Transcript Cross-Cultural Exchanges On The Silk Roads

Cross-Cultural Exchanges
On The Silk Roads
Chapter 12
Mikayla Kelley
Echard 4th hour
Long-Distance Trade & The Silk
Roads Network
• During the Classical era long distance trade became easier because of two
improvements.
•Construction of roads and bridges.
•Building of large societies that often bordered one another.
Trade Networks of the Hellenistic
Era
Exchanges between India/Bactria in east and Mediterranean basin
in west.
Access to Indian Markets
Archaeologists have found coins, pieces of jewelry, Greek sculptures
and Gods.
The Moonson System
Knowledge of winds enabled mariners to sail safely and reliably to all
parts of the Indian Ocean basin.
Trade in the Hellenistic Era
Trade developed from Bactria and India in the eat to the
Mediterranean basic in the west.
Spices, pepper, cosmetics, gems, pearls, Mediterranean wine, olive oil,
jewelry, and works of art.
Brought interaction between societies.
The Silk Roads
As the classical empires expanded, merchants and travelers
created an extensive network of trade routes that linked much
of Eurasia and north Africa.
Eventually called the Silk Roads because of China’s high
quality silk being one of the principle commodities exchanged
over the roads.
Went from China to the Roman empire.
THE SILK ROADS
The silk roads included a network of sea lanes that
sustained maritime commerce throughout much of
the eastern hemisphere.
Goods trades included a wide collection of manufactured
products and agricultural items.
China:
Ginger, cinnamon, strong horses, and high quality jade.
Asia:
All fine spices, pepper, sesame oil, cotton, coral, ivory.
Roman Empire:
Glassware, jewelry, works of art, perfumes, bronze goods, wool,
pottery, iron tools, olive oil, wine, and gold and silver.
The Organization of Long
Distance Trade.
Long distance trading often occurred in stages.
Chinese and central Asian people dominated trade.
Determined boundaries for other nations trading.
On the sea’s however, nations joined together to make
trading more successful.
In the Arabian Sea, Persians joined Egyptians and
Greek subjects of the Roman empire as the most
prominent trading peoples.
Cultural and Biological Exchanges
Along the Silk Roads
The silk roads not only offered an opportunity of
trading goods, but also trading religions, cultures,
languages, technologies, and also epidemics.
The Spread of Buddhism and
Hinduism
By the third centaury, B.C.E. Buddhism had become
well established in northern India, and with the
sponsorship of the emperor Ashoka the faith spread to
Bactrira and Ceylon.
Buddhism was particularly successful in attracting
merchants as converts.
Buddhism made its way down the silk roads.
Iran, Central Asian, China, and southeast Asia.
The Spread of Christianity
Roman empires had previously tried to stomp out any
form of Christianity because most Christians refused to
observe state cults that honored emperors as divine
beings.
BUT! Taking advantage of the silk roads they
continued to spread their religion through the
Mediterranean Basin, and in Southwest Asia.
Spread of Epidemic Disease
Spread by long distance travelers, and merchants.
Effected the worldwide human population.
During the second and third centuries C.E., the Han
and Roman Empire suffered large scale outbreak of
epidemic disease.
Smallpox, Measles, and Bubonic Plague.
Caused a sharp decline in populations.
Effects of the Epidemic
Diseases
Demographic decline brought economic and social
change.
Self-sufficiency.
Smaller regional economies, and social problems.
Caused trade to stop.
Population loses.
Caused serious instability in China.
China After the Han Dynasty
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By the time epidemic diseases stuck China, internal
political problems had already begun to weaken the
Han dynasty.
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Lost ability to obtain and maintain order.
The dynasty fell because of internal problems that its
rulers could not solve.
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Epidemic disease.
Population Decrease.
Peasant rebellion.
The Fall of the Roman Empire
Moralist have often interpreted the fall of the Roman
empire as a symbol of the transitory nature of human
beings.
Internal opposition.
People wanted more freedom which led to fall of an
emperor rule.
Empire was so big, managing it became troublesome.
Cultural Change in the Late Roman
Empire
In the Roman Empire the collapse of the imperial state
coincided with important social and cultural changes.
Prominence of
Christianity
•This religion was the most prominent
survior of the western Roman empire.
•Won recognition as a legitimate religion in
the Roman Empire.
•St. Augustine was the most important and
influential figure.
•Won the right to practice faith openly and attracting intellectual
talent, and turned it into one powerful church.
•Institutional church in Rome created.
•Pope