J G Suarez

November 13, 2007

Mongol Empire, Silk Road and Globalization

In our days, globalization is described as:

“The growth in international exchange and interdependence. With growing flows of trade

and capital investment there is the possibility of moving beyond an inter-national

economy, (where 'the principle entities are national economies') to a 'stronger' version -

the globalized economy in which, 'distinct national economies are subsumed and

rearticulated into the system by international processes and transactions'

(Hirst and Peters 1996: 8 and 10) (3)

With this in mind, the purpose of this paper is to discuss how the establishment of a

strong Mongol empire throughout Asia gave rise to safer routes of communication

between distant communities which aided the propagation of ideas and goods trough the

Silk Road. This Route connected the eastern with the western cultures and can be

considered as a cornerstone to globalization. It also intends to compare satellites and the

Internet that are our information highways nowadays with the information that was

transported through the Silk Road and the post-houses of the Mongol Khans.

The Silk Road was a major trading way that connected major centers of civilization from

the Mediterranean all the way to China. The Silk Road was for many centuries the main

road of communication between China, Persia, India and the Mediterranean at it crossed

China from about the second century BCE to the sixteen century BCE. (2)
A lot of goods traveled through the Silk Road, but the one that seemed to be the most

prevalent and for many centuries was even considered as currency was silk.

Silk was produced in China imported to central Asia, India, Persia and even to the

Mediterranean. While its production process was a secret guarded by the state, its rapid

spreading to the West as a high commodity caused the Chinese to begin bringing large

quantities of silk for trading all throughout the Silk Road. Further down the line, the

process of silk making began to spread eastwards and cities as far as Rome began

producing their own silk, which, of course, never acquired the quality and craftsmanship

of the notorious Chinese silk.

Apart from its main import, silk, China was also exporting blue and white porcelain to

the West and in return, they would bring into their territory fine rugs form Turkey and

Persia. The Chinese were also interested in importing silver and gold which as a result of

the trade in the Silk Road, they began to use in making things. (2)

Probably the most important things that were brought into the Chinese territory, were

domesticated animals as they brought with them enormous commercial and military

advantages.

Firstly, the Bactrian camel, an enormous animal, able to withstand the strenuous

conditions and weather of the Silk Road was brought to China from North Afghanistan.

This animal was perfectly fit to withstand the cold of Northern Asia as well as desert
conditions such and lack of water and sandstorms. The Bactrian camel was the ideal

animal to carry weighty loads through the Silk Road and could transport merchandise

more efficiently that its only predecessor, the donkey.

Secondly, the heavenly horses, which were much taller and had higher stamina than the

pony-like Chinese horses. These horses were native to central Asia and were also brought

to China via the Silk Road. The new horses were much faster and efficient than the

Chinese horses, which represented a huge military advancement as the heavenly horses

could now pull chariots in combat. (2)

Beside the import and export of goods and domesticated animals through the Silk Road,

new technologies and ideas were also traded on a regular basis. Artistic, architectural and

even musical styles were traded through this road that was subjected to people from

various ethnicities, languages and religions. Through the Silk Road, Buddhism spread

from India to China and later into Japan.

The Silk Road started in Beijing and extended from China to central Asia, then another

route took it south towards India, while the main road kept going west towards Damascus

towards turkey and then to Rome. All of this connections gave us a clear idea of why we

consider the Silk Road as a predecessor to globalization because even when it did not

connected the entire planet, it connected the most populated areas of the world and

promoted economic and intellectual interchanges.

Even though there was a lot of commercial activity in the Silk Road, the road was very

dangerous. There were strenuous geographical and climatic conditions through the Silk

Road: deserts, high peaks, sandstorms and droughts, to mention a few. Additionally

caravans were continuously exposed to thieves and robbers. While the geography and

weather of the road remained the same, in the twelfth and thirteen centuries BCE the

safety conditions in the Silk Road where radically changed. The Mongol empire

commanded by Genghis Khan had violently taken over territories that extended from

China, to the Middle East and even some of Europe and it was in his best interest to

promote the safety of his roads. These roads were essential to his empire so Genghis had

to make sure that they were safe, not as much for the caravans, but for the many

valuables goods that were transported through this legendary route.

The Mongol empire was comprised by a group of nomads that were able to conquest by

the end of the thirteen-century, an area that included territories from China all the way to

Western Europe. Commanded by Genghis Khan and his descendants they were able to

crush established cities by force and then rebuild them to make them part of their empire.

These crushing military victories were able to take place in many instances due to the

openness of the Mongols to include people from various backgrounds into their armies as

well as in high political positions.

Historians believe that Genghis Khan united the various Mongol and not Mongol tribes

into one empire and that he was able to ally with both his own and foreign tribes.(2)
The Mongol Empire believed in meritocracy, therefore if a person was capable of

showing his political or military attitudes to the Khan, he could achieve a privileged rank

in the empire regardless of their religion or ethnic background.

