A Historical Analysis of Silk Routes - Essay Example

? A Historical Analysis of ‘Silk Routes’ and its Role in Ancient and Medieval Trade, Commerce and International Affairs A Historical Analysis of ‘Silk Routes’ and its Role in Ancient and Medieval Trade, Commerce and International Affairs Introduction The ‘Silk Routes’, also popularly known as ‘Silk Road’, was essentially a network of commercial communication routes which was established during the Han Dynasty in the 2nd Century BCE. The routes, mostly stretching between the East and the West, linked different regions and countries of the ancient as well as the medieval world. Since the term, “Silk Road”, does not refer to any single route of communication, modern historians prefer ‘silk routes’ to ‘silk road’ in order to refer to the interstate or international commercial relation among the countries among countries of the ancient and the medieval world. “Both terms for this network of roads”, as Joshua J Mark notes, “were coined by the German geographer and traveler, Ferdinand von Richthofen, in 1877 CE, who designated them `Seidenstrasse’ (silk road) or `Seidenstrassen’ (silk routes)” (Pars. 1). After its establishment during the Han Dynasty in 130 BCE, the commercial routes have been regularly used by different peoples until the Ottomans imposed blockade on the routes in 1453 CE in order to cut off the Europeans’ commercial relation with the East. Along the passage of time, the routes have played significant roles in the international military as well as cultural relationships among the ancient and medieval nations. At any given point of history, the “Silk Routes” also have “played the role of a determiner of international relationship” (Elisseeff 45). Therefore, the routes have undergone various transformations, additions and often contractions according to the natures of the existing socio-political, geographical and cultural milieus of the world. Early History of the Silk Routes Historians popularly believe that the “Silk Routes” had been established in 130 BCE during the Han Dynasty. But in reality, its history dates back in the 5th century BCE to the 3rd century BCE, when the commercial relationships among the nations were being determined by the imperial influences and control over countries and nations. Before Alexander’s military enterprise began to expand eastward, the commercial relationship of Europe with Eastern nations was not that deep and intense. Instead, the Greeks and the Romans would maintain their commercial and trade relationship with few of the Middle Eastern nations such the Syrians and the Persians who were then in control of the Achaemenid Empire, and sometimes, with the Indian nations through the “Persian Royal Road” which would “come to serve as one of the main arteries of the Silk Road, was established during the Achaemenid Empire (500-330 BCE)” (Mark pars. 2). In fact, the commercial route between the Greeks-Romans and the Middle-Eastern had been facilitated by the Mare Internum maritime route, in the Mediterranean Sea, which easily connected the Greeks and the Roman City states with the Middle East, and by the Syrian-Persian Terrain which was much friendly to the merchants. This western commercial route, which stretched to the Indian Subcontinent, achieved individuality because of its contribution to the growth of regional commerce among those countries (Elisseeff 56-62). Though the Persian Achaemenids maintained intermittent trade relationship with the Chinese, it was not as frequent as it was with the Greeks and the Romans. After Alexander the Great conquered the Persians in 339 BCE, the root of the ‘Persian Royal Road’ (the predecessor of the Silk Routes) further became solidified. Yet the west’s commercial relationship with China did not open up. By the time, the Greco Bactrian was ruling in Fergana Valley of Neb of Tajikistan, Central Asia, the Han Dynasty was struggling against the nomadic Mongolian invaders of the Xiongu on the north-western border of China. The harassments of the Hans by the Mongolian tribes of the Xiongu provoked Han Emperor Wu, in 138 BCE, to consolidate the Chinese’s relationship with the Yuezhi people who were once defeated by the Mongols and pushed towards the north-western part of India from their ancestral home in Taklimakan. Along this solidification process, Emperor Wu felt to start a commercial relationship with the Dayuans (or the Great Ionians) who were then ruling the Vast area between the Hunza valley in the Karakorum and Kashgar. Emperor Wu was attracted by the advanced military technologies and the high-quality breeds of war-horses which the Dayuans were then using in their army (Wild pars. 3-5). Thus, a new era of trade and commercial relationship between the East and the West started in 130 BCE of the 2nd century. Brief Description of the Main Branches of the Silk Routes As it has been mentioned above, the ‘Silk Road’ was not a single thoroughfare between the East and the West. Instead, it was a network of a number of trade routes stretching from the Capital in Changan through Gansu to Anxi which is situated at the heel of Dunhuang on the border of Taklimakan. From Anxi near Dunhuang, the route becomes divided into three sub-routes, all of which later meet together at the crossroads of Kashgar, Kokand, Samarkand