritime trade activities are given based on archaeological excavations and explorations, literature, epigraphy, foreign accounts, and numismatic evidence.

The Silk Road tied the globe together for the first time by producing an early globalization phenomenon. Some consider that the ancient Silk Road disintegrated around the $18^{th}$ century CE due to the fall of the Muslim empires and the kingdoms between Asia and Europe. However, the maritime trade among East Asia and the Spanish dominion on the American continent reactivated the ancient Silk Road on some levels, and maintained trade dynamics until the $19^{th}$ century. This was possible because of Mexican silver and trade spots. Notwithstanding its historical background, Mexico seems so far away from the new Silk Road, or the Belt and Road Initiative in the $21^{st}$ century. Thus, this paper analyzes Mexico's historic and current role concerning the Silk Road. First, I conceptualize and compare the ancient Silk Road and Belt and Road Initiative through the lens of complex interdependence theory. I propose that, unlike the ancient Silk Road, the Belt and Road Initiative is a case of an induced complex interdependence. Second, I study the Manila Galleons' dynamics in order to trace the ancient ties with the Silk Road. I emphasize Mexican silver's contribution to East Asian economies and the importance of Mexico's role in the East Asia-Spanish trade. Consequently, I analyze Mexico's position in the Belt and Road Initiative. Finally, I present some concluding remarks about Mexico's role in the Silk Road.

During the Old Uighur period, many works were translated into Old Uighur under the influence of Buddhism. Among these works, literary works such as $Da{\acute{s}}akarmapath{\bar{a}}vad{\bar{a}}nam{\bar{a}}l{\bar{a}}$ hold an important place. These works were usually translated from Pali to Sanskrit, from Sanskrit to Sogdian, Tocharian and Chinese, and to Old Uighur from these languages. These works which were added to the Old Uighur repertoire by translation indicate that different peoples along the ancient Silk Road had deep linguistic interactions with one another. Aside from these works, other narratives that we have been so far unable to determine whether they were translations, adaptations or original works have also been discovered. The Tale of King Chashtana, which was found in the work titled $Da{\acute{s}}akarmapath{\bar{a}}vad{\bar{a}}nam{\bar{a}}l{\bar{a}}$, is one of the tales we have been unable to classify as a translation or an original work. This tale has never been discovered with this title or this content in the languages of any of the peoples that were exposed to Buddhism along the Silk Road. On the other hand, the person whom the protagonist of this tale was named after has a very important place in the history of India, one of the countries that the Silk Road goes through. Saka Mahakshatrapa Chashtana (or Cashtana), a contemporary of Nahapana, declared himself king in Gujarat. A short time later, Chashtana, having invaded Ujjain and Maharashtra, established a powerful Saka kingdom in the west of India. His descendants reigned in the region for a long time. Another important fact about Chashtana is that coinage minted in his name was used all along the Silk Road. Chashtana, who became a significant historical figure in north western India, inspired the name of the protagonist of a tale in Old Uighur. That it is probable that the tale of King Chashtana is an original Old Uighur tale and not found in any other languages of the Silk Road brings some questions to mind: Who is Chashtana, the hero of the story? Is he related to the Saka king Chashtana in any way? What sort of influence did Chashtana have on the Silk Road and its languages? If this tale which we have never encountered in any other language of the Silk Road is indeed an original tale, why did the Old Uighurs use the name of an important Saka ruler? Is Saka-Uighur contact in question, given tales of this kind? What can we say about the historical and cultural geography of the Silk Road, given the fact that coinage was minted in his name and used along the Silk Road? In this study, I will attempt to answer these questions and share the information we have gleaned about Chashtana the hero of the tale and the Saka king Chashtana. One of the main aim of this study is to reveal the relationship between the narrative hero Chashtana and the Saka king Chashtana according to this information. Another aim of this study is to understand the history of the Saka, the Uighur and the Silk Road and to reveal the relationship between these three important subjects of history. The importance of the Silk Road will be emphasized again with the understanding of these relations. In this way, new information about Chashtana, who is an important name in the history of the India and the Silk Road, will be put forward. The history of the Sakas will be viewed from a different perspective through the Old Uighur Buddhist story.

This paper is an art historical attempt to discuss the transfer and transmission of a certain visual idiom along the Silk Roads and to show the multi-dimensionality of the trans-regional, trans-cultural movement. The motifs of grapes and grapevines are discussed here for this purpose, including the grape-and-vine motif mixed with other animated figures and plants. A special emphasis is on China and its reception, but regional varieties within East Asia are also discussed. The motif is one of the most longstanding and versatile visual idioms, widely distributed along the regions of the Silk Roads. This deceptively familiar motif came to China, where grapes and viticulture were introduced far later than the West. The West developed various symbolisms ranging from manic revelry and heavenly unity with mystic beings, to royalty and power in different cultures. In China, this visual idiom was eagerly received in association with something exotic and re-interpreted in the context of Chinese culture. Without active viticulture, the motif transformed itself into beautiful design patterns and space fillers in China and East Asia. The natural appeal of jewel-like grapes acquired new meanings of fertility and happiness in the traditional East Asian cultural context. To see the cultural effect of viticulture on the visualization of this motif, the Islamic reception of the motif is briefly touched upon when countries to the West of China (서역 西域) were fully Islamized and heavily affected by the prohibition of alcoholic drinking.

