Silk trade in Eurasia has transformed threw the past centuries mainly because, of cultural and religious differences. Between the textiles, colors, different styles, and embroidery techniques the silk market was consistently changing and innovating. Many different people through out history have had the honor to wear this delicate and valuable fabric such as: priest, emperors, elite officials, and even some merchants. The creation of the unique embroidery design “tiraz” changed the way different historians distinguished what era, ruler, and even what religion the owner of the silk lived during. Color style has disgusted different types of people and their ranking position in society. Similarly, the book’s chapter “Transforming the Eurasian Silk Market” and the academic journal “Silks and Religions in Eurasia”, speaks of the exquisite and the valuableness of the silk also, it’s use to distinguish different ranking officials.
To begin, tiraz, a Persian word that meant embroidery, is a silk impression that was embroidered on the edges of a silk textile. “Art historians of Islamic textiles have carefully catalogued and dated all the available tiraz textiles – that is, textiles with edges tapestried or embroidered with Arabic or Persian inscription praising Allah and dating the rulers” (“Silks and Religions in Eurasia” 28). Most of the tiraz textiles were preserved in church and were used to date periods in history in which they were made due to the inscription of the ruler at the time. However, the other written publication says Non-Islamic producers used tiraz in a different way. “Non-Islamic silk producers often decorated their textiles with human and animal figures. Islam strongly objected such figures, which might introduce ido...
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...tifacts to find, and new publications to read. The knowledge of the world and cultures around us is infinite because, we constantly find new information out everyday. Tiraz the technique of embroidery on silk helps historians identify the century the silk was made, what religion the owner practiced and, also the ruler at that current time. The different colors and styles of silk assisted people in distinguishing what social ranking a certain person fit into whether it is an emperor, cardinal or even a merchant. History is constantly changing simultaneously as the world around us changes. Supporting us in innovating technology and finding better methods to do research. The information that was found about the Silk Road will continue to change, as we look more into other forms of research and better ways to get into contact with people in other parts of the world.
To begin, around 4000 B.C.E., China’s biggest seller was Silk. In fact, that’s mostly why the Silk Road was built! Everyone wanted some of China’s beautiful silk. In India, everyone traveled for spices as Christopher Columbus...attempted. But that was in the 1400’s. Around 50 C.E., the Kushan Empire started to take over these countries and the road after the Han Empire was overthrown. In the Background Essay, it says “Starting in 50 CE, another Asian Empire took shape and began profiting
Part One, “The Formation of Eurasian States” introduces the three major powers in central Eurasia, China, Russia, and the Zunghar State. Perdue describes central Eurasia as an “unbounded” land stretching from “the Ukrainian steppes in the west to the shores of the Pacific in the east, from the southern edge of the Siberian forests to the Tibetan plateau” populated by nomadic tribes who had no clearly defined national boundaries . Historical sources concerning Central Asia people in Central Eurasia are scares due to the lack of writing ability in the vast majority of the nomadic population. Writers from the “civilized” world such as China described these people as exclusively nomadic and “universally greedy, primitive, and poor” . Despite the lack of historical records in the area, the area has historically played an important role in linking the eastern civilizations to the western civilizations, which played a major part in global trade up until the sixteenth century . Although the nomads of the steppes in Central Eurasia has long been accused of constant raiding of “civilized” settlements such as in north western parts of China, Sechin Jagchid argues that peace was possible if the nomad’s needs were satisfied by trade, so that the they did not have to take supplies by force in order...
Clothing style is dictated by three particular interests. First is popular fashion, which was most influenced by either the church or the rulers, as styles were copied from the ruling class, and, as they grew more and more extreme, criticized by the ecclesiastical element. Second is commercial interests. The strong merchant class will always know how to push the richest and most expensive materials into the mode. And thirdly is personal artistic expression. Fashion is dictated by many factors such as geography, time, and social and ethical standards. But superseding these is the influence of strong personalities, the brave people who will don the unthinkable, and in doing so, create the latest trend. Personal expression and creativity will only be found in the bravest, and usuall...
