Trade, Mission and Inter-Religious Encounters: East Syriac Christianity along the Silk Road Before 1500 in Tibet, Western China, Ceylon and Southeast Asia

The project intends to study these neglected primary sources on the spread of East Syriac Christianity in Tibet, West China, Ceylon and Southeast Asia before the year 1500. It focuses on the expansion of this religion through trade as well as on inter-religious encounters between Christians and peoples of other faiths along the Silk Road, e.g. Buddhism, Manichaeism, Zoroastrianism, Taoism and Islam. An inter-disciplinary study with field work examing ancient and medieval primary sources, e.g. inscriptions, manuscripts, epitaphs and travelogues To investigate East Syriac Christian encounters with people of other religions along the Silk Road before 1500