Long before there were trains, ships and airplanes to transport goods from one place to another, there was the Silk Road. Beginning in the sixth century, this route was formed and thus began the first major trade system. Although the term “Silk Road” would lead one that it was on road, this term actually refers to a number of different routes that covered a vast amount of land and were traveled by many different people. Along with silk, large varieties of goods were traded and traveled along this route both going to and from China. Material goods were not the only thing that passed along this path, but many religions were brought into China via the Silk Road. These topics will be discussed in detail in this paper.
From Babylon in the west to Chang’an in the east and from Jada Gate in the north to Patna in the south, the Silk Road stretched over a wide space of the Asian and Middle Eastern countries. There was not one road or one direct route between the many stops between these destinations. The caravans that traveled the Silk Road mainly skirted the Taklimakan desert, also called the “Land of the Dead” by the people in that area. Nomadic tribes traveled from oasis to oasis, often with little or no protection from bandits. These bandits were accustomed to engaging in raids on the merchants that used this route to trade with other countries, attacking and stealing from the merchants and later selling what they acquired in this nefarious manner. It is important to note that while the deserts were a challenge to navigate, the highest mountain ranges also made travel difficult. Many of the people who used this trade route never traveled far, but instead traded goods many times between merchants. It is because of these ...
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...hina as well. Along the Silk Road, Buddhism, Christianity, and Manichaeism also migrated towards the east. The Silk Road supported trade of goods and services and the spread of ideas and religions, beginning the shrinking of the world to the relatively small place it has become in our time.
Works Cited
Wild, Oliver. Department of Earth System Science; University of California Irvine, "The Silk Road." Last modified 1992. Accessed March 31, 2012. http://ess.uci.edu/~oliver/silk.html.
Lendering, Jona. LIVIUS Articles on Ancient History, "Silk road." Last modified 03/30/2012. Accessed March 31, 2012. http://livius.org/sh-si/silk_road/silk_road.html.
Major, John. Asia Society, "Silk Road: Spreading Ideas and Inovations." Last modified 2012. Accessed March 31, 2012. http://asiasociety.org/countries/trade-exchange/silk-road-spreading-ideas-and-innovations.
Francesco Pegolotti was a Florentine merchant and politician. He wrote the The Practice of Commerce in which he expressed the personal qualities he believed that merchants were most needed to survive, which were compliancy and the skill to work with others, and have understanding. Pegolotti’s history was based on the sensitivity to local rules and customs was the key to survival. In this paper it will argue that the personal qualities that was needed to succeed in the Silk Road trade.
Similarly to many ancient societies, the Chinese dynasties and societies flourished along the fertile land around rivers. The societies were based on agriculture, and engaged in trade networks along the Silk Road. The societies were ruled by semi-divine monarchies, with a class system. Unlike many of the other ancient societies, China’s rulers were chosen by The Mandate of Heaven, thus creating the dynastic cycle. China began to spread it’s ideals and products along the Silk Road, therefore influencing societies such as Persia, Greece and Rome.
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
Smith, John M., Jr. "The Mongols." The Mongols. The Silk Road Foundation, n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
Ibn Battuta describes one of his many stops across the world in document 2, in this case, the state of Mali. As Ibn Battuta explored and chronicled the world that he traveled, he exchanged knowledge of his homeland, all the places he had already been to, and gained local culture. However, he was a Muslim, and so was likely to have a very strict view of regional culture that he disapproves of, such as the nudity of their women. Document 4 describes the preparation of the Mongol Khans in creating well-developed and protected routes that would be available to caravans. The document would have been a very helpful tool for future merchants, who could plot their journeys and feel more secure, while also showing the organization that was developing in the international trade system then. However, Marco Polo does not discuss the effects that the spread of culture and ideas would provide. Finally, document 5 is the account of Francesco Pegolotti concerning the things a traveler or merchant would need to know about China. Simply having such an account shows the depth to which international knowledge had permeated, all the way from China to Italy, and the ideas of those cultures had been exchanged (such as paper money). However, Pegolotti does not describe to what extent the new technologies are assimilated into the new cultures; e.g., how China uses glass or how the west used paper. As a final source of illumination, an account from a Chinese bureaucrat with the task of implementing new production and distribution of some of the imported goods would be very helpful. Owing to the Mongol trade network and contacts, the expansion of worldwide religions, and the explosion of trade, the world became a much smaller and closer place in the first half of the second
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
As the economy grew in the beginning of the classical period, the sharing of rich information and spiritual ideas flourished. With each society expanding their wealth and perfecting their goods, the need to trade those with surrounding societies also grew. People began to build complex religious ideas, which traveled right along with merchants on the trade routes. The effects that these developments had in religious and economic thought of this time will have an effect on each and every one of our lives to a degree in which most do not realize.
N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014. Whitfield, Roderick, Susan Whitfield, and Neville Agnew. Cave Temples of Mogao: Art and History on the Silk Road. Los Angeles: Getty Conservation Institute and the J. Getty Museum, 2000. Print.
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 ...
...e harvesting family would have enough to see them through as well. This led to little agricultural trading outside of Europe while the Byzantines through, Constantinople’s prime location on the Silk Road and outside trade aided by its diverse population, became Europe's wealthiest empire.
The Silk Road was a colossal interconnected networked generated by established trade routes that spanned the whole Eurasian continent as told by religious travelers, historians, and merchants.
Through the Silk Road, Chinese goods such as silk and porcelain were transported to places such as Persia in exchange for foreign exotic goods . Furthermore, the Silk Road supported the influx of culture and religion to further enforce Taizong’s embracing attitude of a cosmopolitan society. The Silk Road was also a major factor in introducing Buddhism to China, as during the seventh century, Xuan Zhuang used it to travel to India to obtain Buddhist scriptures . The capital of the Tang, and the beginning of the Silk Road, Chang’an, was the most populous and diverse city in both religion and culture in the world at the time , hosting Christians, Buddhists, Muslims, and high ranking officials and citizens from many countries in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East . Under Taizong’s guidance, China created close foreign relations with many foreign nations, and the Silk Road became a major component of trade and revenue for China’s economy. Correspondingly, his capital city of Chang’an became the greatest city in the
Waugh, Daniel C. "THE SILK ROADS IN HISTORY." Expedition 52, no. 3 (Winter2010 2010): 9-22. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed April 7, 2014).
This civilization has been recognized for making advancements in agriculture, metallurgy, and handcrafts. Most impressive, is the Indus Valley Civilization’s urbanization. They developed several large cities featuring organized buildings, water supply systems, and sewer systems. Some of these cities remain as ruins today after being excavated by archaeologists. After the end of the Indus Valley Civilization era, India’s culture continued to grow rich and eventually came into contact with the western world and Far East Asia via the Silk Road. The spices and textiles produced in India proved to be extremely lucrative during this time and were especially regarded as exquisite and exotic, and thus highly desirable, by the western world. This led to the East India
The Black Market is defined as people who engage in illicit trade. Smuggling of Nuclear weapons plays a role in this. The Russians, U.S., and other countries are involved. Russia has been one the move since the Cold War ended. The Russians position threat to many lives with nuclear sales. Many Russian affiliations and events are to blame including Russian Mafia, military intelligence, Trading Air, collapse in economy, and disgruntled Nuclear employees.