First, It connected most of the civilizations together. In document a It showed on the map were the silk road was. It shows it connects most of the civilizations together.
During the interval of time between the years 1000 A.D. and 1400 A.D., a multitude of events referring to cultural exchange transpired. In the given documents, In the sense that the Silk Road was brought under the rule of the Mongols, people felt that is was now safe to travel through the Asian continent. Most people would sometimes come all the way from Europe. A multitude of these people were merchants, missionaries, or travelers. They carried along with them goods, news, or cultures from the corners of the then ‘known’ world. These are people who contemplated a multitude of sights on their journeys, which usually ended in China or Cathay. These given documents state the many dissimilarities in politics, social status, religion, and economics which all affected the cultural exchange.
What kind of Muslims were in Central Asia before the Soviet Union? Were they integrated in the Muslim world or were they on the sidelines of the mainstream events? How much did they contribute to Muslim heritage? How hard was it for the soviet houses of culture to influence the Muslims of Central Asia? This paper attempts to explore these questions and these aspects of the history of Central Asia.
During the time 600C.E-1450 C.E the Silk Road went through major changes while maintaining ingenuity. Changes and continuities interactions included cultural knowledge (changes in art, architecture and technology), political control (the impact the leader had on the Silk Road), culture diffusion (continuities in religion that spread and the impact) and trade (continuities of luxury items). Although there were many continuities, the changes of the Silk Road outweighed the continuities.
As in many parts of the ancient world, the people living in the Rus lands worshiped Pagan gods for thousands of years. Christianity became an influence on the Rus via the Byzantine Empire and the Kievan Rus state around 800 CE. The Byzantine Empire was the largest empire in the world in the 800s and 900s and the official religion of the Byzantines was Orthodox Christianity. The Byzantines' global influence was extraordinary but Kiev's (the Rus capital) close proximity to the Byzantine capital Constantinople added even more influence and pressure to the Rus than most places. Olga, who was ruling the Kievan Rus state as regent, officially converted to Christianity in 945 CE. Olga's gender and status as regent did not allow for Christianity to spread in the Rus state but for the first time churches and missionaries from Constantinople were allowed to stay in Kiev. (Notes from Kovalev class, 9/24/13) Olga's grandson Vladimir became the Grand Prince of the Rus from 980 to 1015. Vladimir felt there was a need to unite all of the diverse Rus tribes under one cultural and religious orientation. Vladimir invited representatives from several religions such as Judaism, Islam, Catholicism, and Orthodox Christianity to try and convert him and the Rus to their respective religions. The obvious choice for Vladimir was Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire. Constantine was a close neighbor to Kiev. Converting to Orthodox Christianity opened up trade and political options for the Rus that they never had before. The Rus and the Byzantines became trading partners and uneasy allies which helped the Rus kingdom stabilize and grow in the years to come. (Zenkovsky, 66)
The Ottoman Empire was an empire known for many developments. Founded in July of 1299, the empire lasted until 1923, over six hundred years (“Ottoman Empire”). Throughout these six hundred years of history, came the developments of: one of the first known examples of a watch, used to measure time in minutes, created by Meshur Sheyh Ded in 1702; the telegraph which was personally tested by Sultan Abdulmecid in 1847; and the production of pottery, silk and rugs, jewelry, arms and armor, and the well-known mosque made of the greatest contribution from the Ottoman Empire to the world of art (“Ottoman Empire”). One of the most distintive aspects of the empire was it’s state organization, religious traditions, and how the two affected each other from the development until the decline of the empire.
