The Silk RoadMay 8, 2016

In the second episode of his series tracing the story of the most famous trade route in history, Dr Sam Willis travels west to central Asia, a part of the Silk Road often overlooked and yet the place of major innovations, big historical characters and a people - the Sogdians - whose role was pivotal to its success.

The Silk Road was broadcast on BBC4 at Sunday 8 May 2016, 21:00.