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The Silk Road and Ancient Trade_ Crash Course World History #9.mp4Silk Road.mp4
The map below shows a network of trade routes known as the Silk Road. Between 200 BCE and 1350 CE, merchants, or traders, traveled along many parts of these routes.
Why do people call the routes the "Silk Road"?
A German man named Ferdinand von Richthofen invented the term "Silk Roads" in 1877. Von Richtofen was a geologist, or someone who studies the earth. He had traveled across Asia, the United States, and Europe. After his travels in Asia, he described trade in the ancient world as the "Silk Road."
Even though people traded all kinds of goods along the routes, the name stuck!
Historians use objects found along the Silk Road to learn about connections between people in Africa, Asia, and Europe.
The first "global age"?
Some historians think that the Silk Road was the first "global age" in human history. By "global age," historians mean that this period was the first time that people in regions across the globe were connected to one another. But other historians point out that the Silk Road did not connect the entire world. It did not connect the Americas, Australia, or the Arctic.
The Silk Road trade routes stretched over 4,000 miles. Over these 4,000 miles, Silk Road merchants traveled through many different environments. Look at the map of the Silk Road and some of the environments it crossed.
In parts of East Asia, Silk Road merchants traveled across fertile fields. To move goods from South Asia to the Middle East, merchants passed through snowy mountains. Merchants in the Middle East transported goods through deserts. Often, merchants in Europe used the Mediterranean Sea to transport goods by boat.
Shipwrecked!
Merchants faced dangers in all of the Silk Road's environments. For merchants traveling by sea, one danger was becoming shipwrecked! Merchants often encountered strong storms at sea. These storms regularly caused their boats, filled with goods, to sink along the Silk Road's sea routes.
Who discovers shipwrecks?
People known as marine archaeologists, or archaeologists who work in underwater environments, discover and explore shipwrecks.
Merchants traveling along different sections of the Silk Road encountered different environments. In order to move goods across diverse environments, merchants needed to use different types of transportation. Read the passage about how merchants transported goods along the Silk Road. Then answer the question below.
Merchants used pack animals, or animals that carried heavy loads, to move goods along the Silk Road. Parts of the Silk Road were deserts that had few sources of water. So, camels were well-suited to work in deserts because they could walk for many days without water. Other parts of the Silk Road crossed high mountains and flat fields. Merchants used donkeys in high mountains and flat fields because they worked well in these environments.
Most merchants didn't travel across the entire Silk Road. Instead, Silk Road merchants usually traveled back and forth along shorter sections of the trade network. Merchants in different regions had different kinds of knowledge. They also had access to different kinds of animals.
Did anyone travel along the whole Silk Road?
Yes, but not in the ancient period! In the 1240s, about a thousand years after merchants traveled the ancient Silk Road, several Europeans traveled from Europe to Asia.
Although most merchants traded in shorter sections of the Silk Road, some merchants occasionally traveled to new regions. These merchants could learn about different parts of the Silk Road from guidebooks. The passage below comes from a guidebook for merchants written in the first century CE. Scholars think it was written by an Egyptian merchant who traveled in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean.
Now the whole country of India has very many rivers, and very great ebb and flow with the tides . . . entrance and departure of vessels is very dangerous to those who are inexperienced or who come to this market town for the first time.
ebb and flow: rise and fall, change
vessels: boats
Source: Periplus of the Red Sea
Around 100 CE, several major empires controlled land along the Silk Road. Read the information about three large empires on the Silk Road. Then follow the instructions below.
The Roman Empire controlled territory on the western part of the Silk Road.
The Parthian Empire controlled territory in the central part of the Silk Road.
The Han Dynasty controlled territory on the eastern part of the Silk Road.
What was the Parthian Empire?
The Parthian Empire ruled over territory in what is now Iran, Iraq, and parts of the Arabian Peninsula. Many different groups of people lived in the Parthian Empire's territory. As a result, many cultures influenced Parthian culture, including ancient Greek culture and Persian culture, which came from Iran. People in the Parthian Empire also spoke many different languages and practiced different religions.
Many people in the Parthian Empire became wealthy from participating in Silk Road trade.
Merchants had to overcome many challenges to trade along the Silk Road. Some of these challenges were environmental, meaning that merchants had to cross many dangerous environments. But merchants also faced these other types of challenges:
Political challenges, such as groups fighting wars with one another
Challenges with infrastructure, such as the absence of roads and buildings along a trade route
What happened when governments along the Silk Road fought each other?
