Click on the maps below
1.
China
2. Islam
Area
3.
Europe
4. Return to China
Click on the maps below
1.
China
2. Islam
Area
3.
Europe
4. Return to China
Introduction-
The goal of the alchemist has always been extraordinary and mysterious; to make gold out of lead, or to turn mercury into water. It was no different with the Chinese alchemists of the Han dynasty, whose experimentation would eventually lead to the creation of one of the most prolific and horrific inventions ever created by man. This is gunpowder,the substance that makes bullets fly from the chamber of guns and fireworks explode in an array of magical colors.
The journey of gunpowder and its production, the travel from its birthplace in the east, west across the deserts of Central Asia, through the mythical kingdoms of Persia and Byzantium, and into the lands of even the pious Franciscans, is a fascinating tale of adaptation and evolution in style, method, and use.
Journey with us as we see how ancient alchemists mixed a melange of fascinating powders, unknowingly stumbling upon the fateful concoction. See how it would make a journey across the known world, falling into the hands of nomads, Muslims, and Europeans, changing the course of history and being changed itself, until its eventual return, forever altered, to its birth place in the east. Follow us as we explore the wonder and mystery that is gunpowder - a Circular journey.
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