The Silk Road was a vital trade route spanning from Western Europe through Constantinople and the Middle East spreading to Egypt, passing the vast deserts of Central Asia and reaching into India, until finally ending at the shore of China. The Silk Road has connected Europe, Asia, and Africa for hundreds of years. The Islamic Empire, Tang and Song Dynasty, and the Roman Empire used the Silk Road trading for goods like pepper, garlic, silk, pottery, books, and more. However, after flourishing for thousands of years, the Silk Road eventually declined near the end of the Middle Ages. The Silk Roads declined at the end of the Middle Ages because of new threats like the Mongols, new technologies like ships, and most importantly new political policies …show more content…
Invasions by the Mongols meant that these areas would not be safe because the Mongols were notorious for slaughtering and burning entire villages. This meant that traveling on the Silk Road would have been dangerous due to groups like the Mongols. According to document 6, the collapse of the Mongol Empire in the 15th century led to the destruction of towns along the Silk Road (Document 6). The Mongol Empire at its greatest extent controlled most of the Silk Road and its collapse led to a lack of authority and power in the region. This meant that bandits and other nomadic groups would be able to sack towns and villages and cause havoc on the Silk Road without any fear. The lack of governance and authority meant that towns could not survive and fell from thriving oases into poverty-stricken towns. This lack of authority and power meant that traveling the Silk Roads was extremely dangerous. Therefore, new threats like the Mongols lead to a less used Silk Road. Another factor in the deterioration of the Silk Road was new technology such as ships and alternative oceanic routes. According to document 5, from a book published in 2009, oceanic routes became more popular in the 14th century (Document
The silk road encouraged people to start trading because it connected all the civilizations together. Therefore it is easier to trade.
Before the Mongols began to attack Eurasian civilizations in the 1200s, China, Russia, and Persia had developed advanced societies. The Mongols desired power and wealth, and wanted to advance their society. They sometimes attempted to achieve this power and wealth using brutality, but they were not as barbaric as some historians would conclude. There were many positive aspects of their actions. The Mongols were a civilized society because they had an organized military form of warfare, they incorporated early forms of writing, communication, and religious tolerance, and they had key trading partners throughout the region which allowed international trade to safely develop.
Trading can be valuable to certain groups of people, but it can also have harmful effects on others. The Mongols were an extremely powerful empire that opened stable trade routes between Europe and Asia (Doc. 1). The adage of the adage. They exchanged goods along the Silk Road and other networks, which opened them to new cultures and ideas from different places.
In 900 CE when the trade routes were being used by merchants and travels for trading goods and other material goods such as cotton textiles and spices. In addition to the material goods that could be obtained among this route, there were also non-material goods such as language, culture and most importantly, religion.
From the emergence of Mongol military strength on the steppes of central Asia in the early decades of the 13th century to the demise of the Timur in 1405, the nomadic community of the central Asia played a major role on the center stage of the global history. The Mongol invasions interrupted and ended numerous great empires of the post classical period. There is association between the Mongol ascent the colossal social changes that made the preconditions for a development like the PR to occur in Europe a couple of centuries later.
Genghis Khan once said, “A leader can never be happy until his people are happy.” Genghis Khan claims that he truly cares about his people and wants to make them feel content otherwise he doesn't think he has fulfilled his duty. Before he ruled the fierce Mongols, they lived in the steppes northwest of China where the climate was harsh and the natural resources were limited. They lived a nomadic lifestyle in tents, called yurts. In the late 1100s, Genghis Khan began to build a strong army. By 1206, the Mongols were united under Genghis’ rule. The Mongols were civilized because they had well thought out battle tactics, an advanced economy, and they maintained law and order.
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.
The classical societies all engaged in trade via the Silk Road. The Silk Road was an ancient system of trade routes that connected West and East by merchants, pilgrims, monks, soldiers, and nomadss from China and India to the Mediterranean Sea The Silk road derives its name from the trade of Chinese silk during the Han dynasty. The Chinese took great interest in the safety of their trade products and extended the Great Wall of China to ensure the protection of the trade route.
Ancient China pioneered their own development through use of the Silk Road, the Great Wall, and the Grand Canal. These three systems of trade and protection helped to keep China a thriving dominion. The Silk Road was one of the most important trading routes established in Ancient China. It was the biggest trafficker of trade between the existing kingdoms which allowed for China’s food, art, inventions and philosophies to spread all across the world. This augmented their riches and
One of the major lasting effects was the Han Dynasty’s changes to the economy. The Han Dynasty expanded their influence throughout the land and made improvements in many products made in China, including silk, iron, and textiles, as well as inventing paper. As stated in the article, “Great Journeys of China… The Silk Road”, “at the order of Emperor Wudi, courtier General Zhang Qian travelled to the “regions western to the Han Dynasty”, an area today covered by China's Xinjiang region and several central Asian countries” (). This route became the precursor to what would be the Silk Road, yet it was not until the nineteenth century, two thousand years later, that the route became known as the Silk Road.
The silk road, in it’s time, was a huge advancement to the trade and communication of many different kingdoms and empires. It stretched from China to Eastern Europe. The routes followed the northern borders of India, Persia, and China and ended up in Eastern Europe near modern day Turkey and the Mediterranean Sea. It was given the name the silk road because one of the main products traded along the route was silk from China. Merchants and Tradesmen traveled by relatively large caravans and typically brought along guards. The reason for big groups and guards was to help defend from bandits. The silk road carried not only silk, but other goods such as woolen goods, blankets, rugs, gold and silver, glass items, watermelons, peaches, spices, fragrances, jewels, ivory, and sugar. The silk road also spread diseases such as smallpox and the bubonic plague.
The roman roads linked the capital to their empire. The major roads started in Rome and spread out in every direction, spawning commerce, communication, and travel. The roads covered the empire and joined different territories. The roads spread to Italy, Germany, France, Spain, and far Britain. The roads also linked Balkans, Greece, Turkey, the Middle East, North Africa, Egypt and Tunisia. The roads greatly assisted the free movement of armies, people, and goods across the empire, it also helped unify the melting pot of cultures, races, and institutions.
If all of this still does not convince you that the Han dynasty was one of the most influential empires ever, they also started the Silk Road. The Silk Road linked the Chinese and the Romans across various deserts, mountain ranges, and various steppes. Because silk was the Chinese hidden weapon, they kept the silkworm a secret, and anyone who was accused of sharing their secret with foreigners, was punishable by death. The Silk Road is also responsible for introducing paper, gunpowder, and various religions such as Buddhism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and Islam across the world.
The Silk Road was brought about around 200 B.C.E as a trading route from Western Rome to the Han Dynasty. Innumerable diverse patterns of interaction have taken place since then, coming to a halt around 1450 C.E. These changes and continuities generally revolved around products, cultural expression, and religion.
Silk was one of the most important and popular items, it is the reason the route is called "Silk Road". Other countries in Asia and Europe really wanted silk because they think it is a sign of wealth. The Romans were the ones who wa...