Over the course of history, few human systems have held higher importance than the Silk Road in the Human Experience. The silk roads, lasting from roughly 100 BC to 1450 AD, were a series of trade routes stretching nearly 4000 miles across Asia. The long-distance political and economic relations developed between civilizations catalyzed the development of all parties involved. To both Asia and Europe the Roads were a key point of cultural interaction between civilizations, especially in the early travel of both goods and philosophies.
To first understand the Silk Road, we must look at a broad overview of its history. While the Silk Road wasn't formally established until the first century BC, it's precursors date back to the first Neolithic revolutions. Domestication of pack animals slowly increased both the quantity and range of trade, eventually leading to contact between China and Central Asia in about 2000 BC. As early as 1000 BC Chinese silk reached Ancient Egypt [1], and in 800 BC Chinese art began to show significant Steppe Nomad influences. In about 500 BC The Persian Empire created a road that stretched roughly from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf. This road supported regular trade between neighboring India, Mesopotamia, and the Mediterranean. [2]. The Greeks established the first direct "Western" contact with Asia in the second century BC, and for the next hundred years Chinese expansion and exploration by the Han Dynasty led to efforts to create a road that linked them to both India and the West. This route, now formerly described as the beginning of the Silk Road [3], was developed and patrolled in 100 BC through both direct settlements and trade agreements with neighboring powers.
As Rome's empire expanded i...
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... . Egypt".Nature 362(6415).
[2] "The Persian Royal Road". Livius: Articles on Ancient History. Retrieved February 22, 2014
[3] Gary K. Young,Rome's Eastern Trade: International Commerce and Imperial Policy, 31 BC- . . AD 305
[4] Xinru Liu,The Silk Road in World History. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010), 21.
[5] C. Michael Hogan,Silk Road, North China, The Megalithic Portal, ed. Andy Burnham
[6] J. N. Hays (2005). "Epidemics and pandemics: their impacts on human history".
[7] Foltz, Richard C. (1999). Religions of the Silk Road: Overland Trade and Cultural Exchange . from Antiquity to the Fifteenth Century. New York: St Martin’s Press.
[8] Jerry H. Bentley,Old World Encounters: Cross-Cultural Contacts and Exchanges in Pre- . Modern Times. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993)
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.
The Major religions spread across Eurasia and Africa through trade routes and conquest. Along with the religions came ideas and practices to new and distance places, changing local populations and create new traditional beliefs and customs. 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.
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... Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein and Bonnie G. Smith. “The Rise of Rome and Its Republic, 753–44 b.c.e.,” in the making of the west volume 1 to 1750 2012, edited by Denise B. Wydra, 139-170. Boston: Beford/St. Martin’s, 2012.
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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
The Mongols conquered and then united China. This created peace among the country and led to other great things. One of these great things is the Silk Road. The Silk Road is a long trading route that was created when China was united as they had started
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
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...
This investigation attempts to analyze the Silk Road’s impact on cultural diffusion. The Silk Road was a trade route connecting Eastern China to the Mediterranean regions. It was incredibly important because it brought Europe, Asia, and the Middle East together in trade, and allowed them to trade goods and ideas. The parameters are the cultural diffusion east meets west and the spread of religion. It will focus on the time period between the 2nd and the late 17th centuries and the places investigated will be the west, (made up of Europe and the Middle-East) and the east (which refers to most of Asia, although in this investigation it will focus mostly on China). This will be accomplished through a thorough examination of historical books such as Horizon Book Division’s History of China, John S. Bowman’s Exploration in the World of the Ancients, and Daniel Waugh’s “THE SILK ROADS IN HISTORY”.
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