The Silk Road

Ms. TaylorWorld History

http://youtu.be/LowP8zYHDYA

A video opener…

1. “Silk Road" is shorthand for 1500 years of

economic and cultural exchange across Eurasia

2. One of the world’s oldest and most important trade routes

3. Actually multiple routes, so should be “Silk Roads”

4. “Relay” route

Definitions

Early Phase (2nd century BCE to 2nd century CE)

Middle Phase (7th -9th centuries CE)

Later Phase (13th -14 centuries CE) Mongols

All coincide with periods of stability, control, strong empires

Major Phases

Alexander the Great from the West Chinese in East trying to subdue nomadic

Xiongnu people Silk reaches West thus our story begins

Origins

Alexander’s Empire c.330 BCE

(precursor to first flourishing of Silk Roads)

Seeking allies vs. Xiongnu Taken captive 10 years, but escapes and

continues west Finds “Ta-yuan “ in present day Uzbekisan,

Parthia, and Bactria Second expedition undertaken by Zhang Qian

brings jade and tales of more civilizations Begins era of great interest in West for China

Zhang Qian: Emissary to the West (138 BCE)

Picture source: http://www.the-silk-road.org/history/Zhang-Qian_7.html

We hear from the envoy [, the Chinese Emperor

wrote,] the great merit you have acquired by your military enterprises, in subjugating the nations; and in recognition of your arduous achievements I now beg to present you with a light figured lining imperial embroidered robe, a light long embroidered tunic, and a light variegated gown; also a golden hair comb, a gold ornamented waist-belt, and a buffalo-horn belt fastening; also ten pieces of twilled silk, thirty pieces of variegated silk, and forty pieces each of carnation satin and green silk.

Chinese and Xiongnu

The people [of Ta-yuan] [he wrote] are

permanent dwellers and given to agriculture; and in their fields they grow rice and wheat. They have wine made of grapes and many good horses. The horses sweat blood and come from the stock of the "heavenly horse." They have walled cities and houses; the large and small cities belonging to them, fully seventy in number, contain an aggregate population of several hundreds of thousands...

Primary Source: Zhang Qian

Physical Geography

http://www.ess.uci.edu/~oliver/silk2.html

• Outer Eurasia: relatively warm, well watered

(China, India, Middle East, Mediterranean• Inner Eurasia: harsher, drier climate, much of

it is pastoral (eastern Russia, Central Asia)

Different climate zones:

Source: globaled.org

Conditions encouraging trade:

Three major empires: Roman (West) Parthian (Mid-West_ Han 206 BCE-220 CE (East)

Demand for Silk by Romans, brokered by middlemen in Central Inner Asia

Early Phase

Tang Dynasty 618-906 Bzyzantine Empire Abbasid Dynasty

Middle Phase

13th and 14th century Mongol Empire

Later Phase

Source: globaled.org

• Cultural transmission was more

important than exchange of goods

Religious figures and ideas

• Spread along Silk Roads

through Central and East Asia

Buddhism

• In China, was the religion of foreign merchants

or rulers for centuries• Buddhism transformed during its spread• Appealed to merchants• Conversion was heavy in the oasis cities of

Central Asia• Conversion was voluntary• Many of the Central Asian Cities became

centers of learning and commerce

Alters patterns of consumption

“Essentials” Luxury items

Promotes specialization Merchant class Producers of specialty products

Diminishes self-sufficiency of local societies

Impact of Trade on Society

Elite class more defined: luxury goods, status of the exotic

Social mobility possible via trade for merchant class

Changes in Political lifeWealth from trade (taxes) leads to creation (of new) and continuation (of existing) of states

Changes, cont’d