Trade usually declined during times of war. For example, during the times of conflict between the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu (SEEONG-nu) confederation, the Han Dynasty built several large walls known today as the Great Wall. These walls divided Han territory from other regions to the north. Merchants had to use special gates to pass through the walls.
What happened during times of peace?
When the Han and Xiongnu were at peace, trade flourished. Xiongnu people produced beautiful metalwork, as well as wool and leather goods.
More trade happened along the Silk Road when neighboring governments had peaceful relationships with one another. One way that neighboring governments built peaceful relationships was by sending embassies (EHM-buh-sees), or groups of people representing their government, to each other.
For example, in the 100s BCE, the Han Dynasty sent an embassy to neighboring governments in Central Asia. This embassy was led by a man named Zhang Qian (JAHNG ch'yen). After traveling in Central Asia for seven years, Zhang returned to the Han Dynasty with information about Central Asia and many other regions.
Read some of the information Zhang shared with the emperor of the Han Dynasty.
Zhang Qian's embassy and "blood-sweating horses"
The goal of Zhang Qian's embassy was to establish trade with Central Asia. For Han Dynasty rulers, the most important good from Central Asia was horses. The Han military used these horses to fight wars. Han people called Central Asian horses "blood-sweating horses," because they believed that their sweat was made of blood!
Did these horses really sweat blood?
They might have! Today, scholars have two explanations for why these horses might have "sweat" blood:
When the horses ran fast, they could have caused blood vessels near their skin to burst. This would cause them to look like they were sweating blood.
The horses may have had a parasite that buried itself in their skin. This parasite could also cause horses to bleed small amounts of blood.
Zhang Qian's mission encouraged the Han Dynasty to begin trading with neighboring governments in Central Asia. In order to reach Central Asia, Han merchants first had to travel west across the Taklamakan Desert. In the Taklamakan Desert, there were cities in oases, or places with water sources in the desert. Look at the map showing the location of an oasis in the Taklamakan Desert below. Desert oases benefited both traveling merchants and people living in the Taklamakan Desert. Sort the statements based on whether they were benefits to traveling merchants or to people living in the oases.
Benefit to traveling merchants:
People could stop at the oasis to get enough water to make it through the rest of the desert.
Travelers needed water in order to survive their long journey through the desert. Oases benefited them by providing water.
Benefits to people living in the oases:
People could make money by selling water to traveling merchants.
People in oases could make money from selling water to traveling merchants. This money benefited people living in the oases.
People could buy goods and learn about new ideas from other parts of the world without having to leave their home towns.
People in oases met traveling merchants from all over Asia. These merchants brought goods and ideas from other parts of the world to the oases.
Oasis cities helped merchants bring goods across the vast Taklamakan Desert. After crossing this desert, many Silk Road merchants continued west towards the Middle East. In the Middle East, merchants arrived at the Arabian Peninsula. The Arabian Peninsula was also a desert with oasis cities.
Traveling westward after the Arabian Peninsula, merchants arrived in the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire controlled the western part of the ancient Silk Road. Leaders of the Roman Empire built infrastructure that helped people travel throughout their territory. Look at the map of the Roman Empire and its roads and sea routes.
The Roman Empire built a vast network of roads. Using Roman roads, a merchant could have brought goods to inland cities such as Sirmium and Lugdunum. The Roman Empire also protected sea routes. These sea routes allowed merchants to travel from port cities, such as Alexandria, across the Mediterranean Sea to other port cities, such as Carthago and Ostia.
What did Roman roads look like?
Roman roads were often covered in stone. Stone roads could be used even during bad weather, when dirt roads became muddy. The most famous Roman road was the Appian Way. This road connected Rome with cities in southern Italy.
Roman roads had these other helpful features:
Roman roads had mile markers that let travelers know how far it was to the next town.
Roman roads often had hotels along the way.
Because Roman roads were built in such convenient places, many modern highways in Europe have been built over them!
The Silk Road stretched over 4,000 miles of land. To make trade possible across such a long distance, Silk Road governments and merchants needed to act in certain ways.
How do we know how the Silk Road worked?
Historians are still learning new information about the Silk Road. For example, in the 1900s, a Chinese monk discovered a hidden cave full of documents and paintings about the Silk Road!
The dry weather in oases helped preserve artwork and documents for thousands of years. A lot of historians' information about the Silk Road comes from these oases.
The map below shows a network of trade routes known as the Silk Road. Between 200 BCE and 1350 CE, merchants, or people who traded goods, traveled along many parts of these routes. This map shows the Silk Road around the year 100 CE. The map also lists some of the important goods that were traded from each region. Look at the map.
