Trade: A Key Factor in Leading the Rise of Civilizations

Trade is the exchange of supplies with two or more people. Not only does trade bring resources that an empire cannot provide for itself and security, but it also brings different ideas, technologies, and philosophies that the empire can adopt to further strengthen itself. Furthermore, trade encourages communication and the merging of diverse cultures, therefore creating good relations with other empires. Overall, trade brings an empire more allies and less bloodshed. Because of all these additional, positive aspects of trade, trade is one of the dominant, key factors to the peaks of civilizations such as the Ghana Empire in West Africa, the Tang dynasty in East Asia, the Holy Roman Empire in Western Europe, the Gupta Empire in India, and the Abbasid Empire in the Middle East.

Ghana was the first of the three great trading empires to emerge in West Africa. It was founded as early as A.D. 750 by a group of people called the Soninke, although some scholars think that it was founded as many as five hundred years earlier. By the year 800, Ghana had become an important trading power (Koslow 25). Ghana had the gold that the many traders from North Africa and Egypt were attracted to. Because Ghana had so much gold, it had to cautiously regulate the flow of gold across its borders to make sure that gold would not become so widely obtainable that the price value would decrease. However, although Ghana had ample gold, Ghana did not have the salt that was vital for survival. Because of this, it was suitable for Ghana to become a part of the gold-salt trade.

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Whenever salt entered Ghana from the north, the king was able to collect an import tax, and whenever salt left Ghana for the south, the king collected an export tax. Whenever ...

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... gems from Central Asia ; wax and honey from Scandinavia and Russia; and ivory and gold dust from Africa. They were not as warlike and nomadic when their economy prospered, when town life grew, and when the merchant class became more powerful. Trade helped contribute to the rise of the Abbasid Empire by making Baghdad a cosmopolitan center of trade and bringing a lot of different supplies to the bazaars.

Not only does trade bring the resources that a civilization does not have, but it also brings more communication, diversity, and ideas into a civilization. It can also contribute to the rise of a civilization by creating more allies and less bloodshed. Trade is one of the key factors in leading to the rise of civilizations such as the Ghana Empire, the Tang dynasty, the Holy Roman Empire, the Gupta Empire, and the Abbasid Empire in similar and different ways.