The Silk Routes and its Influences on Ancient and Medieval Commerce and International Relations - Essay Example

The ‘Silk Routes’ and its Influences on Ancient and Medieval Commerce and International Relations Introduction The ‘Silk Road’, also commonly called ‘Silk Routes’, was, indeed, a set of commercial travel and transportation routes which started to operate in the 2nd Century BCE. The Han Dynasty of China played a crucial role in the establishment of the gradually emergent route as an interstate trade and communication during the second century before Christ’s death. Later, the route has been developed for centuries according to the needs of different nations who wanted to be connected other powerful countries for the sake of trade and commerce. By the end of the 15th century, the route became a large network of interstate political affairs as well as trade and commerce. Though the main route stretched between China and Europe, it included various sub-routes connecting major cities of Russia, India, Arab and African continent during the Medieval period. Indeed, the term, “Silk Road”, was a later-adoption by Ferdinand Von Richtofen, a famous German traveller and Geographer. Though it was mainly known as a commercial route, it was the main route of international political and cultural relationship among the world’s nations during the ancient and medieval period. After its establishment in 130BCE, the route had been operating in full swing until the Ottoman Empire blocked it in 1453 CE in an attempt to cut off the Europeans’ trade and commerce with China. “Silk Road”: Its Expansion over Different Centuries Indeed, the term, “Silk Road”, is a modern adoption which is used to refer to the commercial communication networks existing among the countries of the world during the ancient and medieval periods. Especially, it was a set of communication routes which were connected to the main route between Changan and Europe (especially the Port of Venice). Since the “Silk Road” was not any single route of communication, modern historians have preferred using the term, “Silk Routes” in order to refer to the whole communication network between China and the West. Many people claim that the name, ‘Silk Road’, has been used because ‘Silk’ was the most precious product which was being traded along the road. Indeed, such assumption about the name is not wholly true. Rather, it is a partial truth. Though ‘Silk’ was the most attractive product which the Chinese were selling the whole world, it was not the only important products where were being traded among the nations. Indeed, this name became popular in the modern world after Ferdinand von Richthofen had introduced the East-West communication network as `Seidenstrasse’ (silk road) or `Seidenstrassen’ (silk routes). In this regard, Joshua Mark notes, “Both terms for this network of roads...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). Commodities and Ideas, Exchanged by the Nations The ‘Silk Road’ was a thoroughfare not only for trading goods but for exchanges of culture. Various products, such as ivory, gold, jade, silk, ceramics, pepper, salt, weapons, incense, spices and many others, had been traded along the Silk Road. Indeed, the ‘Silk Road’ was not used only for trading silk. Rather it was one of the major products which were traded along the route. Along with these products, the nations of the world would exchange various cultural features both directly and indirectly. One of the most significant commodities which were being exchanged among the nations along the road over centuries was religion, as 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). For example, Christianity began to spread towards the east along the road during the period between the 1st and the 5th centuries. During this period, Christianity was a dominant religion. But after the emergence of Islam in the 6th century, the Muslim traders and merchants began to spread their religion both westward and eastward along the road. Moreover, architectural and military equipments and ideas had been exchanged among the nations. The Europeans first learned about the use of gunpowder from the Chinese. Besides the neighbouring of China began to learn about the more advanced irrigation and cultivation technologies of the Chinese. Traders along the Silk Road: Arabs’ Influence Almost all of the nations who were connected to the Silk Road were involved in trading in some way or another. But the Romans, the Chinese, the Persians, the Arabs, and few other nations who resided along the road were the main suppliers of products. The traders of these goods were mainly the Arabians and other nations along the road who functions were that of a middleman. It is claimed that the presence of the Chinese in Rome and of the Romans in Changan was rare before the emergence of the Islam (Wild pars. 17-8). Since the geographical position of the Arabian Peninsula was very advantageous for maintaining relationship between the East and the West, they could successfully work as traders. Since the Chinese Silk was very popular among the Romans, they were the main importers of Chinese. Yet, to a limited extent, Chinese Silk was being exported to Central Asian counties, Arab and Persia. The Roman trader also would import various spices, incense, ceramics from China, Sandalwood from India, Saffron powder and dates from Persia, glass-products from Egypt (Bentley 37-9). But in return, the Chinese would purchase jade, gold, ivory, furs, grapes, expensive horses, etc. Parthian carpets, blankets, tapestries, and other European woollen products were very popular among the Chinese. Persia was a famous exported of silver products. The Effects of the Silk-Route Trade on the East and the West The most significant effects of the trade along the ‘Silk Road’ on the East and the west were cultural. Along the exchanges of products, various cultural traits had also been exchanged. In most cases, the superior culture has dominated inferior one. Being benefitted by the Romans’ military conquests towards the east, Roman culture and civilization had been able to influence the Eastern cultures heavily. After the emergence of Christianity, the Romans became more culturally influential in the Arabian and Central Asian countries. Where the less civilized nations accepted the Romans’ culture and values easily, the people who belonged to established nations had accepted some selective features of the Roman culture (Bentley 45-8). The trades between the nations had enriched them not only materially but also culturally. For business purposes, people of one culture would go to people of another cultures. Thus, both people became enriched with knowledge of one another. In different eras, the effects of trades on the Silk Road was different. During the pre-Islamic age, Christianity spread among the barbarian people of Central Asia (Bentley 42-3). During the period from the 3rd to the 5th century, Buddhism began to influence the mainstream Chinese society. This Buddhist influence continued until the 5th century AD, as Wild notes, “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, the Silk Route played a very crucial role in the spread Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, etc during different centuries along the Silk Route. Conclusion The Silk Road was not any single route of commercial communication between the East and the West. Rather, it was a road-network which facilitates international trade and commerce among the countries during the ancient and medieval ages. Though it is commonly believed that the ‘Silk Road’ was established by the Han Dynasty in 130 BCE for the sake of expanding trade and commerce with the European nations, it had expanded and been modified over the centuries. Though it is popularly known as “Silk Road”, silk was not the only precious product which the nations traded along this road. Rather precious products and goods such as ivory, ceramics, gold, woollen products had been traded by them. The main consumers and suppliers were the Chinese, the Romans, the Persian, the Egyptians, etc. During the pre-Islamic age, people of different nations had been involved in trading. But after the emergence of Islam, the Arabs became a great role played in the international trading along the Silk Road. Along with the tangibles products and goods, many other intangible products like culture, religion, customs, practices, norms had been exchanged by the nations worldwide. During the Greek and Roman eras, Buddhism began to influence the main Chinese societies. Later, it started to go westward. But the rise of Islam impeded this advancement harshly. In the late 15th century, trades along the routes began to subside and eventually the Silk Routes were abandoned. Works Cited Bentley, Jerry H. Old World Encounters: Cross-Cultural Contacts and Exchanges in Pre-Modern Times New York: Oxford University Press, 1993, 38. 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