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...
... middle of paper ...
... . 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)
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
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 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
Bentley, Jerry H., and Herbert F. Ziegler. Traditions & Encounters: A Global Persepective on the Past. Ed. Jessica Portz. 5th ed., 2011. 290-295. Print.
Dawson, Christopher. “Mission to Asia.” Toronto: University of Toronto Press, for the Medieval Academy of America. 1980.
The silk road encouraged people to start trading because it connected all the civilizations together. Therefore it is easier to trade.
During this time in China the Han dynasty was responsible for the greatest expansion of China, to what is now southern China, northern Vietnam, and parts of Korea and had trade with Central Asia, India, Persia. Because of the expansion of the territory they were able to trade with more countries. This was furthered by the discovery of the Silk Road in 2nd century BC. The Silk Road, discovered by a Chinese ambassador Zhang Qian, was a series of trade routes from China to the Mediterranean Sea. 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, pilgrim, monks, soldiers, nomads, and urban dwellers.
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
Damrosch, David, and David Pike. The Longman Anthology of World Literature. The Ancient World. Volume A. Second Edition. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2009. Pgs. .656-691. Print.
Howe, Helen, and Robert T. Howe. A World History: Ancient and Medieval Worlds. Volume 1. White Plains, NY: Longman, 1992. 533.
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...
The establishment of the Silk Road was the first main event that gave rise to globalization. Trade between the west and east was one of the main products of the Silk Road. This international trade allowed goods such as silk, which was one of the most coveted goods among merchant at that time, wools and domestic animals to be traded among di...
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”.