Asia as a Global Economic Player

In today’s world Asia is an economic power house due to the two largest and most populated countries in the world, China and India. “In the thousand years from 500 to 1500, Asia was an astonishing, connected and creative place. It had the five largest cities in the world, all at the heart of great empires. A few, such as Delhi, Beijing and Istanbul remain major cities today” (Gordon. Pg. Vii). The history shows that these two countries have always been the centre of attention and desired by many invaders for wealth and power. This essay will give a rough idea about how these countries came to be but the major theme will be “The Silk Road” and how it connected Asia with the rest of the world, Mediterranean to northeast Africa and Europe. This essay will briefly explain how these “interconnectedness” between different parts of Asia influenced each other economically, religiously, politically and culturally.

Asia produced money and credit that traders knew and accepted from the Middle East to China. The Silk Road got its name from the famous Chinese silk trade among its major trading partners. A few centuries before Buddhist monk Xuanzang’s arrival at Issy Kul (now Kirghizstan), silk had became a universally accepted currency between China and the nomads west and north of the great wall. Silk was so important, because of the ecological differences between agriculture of China and the grasslands of the nomads to the west. The steppe nomads raised horses and their cattle were constantly demanded by the Chinese elites; China raised grain and only China produced silk. These four items became the main reasons for war between these two regions. China wanted horses and cattle and nomad wanted grain and silk; so they constantly...

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...erms doing businesses with other Islamic nations. Some of these rulers including Almish also thought that The Kaliph, the civil and religious leader of the Muslim states would help them economically. In the time of Islam ruling Indian architecture took a new shape. At that time “use of shapes” (instead of natural forms) and marble, for decoration was introduced. Taj Mahal in Agra and Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi are some of the great buildings that are still standing to this day.

“Buddhism and Islam arose and spread along Asia’s far-flung trade routes so did luxury goods, such as silk, pearls, spices and medicines” (Gordon, pg. Vii). The Silk Road and religions became the most important passageways for technological, cultural, and commercial exchanges between China and India. This “interconnectedness” helped developing the great civilizations of both China and India.