The Western church is described as being smaller in land mass, and less diverse (Shields, & Butzu, 2007, p. 103). The Eastern church is described as being quite vast, and full of different types of people (each with their own languages and customs that had an effect on the development of their worship styles and methods). Further we discover that the West had celebrated a time of peace (Christianity was legal, so there was a significant decrease in martyrdom), conversely the Eastern church was geographically located closely to an Islamic population, which meant it had a large military in comparison to the West. I should also point out that there was a shift in this time-period of the church providing what can be described as a governmental role, so in a very practical way being a bishop in the East could mean sending troops to defend members of your church (Shields, & Butzu, 2007, p. 103).
Today we can look around ourselves and see thousands of technical innovations that make life easier; But if we take a step back and ask ourselves “How?” we will soon realize that most often, these technological advancements did not just “poof” into existence, but are usually the outcome of building upon yesterday’s technology. If we follow this cycle back into time, we can attribute almost any modern day invention to an ancient civilization during its golden age. China was no exception. China’s Song and Tang dynasties fostered scientific advances comparable to Rome’s during its Pax Romana. The most significant and impacting of these were the development of primitive gunpowder and porcelain of the Tang and paper money, and the magnetic compass of the Song Dynasties. Although these may seem very far off, if you look hard enough, you can see traces of their impacts in society today because most of the advancements today we owe to them.
Religion is an ever-growing idea that has no set date of origin. Throughout history religion has served as an answer to the questions that man could not resolve. The word religion is derived from the Latin word “religio” meaning restraint in collaboration with the Greek word “relegere” which means to repeat or to read again. Religion is currently defined as an organized system of beliefs and practices revolving around, or leading to, a transcendent spiritual experience. Throughout time, there has yet to be a culture that lacks a religion of some form, whether it is a branch of paganism, a mythological based religion or mono/polytheistic religion. Many religions have been forgotten due to the fact that they were ethnic religions and globalizing religions were fighting to be recognized, annihilating these ancient and ethnic religions. Some of these faiths include: Finnish Paganism, Atenism, Minoan Religion, Mithraism, Manichaeism, Vedism, Zoroastrianism, Asatru, and the Olmec Religion. Religion is an imperative part of our contemporary world but mod...
The muga silk industry of Assam has been in existence since time immemorial. In Assam, muga silk weaving is an ancient craft, though there is no definite and precise mention of the time of its origin. Due to lack of definite and authentic contemporary historical accounts, different Scholars have drawn different opinions and conclusions regarding the origin of muga culture. Ahom regime (1228- 1828) can be considered as the golden period for muga culture of Assam, which prospered and thrived and had become a part of social and economic life of the Assamese people. Due to immense co-operation and initiative from Ahom kings, the rearers, reelers & weavers became skillful and the industry grew rapidly. Attempts have been made to study the historical perspectives of muga silk industry in Assam and its present status.
...ace in this era, so naturally slaves were traded along the established trade routes. The most important aspect of the trade that was occurring along the Silk Roads was not the material goods but rather the exchange of knowledge, beliefs and cultures. The Silk Road made central Asia into a melting pot of cultures from China to the east and Europe to the west. In central Asia the art, music, fashion and architecture all show influences from different cultures. Knowledge of how to produce goods flowed across the Silk Road too. Certain goods were unique to specific regions because no one else had learned how to produce them, unlike silk that could only be produced in specific regions.
From a historic point of view, Western travelers had remarked on the slow pace of lifestyle and fashion change in Turkey and Persia. On the other hand, many people were of the opinion that the western culture is getting out of hand in terms of dressing fashion (Cumming 234). In most cases, change of fashion and dressing style took place hand in hand with economic and social changes. In the developing world, changes in fashion began with the coming of the whites in Middle East. Changes began in the 11th century when the Turks came to central Asia and Far East. In Europe, continuous change in clothing fashion is believed to have started in middle 14th century. It started by a sudden introduction of shortening and tightening of male garments, it further brought the introduction of trousers and leggings that were worn by men (Cumming 235). After the advent of change in men fashion, it was followed by changes in female c...