As empires progressed in the ancient world, trade became necessary for expansion to continue. Towns and villages developed along the trade routes and became wealthy and powerful. Two specific routes, the Silk Road and the Indian Ocean trade network, were able to spread different aspects of culture, such as religion, but they both differed in the transfer of these ideas.
As more Europeans wanted Chinese silk, a basic route developed between the Chinese and Roman empires. The roads were not made of actual roads, but were simply areas that many people travelled along to get to major urban centers (Frankopan). This route mainly involved camels and donkeys, as opposed to wheeled vehicles, to travel across narrow mountain passes. Towns soon
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With the invention of the compass and an understanding of winds from monsoons, port cities emerged along the coast of the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea (Concise Atlas of World History 52-53). Ships could hold more cargo than that of donkeys and camels. The cost of goods decreased with the availability of more space on ships. The cost also decreased with the ability to travel directly to the destination instead of goods transferring from person to person. Goods could then travel to the market quicker and more efficiently to where items could be sold for less (Strayer 324-334).
Both routes allowed states to grow. The Silk Road allowed states to grow in Central Asia, and the Indian Ocean allowed states to grow in Southeast Asia. These states allowed for more trade along the route to where a variety of goods could be traded instead of mainly just the important items. Where a group of traders are, ideas are bound to be exchanged and then rapidly spread throughout the state (Strayer
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The island of Srivijaya attracted Indians with their gold, wanting of Indian spices, and their taxes on ships with merchants. This allowed the Indian language to spread to the islands. As it spread, the original Buddhist and Hindu origin stories that took place in India were moved to Southeast Asia which showed how the native religion and the spread of ideas intermixed with each other. The degree of influence Buddhism and Hinduism had there led to the building of some of the largest monasteries in the world in that time period. The largest Buddhist structure in the world, Borobudur, was ten stories tall and contained carvings of the journey to enlightenment. One of the largest religious structures during that time, Angkor Wat, was a Hindu temple complex that later was used by both Hindus and Buddhists (Strayer 328-332).
As the people became involved in long-distance trade and settled down, they started to convert to Buddhism. Various forms of it spread to Southeast Asia due to their native beliefs (Haywood 27). Rulers liked the idea of themselves being gods and elites liked the idea of karma where they were rewarded based on their morality from a past life. Religion could not spread in Central Asia because of its dependence on a written language (Strayer
The Silk Road made sure if you didn’t trade items you can hold, then you can trade items you can cherish. Finally, in the western civilizations (Rome), it was accessed by boat. Boats could carry a ton more items and it was less of a walk for the merchants/traders. However, the Silk Road did lead a small backup path up north of Parthia. Around 27 B.C.E., the Roman Empire had only begun, but the silk road had been a thing for a very long time before that.
As new ideas traveled main trade routes, such as the Silk Road and the Mediterranean, the effects of such were felt through an influx of contact between countries due to increased desire for new information and countries gaining a larger presence on the world stage. This phenomenon can also be seen through the lens of cultural exchange that took place during this same time period in Eurasia. A major component of the Eurasian trade networks, such as the Silk Road and Indian Ocean, was that they fostered interregional contacts that had ceased to previously exist. When a country had a desire for study or technology, they earned more respect on the global stage. This can be further examined by looking at Marco Polo’s voyage into Asia.
During the classical era, there were shifts worldwide with regards to economic imports and exports. As many societies transformed from hunting-gathering societies into specialization societies, global trade networks expanded. This led to the founding and growth of many complex trade networks, both on land and by sea. Two notable trade networks were the Mediterranean Sea network and the Silk Road. The Mediterranean Sea is in Europe, and the trade network lined the shores of Turkey and North Africa. The Silk Road was trans-Asian. It reached from China to the Eastern Mediterranean. While these networks had multiple similarities in their expansion and spread of religion and ideas, there were many differences. These included the type of materials
India and China’s geography helped them spread their religion to other areas. India’s religions, Hinduism and Buddhism, spread to other regions. The trade that was created due to each civilizations’ geography not only traded regions’ goods with one another, but their religion as well. According to World History: A Pattern of Interaction, Hinduism spread to Nepal and south to Sri Lanka and Borneo. A majority of the spread of Indian religion was due to Buddhist merchants and monks that converted people along the route of the Silk Road. China is similar to India’s religions, as the Chinese region believed in Buddhism because of the conversions of religion that had occurred
The Silk Road got its name from the amount of silk used for trade during the Han dynasty. This route was used to travel from West to East on land they traveled to India, Persia, Arabia, and Europe, while traveling by sea they traveled through Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. These paths were used by merchants, pilgrims, monks, soldiers, nomads, and urban dwellers.... ... middle of paper ...
