Centuries before Samarkand’s stately mosques, mausoleums and madrassas (Islamic schools) were built, a trading hub arose on what became known as the Silk Road. The site of the first ancient settlement

Globetrotter’s diary

The ‘gateway to the West’ has for years become a relative sanctuary from the onslaught on Ukraine’s frontline. But the city and region’s long history has seen it at the centre of countless conquests

John Tolan Islam A new history from Muhammad to the present 304pp. Princeton University Press. £25 (US $29.95). James McDougall Worlds of Islam A global history 608pp. Allen Lane. £40. Elizabeth Drays

This week’s dream: a walk along the glorious ...

Literature is baked into the very fabric of Europe. That’s because generations of writers have walked the streets of its towns and cities, writing and conversing in small and large houses, cafés, and