Currently living in the twenty first century we can take modern travel methods from airplanes, vehicles, trains, and ships for granted, altering our perception of the distance we travel significantly. These advanced distribution systems we now employ allow us to exchange culture, products, technology, and ideas by breaking down barriers, truly globalizing the world. Similar to the modern travel marvels we make the most of today, years ago before human’s relationship to machine, the silk route provided that ability to connect multiple countries. This important trade route developed over time transferring numerous products like silk from China to several countries in the Middle East, Mediterranean, Europe and Ancient India. In addition, the silk route was more than just a trade route that brought products to and from because it developed into a transcontinental network carrying goods, information, religion, language, and technology.
The Silk Route is indisputably one of the oldest international trade routes consisting of a series of roadways laid over land primarily, until the introduction of sea travel. What initiated the overwhelming interest in trade was one of the oldest fibers known to man, silk, that originated in China. Silk is a luxury fabric that can be woven into textiles, producing a rich texture and luster like no other material. Dating back to 2500BC this exotic material was used exclusively for Chinese royalty, but gradually expanded to become a bigger part of the Chinese culture. Since this unique material was considered more valuable than gold at the time, as soon as word got out to neighboring countries the overwhelming interest was inevitable. The demand for this appealing material brought silk westwar...
... middle of paper ...
...esearch. Web. 14 May 2012. .
"Silk History: History of Silk Fabric; History of Chinese Silk; Silk Road History Silks History." Silk History: History of Silk Fabric; History of Chinese Silk; Silk Road History Silks History. TexereSilk, 2011. Web. 14 May 2012. .
"Silk Road - Its History, Development, Operation and Significance to the East and West." Silk Road - Its History, Development, Operation and Significance to the East and West. Web. 14 May 2012. .
"Silk Road Culture Exchange, Religion and Technology Introduced into China via Silk Road." TravelChinaGuide. Web. 14 May 2012. .
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
Larger empires maximized long distance trade due to the demand for raw materials and luxury items. Because of this trade routes developed over land and sea to link various parts of the east. Some of the routes that formed were the Silk Roads, the Trans-Saharan caravan routes, and various sea lanes.
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.
"1750-1919: China and the West: Imperialism, Opium, and Self-Strengthening (1800-1921)." Afe.easia.columbia.edu. Columbia University, 2009. Web. 22 Jan. 2014.
Beliefs and religions ebbed and flowed through the Silk Roads that was “an artery that for nearly a thousand years was the primary commercial network linking East Asia and the Mediterranean world. This trade route extended over 5000 miles and took its name from the huge quantities of precious silk that passed along it.” Nomads, monks and traders survived on these open roads selling goods, services, and ideas to other people and traders to pass on. These people were wide and diverse since commerce went in between the “Mediterranean and South Asia reinforced frenetic rise in commercial activity within each region. Over land and across the seas, traders loaded textiles, spices, and precious metals onto the backs of camels and into the hold of oceangoing vessels destined for different markets. Trade thereby strengthened the political, intellectual, and spiritual shift.” Spirituality was an active invention as monks of all major beliefs (mostly Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, and Zoroastrianism) spread the new ideas that were based in new religions and acts of missionary work was greatly encouraged. These groups should have been widely torn apart based on the challenging of each other’s beliefs but nomads had no desire to “undermine local cultural traditions” instead presentations of new cultural “ingredients” kept the peace especially the introduction of equestrianism trading along the road which creating having a horse a status symbol in the eyes of many foreign nations the pride at being from a horse tribe went so far as to despite the temperature it was a status symbol clans like the Kushans showed pride by wearing the clans trade mark clothing despite the climate. The Kushans made had such reverence to horses that became horses were a prestigious status symbol of the ruling elite.
The Silk road was not one road, in fact it was several different roads with many routes. To begin with, the Silk road was any route that ran from China to mideast Rome. Therefore, it was roughly 4,000 miles long. On the route you could encounter deserts, mountains, rivers, and terrible snow storms. Hence, no merchant traveled the whole route. Each merchant stayed in their own region. Bandits, corrupt officials and wars were also dangers you face on the Silk road.
The silk road encouraged people to start trading because it connected all the civilizations together. Therefore it is easier to trade.
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.
Smith, John M., Jr. "The Mongols." The Mongols. The Silk Road Foundation, n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
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
Along with Muhammad’s influence on Islam, trade routes also provided a significant impact on the spread of Islam. The most important and remembered trade routes were the Silk Roads and the Indian Ocean trade route. In these trade routes, along w...
Eurasian trade when conditions along the Silk Road were unfavorable. For this reason, the geographical context of the Silk Road must be thought of in the broadest possible terms, including sea rout...
Jones-Leaning, Melanie, and Douglas Pratt. "Islam in China: From Silk Road to Separatism." Muslim World 102, no. 2 (April 2012): 308-334. History Reference Center, EBSCOhost (accessed April 8, 2014).
...laborers available only in China at that time (China Travel Guide: Culture of the Silk Road).
...e. "Silk Road China: Route, History, Map, Photos, Tour Tips." Accessed March 14, 2014. http://www.travelchinaguide.com/silk-road/.