The Kushan Empire in central Asia is an example of the diversity found beyond the Mediterranean during Late Antiquity. The Kushan Empire dominated trade along the Silk Roads, was home to a religiously diverse population, and promoted the burgeoning religion of Buddhism within and outside its borders. The city of Palmyra was able to rival the Roman Empire for a short time in the third-century eastern Mediterranean. By taking advantage of a tumultuous political situation, Queen Zenobia expanded her empire, and Palmyra flourished as a nexus of trade in the region. The peoples of pre-Islamic Arabia likewise interacted with the major superpowers of Late Antiquity. The Arabian Peninsula was a culturally diverse region and home to a mix of different religions and distinct tribal groups.

All images referenced in this podcast can be found at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-1/pages/10-4-the-margins-of-empire

Welcome to A Journey into Human History.

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Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-1/pages/1-introduction

Podcast produced by Miranda Casturo as a Creative Common Sense production.