The Silk Road

“Information super highway of its

age”
 Key Points
• One of the oldest and most historically
important trade routes
• Linked the Roman Empire with China.
• Trade carried on by foreign traders
• Not common for traders to traverse the
entire length
 Rise of the Silk Road
• 2nd century BCE
• From a desire for military and political
purpose instead of for trade
• Han tried to create an alliance
– Failed
– Made people in each area desire goods
produced in the other
 Rise Cont’d
• Silk Road was first established, silk was
not the chief commodity
• Influenced by the political developments
– Stable state- smooth trade
 The Height of the Silk Road
• Many reasons for prosperity
– Tang- internal stability and economic
development
– Spreading of various religions in the world
– Exchange of ideas
 Items up for Trade
• Chinese predominantly imported gold,
gems, ivory, glass, perfumes, dyes, and
textiles
• Chinese exported furs, ceramics, spices,
jade, silk, bronze and iron
 Development of the Route
• Problems for Han rulers
– Bandits
– Policing became a problem
• Building forts and defensive walls helped, ie Great
Wall
• Most significant commodity carried was
religion
– Buddhism (Tang), Christianity; and eventually
Islam and Judaism
 Decline of the Silk Road
• Fall of the Tang in the early 10th
• Affected by the Crusades
• Trade declined sharply till in the 13th
century, until Mongols picked it back
up
• Isolationist policies of Ming dynasty (after
Mongol)
 Decline Cont’d
• Discovery of a sea route from Europe to
Asia in the late 15th century
– Less cost, harassment and danger
– Easier transportation of some items
– Less prosperous