2.) The Asian sea trading network was traditionally divided into three distinct sections that each handled certain types of goods. With the arrival of the Europeans, these zones became blurred as there was an increase of trade between each zone and Europeans bolstered the textile and spice trade with their efforts in joining the trade system. Due to large amounts of trade, trading factories and ports were established all throughout Southeast Asia, establishing permanent points of trade, widening the area that the network influenced.
The Silk Road is one of the world’s greatest trading routes, the 6,500KM road linked ancient regions in commerce. The infamous trading route did more than just trade goods and food, it also helped spread many ideologies, cultures and religions. Once established as a major trading route expanding through much of Asia, The Middle East, into Europe and ending in Africa, trade flourished throughout the 3 continents. The Silk Road also motivated the Han military to create a breeding program for a bigger and faster horse, thus strengthening their military. Tangible goods were greatly traded along this route, along with the spread of ideologies cultural and religious beliefs between Eastern and Western civilizations.
The Mongols influenced the world in many great ways, one of them was their vast trade system. They relied quite heavily on trade, not only to gain resources, but also to get their inventions and objects to the Europeans and then hopefully spread from there. The Mongols enhanced the trading system by composing the “Silk Road”. The Silk Road was a path/road that the Mongols had control of and it was a trade route that many travelers and traders took. Along the Silk Road, the main resource that was traded was silk, hence the name “Silk Road.” The
In ancient China, the Silk Road was an invaluable highway system used to transport valuable trade items and knowledge and ideas throughout Asia. Many valuable goods were shipped off and profit was made from trading with Rome, India, and China. With the Silk Road, valuable goods and ideas spread efficiently; areas were revolutionized and it allowed for cultural diffusion to occur.
Buddhism prevailed as a religion indigenous to west India and comprises of varieties of traditions, beliefs and practices based on the teachings of Buddha. There are many reasons why Buddhism became so popular and entered into many civilizations. Buddhism began to be popular throughout Asia alongside India. Buddhism has blossomed in the contemporary world, especially in the West. It is an issue to wonder what Buddhism offers that other religions cannot and has become so significant worldwide. Buddhism has become an idea that is widespread and the teachings of Buddha have made a real difference in many civilizations like India, China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea and surprisingly Buddhism has come to make a significant difference in American culture.
India was the crucial trade link between the East and the West simply because of geographical location, and commercial connections. India rests directly between China (east) and Europe/Africa (west), thus acting as an intermediary and necessary pit stop for the transportation of goods (Indian ocean separates the two). Additionally, the Indian overland trade route ran through Afghanistan to central Asia, then divided- one route going towards the east and China and the other towards the west to Rome. Moreover, the Greek sailors discovered the monsoon trade winds, which enabled them to reach India by sea; yet another reason as to why India is the crucial trade link. This affirms that without India, trade among the East and West would have been
Buddhism, like most other religions, originated in a particular place at a particular time, and its roots are in forms and ideas that were part of the environment in which it developed. The most important of these areas at the time of the Buddha was the valley of the Ganges river which flows from west to east across most of northern India. It was here that the great religions of India first arose and flourished. Only later did they spread to the south. In the time of the Buddha, about 500 B.C.E., this area was undergoing a period of vigorous religious development.
Have you ever heard of the Silk Road. The Silk road is a group of various trade routes taken that connect China and Rome. These routes started in 220 BC with the Han Dynasty to join different regions together for trade. The Silk Road is about 4,000 miles long and could take a trader close to two years to make a round trip therefore, most traders did not travel the entire route. Because of the amount of time it would take to travel the silk road traders would take only their most valuable products. The Chinese exported many different products such as teas, porcelain, and their most known product Silk. While Rome exported cotton, wool, and silver. The Silk Road then ended in 1453 with the fall of Constantinople.
It is not possible to think clearly about the Silk Road without taking into consideration the whole of Eurasia as its geographical context. Trade along the Silk Road flourished or diminished according to the conditions in China, Byzantium, Persia, and other countries along the way. There was also competition for alternative routes, by land and sea, to absorb long-distance
The Silk Road is trade route that connected east and west. Inaccurately named by Ferdinand von Richthofen in the 19th century, it is actually a collection of roads. Traders didn’t usually traverse the whole length of the route, however. Goods were usually traded multiple times before they reached the final destination. Items leaving from Asia and China were goods such as: silk, spices, textiles, ivory, jade, bronze objects, ceramics, lacquarware, flowers, furs, paper, jewelry, minerals, horses, and exotic plants and animals. Goods from the west were: wool, linen, coins, bullion, ambergris, gold, ivory, amber, coral, other precious stones, beads, and glass (a commodity that China has not been able to produce at this point). Goods originating from India were:...