Silk Road trade affected many different people's lives. Some people got access to new luxury goods, such as gold jewelry or silk, from foreign regions. Other people were not able to afford foreign luxury goods. Instead, they were able to make a living by gathering different raw materials, or basic materials used to make other goods. These raw materials were sometimes used to make luxury goods.
Gathering raw materials
Some of the most valuable raw materials on the Silk Road were gems. Many gems came from mines in present-day Afghanistan and India.
Making luxury goods
Skilled craftspeople eventually turned these raw materials into beautiful luxury goods.
Think about some objects that you own. What raw materials are they made from? What kinds of work did people do in order to gather these raw materials?
The Han Dynasty ruled part of East Asia. There, people produced silk, an important luxury good. Silk is a high-quality fabric and is comfortable to wear in both hot and cold climates. Han people used silk for money and clothing within Han territory, and they also sold silk to foreign merchants. Wealthy people in the Roman Empire wanted Han silk for their clothing. But Han merchants did not travel all the way to Rome. Instead, Middle Eastern merchants helped bring Han silk to Rome.
What did Han silk look like?
Han silk was often woven into bold, colorful patterns.
What were the differences between Han and Roman fashion?
The Han women below are shown wearing long dresses with collars and large sleeves. Roman men wore togas, a piece of draped cloth. Togas usually did not have sleeves and were made from solid-colored fabric.
Many wealthy people in Rome desired Han silk and other luxury goods. But some people in the Roman Empire were not happy about these imported luxury goods. Read the passage about imported luxury silk by the Roman writer Pliny the Elder.
India, Seres, and the Arabian peninsula take from our empire a hundred million sesterces every year: that is how much our luxuries . . . cost us.
Seres: China
sesterces: a coin used in the Roman Empire
No more silk!
Many Roman emperors limited how much silk people could wear, or tried to stop them from wearing silk entirely. One Roman emperor who ruled in the 3rd century CE, Aurelian, famously forbade his wife from wearing silk. A Roman historian describes why in the passage below:
Clothing made wholly of silk he would neither keep in his own wardrobe nor present to anyone else for his use, and when his wife asked him to keep a single robe of purple silk, he replied, "God forbid that a fabric should be worth its weight in gold."
The Life of Aurelian, Historia Augusta
Glass was another valuable good that was traded along the Silk Road. The highest-quality glass was produced in the Roman Empire. Romans used glass to make different kinds of objects. So, people in different regions could use Roman glass for different purposes. Like silk, Roman glass objects were luxury goods that became popular with wealthy people along the Silk Road.
Who bought Roman glass?
Roman glass was popular in many places along the Silk Road. Pieces of Roman glass have been found along the route from the Arabian Peninsula to China!
Roman glass was particularly popular in the Han Dynasty, but it was also expensive. Many Han people thought that glass was actually crystal, a kind of sparkling stone. The passage below was written by a Han Dynasty person about Roman glass. What did the author think Romans used glass, or crystal, to do? They use crystal to make pillars. Vessels used in eating meals are also made [of crystal].
vessels: containers
The Book of Han
Luxury goods, such as silk and glass, often became more expensive the farther away they were traded. Read some of the reasons why luxury goods became more expensive.
Glass was fragile and could break easily. Glass rarely arrived at another location without breaking.
Very few people outside of the Han Dynasty knew how to produce silk.
Myrrh, a resin used to make ancient medicine, came from trees that grew mainly in the Arabian Peninsula and eastern Africa.
Because unbroken glass, silk, and myrrh were all rare outside of the regions where they were produced, people were willing to pay more money for them.
What other rare goods were traded?
Types of cloth, gems, and spices were all rare goods traded along the Silk Road. Another rare good was incense, a gum or spice that people burned for its smell.
Cinnamon was another rare good traded along the ancient Silk Road. In the ancient world, cinnamon was grown only in parts of South Asia. So, cinnamon was an expensive good for many people!
Merchants used the Silk Road to transport goods across Europe, Asia, and Africa. But goods were not the only things that spread along the Silk Road! The Silk Road also helped people spread their cultures, including their religions, artistic styles, and ideas. Archaeologists can use archaeological evidence to learn about how different cultures spread along the Silk Road.
How does culture spread in the world today?
Just like during the time of the ancient Silk Road, people today often bring their culture with them when they move to new places.
For example, when people move to new places, they often bring their religious beliefs and practices with them. For example, Buddhists from around the world have established Buddhist temples in the United States.