Ali Bey $H{\ddot{u}}seyinzade$ (1864-1940) was one of the most significant Azerbaijani Turkish intellectuals in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, formulating Azerbaijani national identity around its Turkish, Islamic and territorial dimensions. His solution to the ambiguities of the identity crisis among the Turkic-Muslim people of Azerbaijan was Turkification, Islamization and Europeanization for the Turkic and Muslim peoples of the Caucasus and Ottoman Turkey. Ali Bey $H{\ddot{u}}seyinzade$ was an influential Azerbaijani Turkish intellectual who had a direct impact on Turkish nationalists in the late Ottoman Empire and early Republican Turkey. $H{\ddot{u}}seyinzade^{\prime}s$ formulation of the triple processes of Turkification, Islamization and Europeanization spread among the Azerbaijani and Ottoman Turkish intellectuals in their respective countries. This article aims to discuss the ideas of Ali Bey $H{\ddot{u}}seyinzade$, especially regarding nationality, religion and Westernism and their impact on intellectuals and policy makers in the Caucasus and Turkey. His physical odyssey from Tsarist Russia into the Ottoman Empire is indicative of his ideological proclivities and his subsequent influence on the Turkish-speaking peoples in the two major empires in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

There is a variety of opinions about the first translation activities within the Turkic Empire. It is widely believed that some Buddhist sutras were translated into the Turkic language in the period of Taspar Qagan (572-581). This theory is based on certain arguments: Some Turks practiced Buddhism, Buddhist monks translated sutras in the center of the Turkic Empire, Taspar brought sutras from China and had them translated, and the monarch of Northern Qi had a sutra translated and sent to Taspar. However, in my opinion, these arguments lack credibility. This article, which is based on primary Chinese sources, will question the likelihood of such translation activities having occurred. Some Chinese records for these claims exist: Da Tang Nei Dian Lu (大唐內典錄) and Xu Gao Seng Chuan (續高僧傳) by the Buddhist monk Jinagupta and the records of Hui Lin in Sui Shu (隋書) and Wen Xian Tong Kao (文獻通考). These are known as "primary sources." Secondary sources, namely contemporary history and language studies, such as those in books and articles, must be based on primary sources. It can be seen that claims relating to the first Turkic translation activities at the time of Taspar are mainly derived from secondary sources, and that the arguments in these secondary sources vary. Sometimes researchers make suppositions on the existence of information that is not referred to in primary sources. However, this is not normal practice. If a researcher relies on unknowns for the evidence of information existing, it can cause false information, ideas and anachronisms to be created. It is important that primary sources, such as the Chinese sources mentioned above, be translated correctly in language and history studies. If only a word is mistranslated, very different results may occur. Mistranslating or misinterpreting a primary source allows conclusions to be reached that are not supported by dissemination of information from primary sources. This can mislead experts and result in information that is not correct being considered as being true. As well as helping to prevent such misinterpretations occurring, another aim of this paper is to question the interpretations of the first Turkic translations in contemporary studies on history and language. The origin of such assessments will be explored and the validity of that information will be examined.

Pax Sinica is a historiographical term, modeled after the original phrase Pax Romana. It refers, in Latin, to a Chinese-provided peace which in turn is used to describe an era of peace in East Asia sustained by Chinese hegemony. In historical terms, both the Pax Sinica of the Eastern hemisphere through Han China and the Pax Romana of the Western hemisphere through Rome signified a trans-regional order based on rules and regulations. This orderly world of the Pax Sinica generated a number of positive results such as the intensification of travel, ever-expanding trade relations, an increase in the overall living standards of the populace, the proliferation of cities, and a demographic upsurge in Eurasia along the ancient Silk Road. During this period, China was the dominant civilization not only in the Eastern hemisphere but also in the Middle hemisphere due to its political, economic, military and cultural influence. This paper aims to reintroduce this historiographical term to elucidate the recent Chinese initiatives in Eurasia along the Silk Road to facilitate the integration and connectivity of the continent.

In Turkey, academic studies on Korea are mostly focused on the Korean war and Korean language and literature. Conversely, in Korea, it seems that academic studies are largely focused on old Turkic history and Turkish language and literature. Unfortunately, on both sides, there is not a satisfiying number of studies on the Turkic diaspora in Korea. However, it is a reality that there was a Turco-Tatar group that lived in Korea at the time of the Japanese occupation between the two world wars. This group became Turkish subjects after World War II and became a bridge between Korea and Turkey. After the Russian revolution, around 1919, some Turco-Tatar groups like the Bashkir and the Misher emigrated to East Asia like the Manchuria region of China and Korea. Beginning from the 1920s, some families moved to Japan, but a group of Turco-Tatar stayed in Korean cities like Seoul (Keijo), Pusan and Daegu. The Turco-Tatar groups of East Asia established schools and mosques in Seoul, Korea; Harbin, Manchuria; Kobe, Nagoya; and Tokyo in Japan. A Moslem printing house (Matbaa-i ${\dot{I}}slamiye$) was also established in Tokyo in the 1930s. Many books, a newspaper and a magazine were published by this printing house. The name of the magazine was Yanga Yapon Muhbiri(New Japanese Courier), and it survived between 1931 and 1938. In this magazine, there were many interesting news and data about Korea and the Turco-Tatars of Korea. In this short article, we will try to bring out the importance of this magazine by giving samples of the articles which were written on the Turco-Tatar diaspora in Korea.