Rise And Fall Of Civilizations Spread Along The Silk Road

Jaela Harding

From 200 BCE to 1450 CE, while civilizations rose and fell and spirituality spread along the Silk Road, trade and the exchange of ideas continued. The Western Roman Empire and Han Dynasty met their demise, and later Eurasia witnessed the rise and fall of the great Mongol Empire. As merchants spread their spiritual beliefs, the popularity of world religions fluctuated. Despite political transformations and the exchange of religious ideas, the main purpose of the land and sea trade network remained and the exchange of goods continued to impact the region socially and economically.
The rise and fall of civilizations along the Silk Road marked one of the significant changes along the trade routes. In the early years of the trade

route, the Western Roman Empire had deteriorated. Economic troubles, corruption, and attacks from invaders had weakened the state to the point where it simply could not function, causing it to fall to Indo-European barbarians. The Han Dynasty fell for similar reasons. The government was full of power-hungry warlords and eunuchs, and outside invaders plagued the state until its demise. Trade along the route declined. Hundreds of years later, Chinggis Khan brought together nomadic tribes to form the Mongol khanate. The Mongols conquered and amassed a large empire and protected the Silk Roads within their domain, allowing trade to flourish. However, despite all of their power once it became too large to be properly controlled, the Mongol Empire eventually met the same fate as the Western Roman Empire.
The religious beliefs spread along the Silk Road caused significant changes during this time frame.

Buddhism had existed in India for approximately one century, but the Silk Roads helped it spread to the rest of Asia. Although it was expelled from India by the Hindu majority, other places such as Japan, Tibet and Southeast Asian embraced Buddhism. The religion was extremely popular with the poor, since it offered enlightenment and salvation to any who would follow the proper steps. Buddhism appeared during the Tang Dynasty, but continued to spread once the Mongols adopted it. Christianity, also spread along the Silk Road; it had started in the former Western Roman Empire (where it had become the state religion), and spread as far east as the Byzantine Empire. While missionaries continued to spread Buddhism and Christianity, Islam spread much differently. Muslim congregations began to seize polytheistic cities and demand taxes from those who refused to convert. Merchants traveling and trading along the route were exposed to local beliefs and through their interactions with others these merchants helped spread Islam to Africa and

Europe.
Despite changes in the structures of the civilizations and their religious beliefs, the exchange of goods and ideas continued along the trade network.

At the inception of the Silk Road, the Han Chinese sent merchants with items such as spices and silk to the Mediterranean and India, where the foreign fabric was considered a luxury. Westerners paid high prices for silk as it was a symbol of wealth because the commodity could only be produced in China. China’s mulberry trees enabled silkworms to thrive and the method of processing the prized threads into fabric was carefully guarded preventing others from producing the silk themselves. This had a great impact on the economies of all of Asia and Europe. The East continued to prosper from the trade of its exotic goods, while the West exported gold and silver—the precious metals valued highly by Eastern

merchants.
The export of inventions and ideas was another constant along the Silk Road. The Chinese invented gunpowder, initially by experimenting. It was soon used to make firearms, and its use spread to the rest of Eurasia when it used by the Mongols during military campaigns. Gunpowder continued to be traded as Europe grew interested in projectile weapons. China also invented the dry and wet compasses far before the rest of the world. Through trade, the navigation device spread to distant lands, enabling maritime trade expeditions and exploration. Possibly the most important of the Chinese inventions that were spread via the Silk Road were paper and the printing press. These came to Europe much later, yet once they arrived, the movement of ideas increased. The Chinese export of inventions allowed Europe (and the rest of Eurasia) to advance technologically.
The vast network of the Silk Road enabled the interaction of people from many cultures. These interactions resulted in the rise and fall of civilizations, the spread of religions and the exchange of goods and ideas. These exchanges allowed for the melding of cultures and the beginning of interconnectedness. Unfortunately, these interactions also led to the spread of the plague which killed thousands throughout China and Europe. Ultimately, this led to China’s isolationism and the diminishment of trade along the Silk Road.