But culture also changes as it spreads. One way to see how culture changes is through food. For example, "sushi burritos" are eaten in some parts of the United States. These combine burritos, which are originally from Mexico, with sushi, which is originally from Japan.
Can you think of any foods you like that combine features from different cultures?
Buddhism, a religion based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, began around 500 BCE. The map below shows the routes of the Silk Road and the routes that Buddhism spread along.
As Buddhism spread along the Silk Road, Buddhists from South Asia came into contact with other Silk Road communities. Archaeologists can use material culture, or objects made by humans, from this time period to learn about how different cultures interacted along the Silk Road. For example, some ancient Greek kingdoms ruled parts of Central and South Asia. As a result, some early Buddhist art shares features with Greek art.
In addition to Buddhism, Zoroastrianism was another important religion for many people on the Silk Road. Zoroastrians believed that fire could represent God. As a result, Zoroastrians performed many ceremonies that involved fire.
Do people still practice Zoroastrianism today?
Yes! Small communities around the world still practice Zoroastrianism. Most Zoroastrians live in South Asia, Iran, Central Asia, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and the United States.
One famous person of Zoroastrian heritage was Freddie Mercury. He was the lead singer of the band Queen, famous for songs such as "We are the Champions." Mercury was born to a Zoroastrian family in eastern Africa.
When traveling merchants traded in new cities, they sometimes brought their religions with them. One important group of traveling merchants were the Sogdians (SAHG-dians). At first, most Sogdians lived in central Asia and followed Zoroastrian teachings. However, over time, many Sogdians adopted other religions, such as Buddhism and Christianity.
Traveling Sogdian merchants helped spread Christianity along the Silk Road. The sentences below provide information about Sogdians.
Who were Sogdians?
Originally, Sogdians lived in a region known as Sogdia in Central Asia. But many Sogdians made their livings as merchants, and Sogdians established communities in many places along the Silk Road.
Many Sogdians became wealthy from trade. The capital city of Sogdia, which is now Samarkand in present-day Uzbekistan, was one of the wealthiest cities along the Silk Road. Some Sogdians also used their wealth to get government positions in China.
Trade along the ancient Silk Road helped spread goods, ideas, and religions across Europe, Asia, and Africa. Historians often call this process cultural exchange.Cultural exchange had different types of effects on people who lived along the Silk Road:
cultural effects, or effects related to beliefs, ideas, and art
economic effects, or effects related to goods and wealth
The legacy of the Silk Road
The Silk Road didn't end after the ancient period. Over many centuries, the Silk Road was active during times of peace, and less active during periods of war.
Silk Road trade was active in Asia between the 7th and 9th centuries. At that time, the Tang Dynasty ruled parts of East Asia. Trade helped make the Tang Dynasty wealthy. The Tang capital city, Chang'an, was the largest city in the world, with over one million people! In Chang'an and across the Silk Road, art, literature, and religions, such as Buddhism, flourished.
In the 13th and 14th centuries, the Mongol Empire ruled many parts of Europe and Asia. Because Mongols controlled the entire Silk Road, they allowed merchants to travel safely throughout the region.
People traded along the Silk Road for almost 1,500 years. Historians divide the history of the Silk Road into three periods.
Why did Silk Road trade start and stop?
Trade flourished when governments along the Silk Road were at peace. Trade usually declined during times of war. For example, in the 600s and early 700s, trade was active between the Tang Dynasty in China and other parts of Asia. But in the 750s, a large rebellion weakened the Tang Dynasty in China. During the following centuries, parts of Asia were less peaceful, causing Silk Road trade to decline.
In the Medieval Period, most of the Silk Road was under the control of the Mongol Empire.
Silk Road trade was less active between the years 800 and 1200 CE. But after Genghis Khan established the Mongol Empire, Mongol rulers made some changes that helped revive, or bring back, Silk Road trade. Read about two of these changes. Then answer the question below.
Mongol rulers welcomed merchants into their courts and cities. Wealthy Mongolian families frequently bought expensive goods from across Europe and Asia.
Mongols gave people travel documents called paiza. Paiza allowed some merchants to travel without paying any taxes or tolls. Paiza also allowed them to use free horses and eat free food from roadside stations.
What were Mongol cities like?
Even though most Mongols were nomads who moved with their animals each season, some Mongolians lived in large camps that turned into cities. These cities were still mostly made up of Mongols' yurts, the large tents that could be moved from place to place. The yurts in the painting below are relatively small. But some yurts were large enough to fit big groups of people. Eventually, Mongols established the city of Beijing. Today, Beijing is China's capital city!