and Bactra. From this crossroad, it runs through the northern part of Persia and then thorough Seleucia (Ctesiphon) only to reach the Bays of Antioch and Damascus. This route is considered to be the artery of the “Silk Route” in the 1st century AD. But necessarily there had been many substrates which linked different regions and countries directly to the main artery of the Silk Route. In order to avoid different hostile environment prevailing around the route, the merchants had been allured to take different sub-routes according to their conveniences and the importance of the cities which would appear on their way to Changan. From Dunhuang, the northern route ran through the Yumen Guan, then through the southern border of “Gobi desert to Hami (Kumul), before following the Tianshan mountains round the northern fringes of the Taklimakan” (Wild pars. 4). The merchants could take at the cities of Turfan and Kuqa before they arrived at the crossroads of Kashgar, at the heel of the Pamirs. The southern course started from the City of Dunhuang and passed through the city of Yang Guan; then it ran through the southern border of the Gobi, via Hetian and Yarkand and reached Khoan to take a final turn towards the North in order to meet other routes running towards Kashgar. Development and Declines of the Routes over the Centuries In fact, the development of and declines of the routes had been determined by the geographical and sociopolitical environments which prevailed along the routes and the nature. Merchants had always endeavored to the easiest and the most convenient route. From time to time, it happened that there had been climatic and sociopolitical obstacles, which compelled the merchants to take different routes. Most of the numerous smaller routes which often became branched off the main routes and again met it at different distances, were developed and then, followed by the merchants in order to avoid the local and regional adversaries along the main routes. Referring to these local adversaries of the merchants, Oliver says, “The development of these Central Asian trade routes caused some problems for the Han rulers in China. Bandits soon learnt of the precious goods travelling up the Gansu Corridor and skirting the Taklimakan, and took advantage of the terrain to plunder these caravans.” (pars. 12) In response to these problems, both the Chinese central and local authorities attempted to provide protections at major risky points such as Taklimakan (against the Xiongnu tribes), the Gansu Corridors (against the Tibetans marauders), Gaochang at Turfan Basin, Jiayuguan, and numerous other points along the along the main routes. As a result, being inspired by the Chinese authority, cities and towns developed at those risky areas in the Chinese parts of the routes. There were such threats also on the western parts of the main routes. But since the western parts had been used by the Greeks, the Romans, the Persians and few other power nations, the threats were not as severe as they were on the Chinese parts. The developments of the cities, towns and villages along the Chinese parts of the routes, in return, solidified the routes’ stability. Though the developments of the Chinese parts of the routes remained, more or less, the same throughout the centuries because of the geographical unity of China, the western parts have greatly been influenced by socio-political upheaval along the passage of the time. But the developments and declines along the western parts of the routes had variedly been influenced by different political changes in different period of time. During the whole period of the Han Dynasty from 202 BCE to 220 AD, the political scenario in the west took several new turns. The Greeks lost their control over Central Asia and Middle East; as a result, the Parthians became the main intermediaries between the West and China. Still the flow of commerce along the Silk almost remained the same, until the Romans defeated the Greek and established their control over Medieval in 27 BCE. (Wild pars. 5-6) After the Roman’s victory, the trade of silk and other precious materials with China became more intense because of the Roman’s infatuation with Chinese Silk. Referring to the status of silk trade between Rome and China, Durant writes, “Much of this silk came to the island of Cos, where it was woven into dresses for the ladies of Rome and other cities; in A.D. 91 the relatively poor state of Messenia had to forbid its women to wear transparent silk dresses at religious initiations” (Hansen 329). Though the Roman attempted to decrease the import of Chinese Silk, they failed to do so because of the popularity of silk among the commoners and partly because the Romans had to continue the relationship with the Chinese to sell rich goods such “carpets, jewels, amber, metals, dyes, drugs, and glass” (Hansen 328-329). After the Romans’ downfall in 476 AD and the rise of the Muslim, the silk trade along the ‘Silk Routes’ began to falter because of the antagonism between the Muslims and the Romans. As a result, in the period 527 CE - 565 CE, Byzantine Silk industry began to grow under the supervision of Byzantine Emperor Julian. Being induced by the Muslims’ conflict with the Byzantine Empire, the trades along the Silk became highly monopolised