“ He ( Genghis) was wholly devoid of race prejudice; his ministers and commanders were

recruited from twenty different nations, and there was a general pool of military and

administrative experience which enriched and strengthen his empire” (1 pp.67)

The Mongols took over most of the Asian territory due to fact that they would not only

steal the material goods from their conquered territories, but they would also steal their

best engineers, artisans, blacksmiths or any other talented person that could provide their

services to the Khan and his empire. By intellectually draining his conquered territories,

the Khan was able to fortify his whole empire and continue its expansion. After taking

over a city, the Khan would select a capable administrator who was usually a foreigner

because the Mongols were excellent warriors but were not familiar with governing

established cities.

The Mongol empire established cities throughout immense areas, and each one of those

cities was there to bring more goods and power to the empire, therefore, it was imperative

for the Khan to keep the roads safe.

“Chingis (Genghis) was fully aware of the value of international trade but from the

revenue it brought to the Mongol treasury and its role in binding together in a close
economic network the many regions won by the Mongol sword” (1 pp.68)

Such protection of peaceful trade had a tremendous impact in the Silk Road as trade

increased greatly as result of the protection that it now had by the Khan and his empire.

This trade was so important that the Khan made it a priority to police the roads, establish

post-houses, secure caravans with guards and kill the thieves that would approach the

merchandise that would go through the Silk Road.

The importance of the Silk Road as a way for civilizations to grow and flourish can be

compared to the advantages that where brought upon by satellites and the Internet in our

days as these technologies made new highways of communication possible. Thanks to

these advances people can now exchange knowledge and ideas even if they live in

different ends of the planet. The fact that the Silk Road was a path that communicated

Europe, Persia, India and China can be considered as one of the cornerstones to

globalization because it linked many cities and cultures together and promoted the rise of

new knowledge and goods in the world.

In today’s society we talk about the Internet as an information highway because it has the

possibility of transmitting information to many distant people and places; this can be

compared to what the Silk Road achieved in the territories that it crossed centuries ago.

The Silk Road became a high trafficked route that contained information and goods from

numerous cities with different beliefs and backgrounds. It would assist people in the

process of taking a piece of their culture and transmitting it throughout the road.
Before the Silk Road, western notions of china were similar to the ones found in old

stories and legends that talk about people from an ancient civilization in the Far East with

a strongly organized territory and the capabilities to produce heavenly fabrics. By

establishing the Silk Road that would stretch from the Byzantine region, across Persia

and extend all the way to China, many cultures, ideologies and goods were available in

foreign market places. These new products and ideas would suddenly be available in

territories were they were previously unknown and they would slowly become normal

commodities in the new territories.

“While unbroken Mongol supremacy lasted, it facilitated a mingling of cultures on a

novel scale. The Christians of the West, already carried by the crusades to the eastern

shores of the Mediterranean, discovered a vast pagan empire at the other side of Asia: the

wealth an urban populousness of China made a deep and permanent impression: the

remote land of silk hitherto a vague legend, acquired precise reality; merchant sough a

share of its markets; missionaries wished to shine the gospel light into its heathen

darkness…”.

(1 pp.188)

The transference of information through the Silk Road was even more remarkable when

Genghis Khan and his successors had most of the Asian territory and Eastern Europe

under their control and order the installation of post houses all through their controlled

regions and especially in the Silk Road. In this post-houses messengers would be moving

continuously, carrying with them information and informing in distant territories about
the activities within the empire and in enemy territories.

This system of post-houses was particularly important because the Khan needed to be

continuously informed of the events taking place in his empire, which stretched across

Immense distances. Because of these post-houses the khan was able to stay in contact

with his commanders and administrators throughout the whole empire.

Genghis Khan was an excellent warrior chief and one of the greatest strengths of his

armies was how well informed they were about the strength and position of their

enemies; which was in a part due to the abilities of his informants and spies in the use of

established post-houses, especially throughout the silk road.

In his book: The History of the Mongol Conquests, Saunders argues that Genghis Khan

victories in battle have been critically studied for a centuries, even to the point of being

employed as models for the Nazis in WWII. The main difference, according to Saunders

Is that contrarily to Genghis Khan, “Hitler took insufficient pains to acquaint himself

with the strength and resources of the enemy and provoked a worldwide confliction

against him”.(1 pp.66)

The Silk Road was essential to communicate the highly populated cities of Asia and

Europe and can be considered as the beginning of globalization. A time where people

stopped thinking in terms of their own territories and began to thing about what they

could be finding in other regions. These routes were precursors to modern mediums
created in order to communicate and “trade” with people that live in distant places.

I believe that the study of the Silk Road is of major importance in our days because we

are living in societies that get more and more linked through technology. If there is

something positive to be obtained from this worldwide information exchange, it should

be for people and countries to work together in order to solve problems that concern

mankind, not to be like Genghis Khan and use it as means to exploit weaker people more

efficiently.

1. The History of the Mongol Conquests by J.J Saunders

2. Professor Brian Peterson’s Notes
3. Definition of globalization by Hirst and Peters 1996