After Genghis Khan died, the Mongol Empire split into four parts, called domains.
Each of these domains controlled a different section of the Silk Road. Each domain had an independent ruler, but these rulers cooperated with each other. As a result, merchants could easily trade between all four domains.
The map below shows the four Mongol domains, as well as some of what was traded from each region of the Silk Road.
A merchant traveling from the Yuan Dynasty to the Khanate of the Golden Horde could trade silk for fur. Merchants traveling from the Ilkhanate to the Chaghatai Khanate could trade glass for wool. A merchant from the Chaghatai Khanate traveling to the Yuan Dynasty could trade tile for tea.
Slavery along the Silk Road
Enslaved people were also traded along Silk Road trade routes. Most enslaved people came from the territory of the Khanate of the Golden Horde in present-day Russia. There, enslaved people were bought by European merchants. These merchants then shipped the enslaved people to Europe and the Middle East.
The Silk Road crossed many different environments. These environments produced different natural resources. Craftsmen in these different regions also specialized in making different manufactured goods, or items made by hand or with machines. People in Europe wanted to purchase goods that they did not have in Europe. So, European merchants brought goods from other regions of the Silk Road back to Europe.
The most famous European Silk Road merchant was Marco Polo. Like many other European Silk Road merchants, Marco Polo was from the Italian city of Venice. In the 1300s, Marco Polo and his brother traveled along the Silk Road from Venice to the Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia. Historians disagree about whether Marco Polo actually visited every place he wrote about. But even if he didn't actually visit them, his stories helped people in Europe learn about faraway parts of the Silk Road. Read his description of Hangzhou (hahng-JOE), a large city ruled by the Yuan Dynasty in China.
The Silk Road allowed merchants to transport goods across Asia, the Middle East, and parts of Europe. But these routes also helped spread new ideas about science and technology. Sometimes merchants brought new kinds of technology to foreign places. Other times, governments hired foreign scientists to teach their people.
The largest cities in the medieval world!
Silk Road trade helped cities in China become the largest cities in the medieval world. A piece of art called the Qingming (CHING-ming) Scroll shows a large medieval Chinese city. The scroll stretches over 25 feet long! The details of the Qingming Scroll show people transporting and exchanging goods.
Studying the stars across the Silk Road
Many scientists who traveled along the Silk Road were astronomers, or people who studied the stars and planets. Yuan leaders invited astronomers from the Middle East to the Yuan Dynasty's capital city. These astronomers brought technology from the Middle East to study the stars. Chinese astronomers also brought their technologies to the Middle East.
Because scientists shared their knowledge with each other, scientists were able to make more discoveries about the stars and planets during the medieval Silk Road period.
People who traveled along the Silk Road also brought new foods with them. One way for historians to learn about these new foods is through medieval cookbooks. For example, a Mongolian doctor who worked for the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty wrote a book of recipes called the Important Principles of Food and Drink. Above is a recipe from the book.
What other foods traveled along the Silk Road?
One important food that traveled along the Silk Road was yogurt. People first made yogurt in the Middle East. During the Yuan Dynasty's rule in China, yogurt became popular in parts of China. Today suan nai, a kind of sour, drinkable yogurt, is still popular in China!
In addition to spreading new foods and technology, the Silk Road also helped spread disease. One major disease that spread to new groups of people along the medieval Silk Road was the Bubonic Plague, also known as the Black Death.
In Asia, rodents, such as rats, first became infected with the plague from flea bites.
Rodents infected with the plague hid themselves in Asian merchants' caravans and boats.
These merchants traveled to the Middle East and Europe along the Silk Road, bringing the infected rodents with them. After the rodents and fleas arrived in large trade cities, they started to infect people there.
Merchants who ran shops in small towns spread the plague in their own villages in Europe and the Middle East. By the end of the 14th century, the plague had killed 75–200 million people.
In the early 1200s, the Mongol Empire controlled most of the Silk Road. Because many parts of Asia and the Middle East were peaceful, merchants could trade more easily. Silk Road trade helped merchants transport materials from nature, such as fur, and manufactured goods, such as silk fabric, to distant places. The Silk Road had many positive effects for people, such as bringing new foods to new regions. But other effects were negative, such as spreading the Black Death.
Does the Silk Road still exist today?
Today, the Chinese government has decided to spend 150 billion dollars to build what it calls a "modern Silk Road." The Chinese government wants to build infrastructure, or buildings and roads, to make it easier to trade across Asia. Leaders in China hope that increasing trade between Asian countries will make these countries even wealthier.
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