by regional powers such tribal peoples like the Sogdians, the Suyab, the Talas, the Ashina, etc who used to control the sections of the Silk Routes between the Byzantine Capital and the Crossroads of Samarkand-Kashgar during the period between the late 5th century to the 8th century. In the late 9th century, various regional military powers such as “Nestorian”, “Manichaean”, “Buddhism”, and later Islamic powers began to rise along the Silk Routes in Central Asia and north-western parts of China. Consequently, the trades along the Silk Routes began to decline around the late 10th century, though the expansion of expansion of the Mongol Empire restored the flows from the beginning of the 11th century (Hansen 320-324). Finally the Ottomans conflicts with Europe finally provoked the Europeans more convenient maritime Silk Routes and their success led to the abandonment of the land-based Silk Routes after the Ottoman Blockade in the late 15th century. Rekindled Interests in the ‘Silk Routes’ in the 19th Century Not only precious goods but also cultures had been traded along the Silk Routes. Over many centuries, the travellers had played a significant role in the transmission of culture, arts and religion. This cultural transmission was greatly facilitated by the superiority of the respective cultures. In the 1st Century BCE, the Central Greek and Roman authorities began to lose their control over the Greco-Bactrian territory in the Middle East and Central Asia. Therefore, during the period from the 1st century BCE to the 6th century CE and by the time, the Muslims General began to move Eastwards, the Bactrians and Greco-Romans began to be influenced by Buddhism. But even before that period, Buddhism began to encroach into the mainstream Chinese society in the late 3rd Century BCE and its base in the society was solidified by the frequent presence of the Buddhist scholars who used to reach the Capital of Changan during the Han Dynasty along the southern-west silk route, Oliver Wild says, “The most significant commodity carried along this route was not silk, but religion. Buddhism came to China from India this way, along the southern branch of the route.” (pars. 4) This intrusion of Buddhism continued until the fifth century, as Wild says in this regard, “The greatest flux of Buddhism into China occurred during the Northern Wei dynasty, in the fourth and fifth centuries A.D.” (pars. 7) In fact, Buddhism reaches China along the Southern-western route, while Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Islam and few other religions were exchanged by people along the Eurasian silk routes over different centuries. In a particular period, there was no unilateral cultural transmission along the road. Rather the cultural transmission contributed to the development of syncretised forms of arts and religious beliefs in different regions (Bentley 38-40). One of such syncretised exchanged occurred between the Hans and the Xiongnu. Whereas the Xiongnu tribal people adopted the Chinese lifestyle, agricultural techniques, and other aspects of life during the first half of the first millennium, the Chinese were greatly influenced by the Xiongnu military techniques which were much better than theirs. (Bentley 38) Subsequently, the second most influential religious exchange was the spread of Islam, which reached the peoples of Central Asia and the Uighurs of the western China along the Silk Road. Christianity also appeared in Central Asia and in Changan around the Fifth centuries, as Oliver Wild notes, The Nestorian sect was outlawed in Europe by the Roman church in 432 A.D., and its followers were driven eastwards. From their foothold in Northern Iran, merchants brought the faith along the Silk Road, and the first Nestorian church was consecrated at Changan in 638 A.D. (pars. 6) Along the Silk Road, the most massive and spontaneous transmission was that of art. After the opening of the Silk Routes in the 2nd century BCE, aesthetic inscription of art in commodities was one of the prerequisites of their saleability among people of particular regions. The development of the Greco-Buddhist art in Central Asian regions was essentially the fusion of Hellenistic art and Buddhist art in the first half of the First Millennium. Later, Islamic culture came to dominate the transmission of art along the Silk Road. But its influence was not as strong as that of Buddhist art. Modern Status of the Silk Routes After the Ottomans imposed restrictions on east-west trades along the Silk Routes, the Europeans became successful to discover more convenient maritime routes to reach China. Consequently, trades along the overland routes began to subside after the 5th century. But in the late 19th century, various nations began to show renewed interest in Silk Routes. This interest was mostly imperial in nature. In the late 19th century, the British, being induced by the increasing trade between central Asian countries and northern India, felt the Russians’ presence in that region as a threat and attempted to discover the once abandoned trade routes. At the same time, the Russians also began to enter region, thus entering the imperial contest, known as ‘Great Games’. During the ‘Great Games’, the discoveries of several manuscripts and relics further attracted the western