The Silk Road is the big route at this time. It is a THE land based route everyone wants to be apart of (and control). The Silk Road began during the Han Dynasty because they were seeking allies to the West to help fight off the Xiongnu (those were the bad guys depicted in Mulan). As cries for help were sent out - trade alliances were formed spanning throughout Afro-Eurasia.
For this topic you should focus on the ability to explain the causes and effects of growth of networks of exchange after 1200. (ECN) (KEEP IN MIND THE SILK ROAD PEAKS AT THIS TIME - IT WILL BE REPLACED BY THE ATLANTIC SYSTEM AND THE INDIAN OCEAN!)
Improved commercial practices led to an increased volume of trade and expanded the geographical range of existing trade routes— including the Silk Roads—promoting the growth of powerful new trading cities
Trading cities:
Kashgar
Samarkand
The growth of interregional trade in luxury goods was encouraged by innovations in previously existing transportation and commercial technologies, including the caravanserai, forms of credit, and the development of money economies.
New forms of credit and money economies:
Bills of exchange
Banking houses
Use of paper money
Demand for luxury goods increased in AfroEurasia. Chinese, Persian, and Indian artisans and merchants expanded their production of textiles and porcelains for export; manufacture of iron and steel expanded in China.
Get to know some of these people (...yes a lot of these people are showing up again -- that's the beauty of AP World -- the interconnectedness!)
Genghis Khan, 1162-1227
Founder of the Mongol Empire
Marco Polo, 1254-1324
Italian Traveler & Writer
Tamerlane, 1336-1405
Turco-Mongol Conqueror
Ibn Battuta, 1304-1369
Moroccan Islamic Traveler (yea, he was all over the place)
Also known as The Practice of Commerce is a comprehensive guide to international trade in the 14th century in Eurasia and North Africa.
Clavijo was set from Cadiz in 1403 among others to meet Timur. This document contains detailed notes of Clavijos travels to meet with Timur.
This man met Genghis Khan in the Hindu Kush (that's right all the way in the West). Qiu was a Taoist disciple of the North and founder of the Dragon Gate sect of Daoism. This text was written by one of his students, Li Zhichang and a lot of the pictures of nature and men are can be found in this book. This is where a lot of sketches of the Mongols can be found.