The Amber Road: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Trade Network that Moved Amber across Europe
Written by Charles River Editors
Narrated by Bill Hare
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
International trade in the ancient world was a more intricate and far-reaching system than many have been led to believe. The Silk Road and the Incense Trade Route have been heavily investigated in recent decades, but the Amber Road trade network dominating northern Europe has been given far less attention. Amber, the hardened sap of prehistoric trees, has washed up on Baltic shores for generations, and though it had little value to the locals beyond religious symbolism and aesthetic beauty, they learned that foreign civilizations would pay massive sums for the beautiful substance.
Though written sources are scattered and tend to come and go depending on the civilization involved, much has been written by ancient authors, particularly of Greek and Roman origins. More importantly, archaeologists have traced the spread of amber through the discovery of pieces with specific chemical construction, linking it back to the Baltic region. Once thought to have mainly been exported to Rome, Baltic amber has also been found in Mycenaean Greece, Egypt and Syria, though perhaps not surprisingly, it was Roman demand that formed the height of the amber exchange.
Perhaps even more interesting than the movement of the amber is regarding shifting trade operations from government controlled systems to private merchant enterprises to monopolies of guilds and orders, a return to government control, and finally, the selling of the trade to individual countries. It is a fascinating microcosm of changing political and governmental landscapes through millennia of change and development in northern Europe and the wider ancient Mediterranean world.
More audiobooks from Charles River Editors
Project MK-Ultra: The History of the CIA’s Controversial Human Experimentation Program Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gnosticism: The History and Legacy of the Mysterious Ancient Religion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The East India Company: The History of the British Empire's Most Famous Mercantile Company Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rape of Nanking: The History and Legacy of the Notorious Massacre during the Second Sino-Japanese War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ur: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Sumerian Capital Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mossad: The History and Legacy of Israel’s National Intelligence Agency Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Nineveh: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Assyrian Capital Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mysteries of the South: Ghosts, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena in Dixie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Legends of the West: Deadwood, South Dakota Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Cambrian Period: The History and Legacy of the Start of Complex Life on Earth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5J. Robert Oppenheimer: The Life and Legacy of the Father of the Atomic Bomb Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Madame de Pompadour: The Life and Legacy of French King Louis XV’s Chief Mistress Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Life and Trial of Lizzie Borden: The History of 19th Century America's Most Famous Murder Case Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Culper Ring: The History and Legacy of the Revolutionary War's Most Famous Spy Ring Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mysterious Midwest: Mysteries, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena in America's Heartland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Arnold Rothstein and Meyer Lansky: The Lives and Legacies of the Gangsters Who Reformed Organized Crime in America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Denisovans: The History of the Extinct Archaic Humans Who Spread Across Asia during the Paleolithic Era Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Patrice Lumumba: The Life and Legacy of the Pan-African Politician Who Became Congo's First Prime Minister Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Pleistocene Era: The History of the Ice Age and the Dawn of Modern Humans Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fermi Paradox: The History and Legacy of the Famous Debate over the Existence of Aliens Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Battle of Hamburger Hill: The History and Legacy of One of the Vietnam War's Most Controversial Battles Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to The Amber Road
Related audiobooks
Sumer: The History of the Cities and Culture that Established Ancient Mesopotamia’s First Civilization Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAncient Persia: An Enthralling Overview of the Achaemenid Persian Empire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Spanish History: The Rise of the Spanish Monarchy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAnatolia and the Bronze Age: The History of the Earliest Kingdoms and Cities that Dominated the Region Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEgyptian History and Mythology: An Enthralling Overview of Egypt's Past, and Myths of Gods, and Goddesses Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fall of the Assyrian Empire: The History and Legacy of Ancient Assyria’s Violent Destruction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The History of Spain: Conquests, Colonization, and Powerful Monarchs. Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSonnets on Anglo-Saxon History Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Europe Between the Oceans: 9000 BC-AD 1000 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mummies of Ancient Egypt: The History and Legacy of the Egyptians’ Mummification Process Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPrester John: The History of the Legendary Patriarch and His Fabled Christian Kingdom in Africa Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Darius the Great and Xerxes I: The History of the Achaemenid Persian Emperors Who Invaded Ancient Greece Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Qatna: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Syrian Kingdom during the Bronze Age Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Guided By The Goddess: Finnish Wheel Of The Year Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Armenian Empire: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Kingdom of Greater Armenia Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe History and Legacy of Asia Minor’s Most Important Ancient Civilizations Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMedieval Ukraine History: Ukraine Between Europe And Russia: The Golden Age Of Kievan Rus, Kingdom Of Galicia And The Cossacks Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Artaxiad Dynasty: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Armenian Kingdom that Fought the Romans Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAlexander the Great and the Achaemenid Persian Empire: The History and Legacy of the Macedonian King’s Campaign against the Persians Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe War of the Keys: The History and Legacy of the Military Conflict Between the Holy Roman Empire and the Vatican Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Aceh War: The History of the Bloody Conflict that Imposed Dutch Rule Over Indonesia Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Enemies of the Ancient Israelites: The History of the Canaanites, Philistines, Babylonians, and Assyrians Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Avars and Magyars: The History of the Medieval Ethnic Groups that Settled in Hungary Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAkhenaten and Amarna: The History of Ancient Egypt’s Most Mysterious Pharaoh and His Capital City Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Steppe Nomads: The History of the Different Nomadic Groups and Their Raids into Europe Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Foreign Invaders of Ancient Egypt: The History of the Hyksos, Sea Peoples, Nubians, Babylonians, and Assyrians Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Ancient Libyans and Nubians: The History and Legacy of Ancient Egypt’s Most Prominent Neighbors in Africa Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Ancient History For You
The Epic of Gilgamesh Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/51177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed: Revised and Updated Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Meditations Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of An Empire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire - Volume I Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Killing Jesus: A History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Histories Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Emperor's Handbook: A New Translation of The Meditations Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Caesar: Life of a Colossus Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Babylon: Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Greek Mythology: An Elaborate Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Harems, Sagas, Rituals and Beliefs of Greek Myths Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ancient Greece 101: Greek History, Myth, and Civilization Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Past Mistakes: How We Misinterpret History and Why it Matters Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Roman History 101: From Republic to Empire Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bullies and Saints: An Honest Look at the Good and Evil of Christian History Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Chariots of the Gods Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Caligula: The Mad Emperor of Rome Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Underworld: The Mysterious Origins of Civilization Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alexander the Great Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Egyptian Mythology: A Concise Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Sagas, Rituals and Beliefs of Egyptian Myths Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When God Had a Wife: The Fall and Rise of the Sacred Feminine in the Judeo-Christian Tradition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Our Occulted History: Do the Global Elite Conceal Ancient Aliens? Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Plutarch's Lives: Volume 1 of 2 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5History Is Wrong Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Eternal City: A History of Rome Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mary Magdalene: Women, the Church, and the Great Deception Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for The Amber Road
2 ratings0 reviews