treasure hunters and archaeologists. The archaeologists were greatly inspired by a German traveller and cartographer, Swede Sven Hedin, who travelled through the abandoned and desolate cities and town in Pamir, Taklimakan, Loulan, etc along the silk routes from Changan to Kashgar in 1895. Sir Aurel Stein, a British archalogist, and Albert von Le Coq, a German archaeologist played the leading role in this archaeological race in which the Russians, the Japanese, and the French archaeologists also participated. During this race, a huge amount of archaeological literary treasures and relics were discovered. But after the British crackdown on a student-demonstration on 25th May of 1925, the foreign archaeological expeditions came to an end in the face of an increasing anti-foreign Chinese sentiment. After the formation of the Republic of China, the Chinese authority became aware of the archeological importance of the Chinese parts of the Silk Routes. Moreover, they focused on the possibility of developing a tourism industry based on the ruined cities and towns along the Silk Routes. So, they began to increase tourist facilities in Taklimakan, Urumchi, Dunhuang, Lanzhou, Jiangsu, Turfan, Loulan, and many other possible tourist sites along the road. The socialist influence as well as the discovery of potential mine-resource inspired the Chinese authority to develop communication ad sufficient infrastructures in these regions. Consequently, rapid industrialization, infrastructural development, establishment of railroads, etc facilitated the growth of interregional and international trade among the local people. Cross-border trade with Soviet Union encouraged the authority to extend the ‘Lanzou-to-Urumchi’ railway communication to the former Trans-Siberian railway. Travel and Tourism Industry based on the Archaeological Sites along the ‘Silk Road’ During the ‘Great Game’ between Russia and Britain, the archaeological discoveries along the Silk Routes attracted many western travellers who loved romantic mysteries in oriental traditions and culture. But in the early 20th century, it was not difficult for the tourists to travel safely to these archaeological sites along the routes because of many environmental and socio-political adversaries. After the infrastructural developments in those regions, Hedin’s writings about his expeditions along the silk route rekindled this interest and allured numerous people to take a tour to these sites. Foreseeing the prospect of economic benefits from a booming tourism industry along the silk routes, the Republic opened the door for the incoming surges of tourists in the 1970s. They established the Dunhuang Research Institute to take care and preserve the sites. These sites inherited plenty of murals, arts and relics which are sufficient to give the tourists an overall impression about the nature of the lifestyles, mannerism, customs, social conventions and traditions of the people. These arts, scriptures and relics which have been found from those sites tell a great deal about the socio-political environments, which existed over many centuries in China. Moreover, the findings from these sites not only tell about the Chinese and their socio-cultural and political transition, but also about their relationship with the rest of the world. Conclusions From its birth in the 2nd century during the Han Dynasty, the Silk Routes have played significant roles in the world trade and commerce. The Silk Road was born mainly to facilitate the commerce between the East and the West. But the merchants also carried invisibles socio-cultural commodities along with their precious goods such as silk, ivory, gold, ceramics, carpets, etc. The transmissions of arts and culture occurred from time to time along the routes. These transmissions are greatly shaped by the socio-political milieu of a particular period. During the Hellenistic and Roman eras, Buddhism encroached into the Chinese societies. Later, it began to move westward. But the rise of the Muslim impeded this progress severely. Instead, the central Asian regions started to be influenced by Islamic ideals and thoughts. In the late 15th century, trades along the routes began to subside and eventually the Silk Routes were abandoned. But in the late 19th century, the interests in the routes were rekindled by the British Empire and Russia. Subsequently, the Chinese became aware of the economic prospect about the silk routes. So, they focused their attention on developing a tourism industry based on the archaeological sites along the routes. Now, the archaeological sites have become few of the world’s large tourist sites. Works Cited Bentley, Jerry H. Old World Encounters: Cross-Cultural Contacts and Exchanges in Pre-Modern Times New York: Oxford University Press, 1993, 38. Elisseeff, Vadime. The Silk Roads: Highways of Culture and Commerce. UNESCO Publishing / Berghahn Books. 2001 Hansen, Valerie. The Silk Road: A New History. Oxford University Press; 2012 Mark, J Joshua. “Silk Road”, Ancient Encyclopaedia History. 19 December 2012. 14 November, 2013. Available at http://www.ancient.eu.com/Silk_Road/ Wild, Oliver. “The Silk Road”, 1992. 14 November, 2013. Available at http://www.ess.uci.edu/~oliver/silk.html#9 Read More

 

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