Impact Of Christianity On The Silk Road

This exception is the religion of Buddhism, which transformed the Post-Classical era and the history of China. Islam spread like wildfire, which was surprising due to the popularity of other Chinese religions at this time, such as Confucianism and Daoism. Trade routes began and facilitated the spread of it and were influential in spreading things other than just goods (Strayer). The diffusion of Buddhism into China is extremely important to Chinese people and Chinese history. Buddhist monasteries sprang up in cities and trade routes, and many people were converted just by immersion in the religion and by just following the crowd. Buddhism was very big for merchants and they had a big role in the spread of Buddhism to less populous villages and towns. While China was leading a massive Buddhist revival, an effort to revive Confucian values was also spreading. This effort was called Neo-Confucianism, which means new Confucianism. This new religious belief system combined Confucian values with Buddhist and Daoist influences. This new way of thinking was popular, and even slowed the Buddhist movement, but Buddhism eventually won, amassing hundreds of thousands of

The Silk Road was a network of trade routes that extended from the Mediterranean to China. These trade routes nurtured the spread in religion, diseases, wealth, culture, and products. Buddhism became the dominant faith

Compare and Contrast: The Spread of Christianity and Buddhism in the End of the Classical Period.

“The most significant commodity carried along this route was not silk, but religion. ” Buddhism, one of China’s largest religions was brought there from India via the Silk Road. This alone makes the Silk Road very significant because of the effect Buddhism has had on the world, especially China. Mingdi, a Han Emperor had a vision about Buddha and sent an official West to India. This official brought back two Buddhist Monks with him. From there Buddhism continually grew. The rise of Buddhism can be seen all along the Silk Road. With many different monasteries, statues, and artwork. Not only did the West have influences on China, China also had a huge influences on western civilizations.

Throughout early history, civilizations often sought to receive resources from afar to sustain their societies and keep themselves thriving, and to this end trade relations and eventually trade routes began to emerge. This aided civilizations in their discovery of foreign items that they may use to better their societies. These items traded ranged from complex technology to something as simple as nutmeg. The main trade routes that were utilized in East and South Asia were the silk road and the Indian Ocean Trade Network. In the 7th- 12th centuries, both the silk road and Indian ocean trade route had affected east and south Asia by the introduction of religions such as Buddhism changing government forms and altering the belief systems of society and changing how individuals live their daily lives, however differences were present in the impact that these routes had on daily lives, such as the Indian Ocean Trade Route giving rise to an entire new culture in Africa known as the Swahili and leading to the innovation of the sailing boat known as the Dhow, and the silk road led to the transmission of religion and resources throughout Eurasia and it led to utilization of caravans and animals as a means of trade.

The Silk Road had a large impact on the spread of religion. It was a meeting place for a lot of different types of people, from traders to merchants, and carpenters and sellers of food or produce. Religious beliefs of the peoples of the Silk Road changed radically over time and was largely due to the effects of travel and trade on the Silk Road itself. The trade route allowed religion to travel far and fast through the stories and communication of the people who travelled the Silk Road, which is how so many different religions occurred during this time and why they were so widespread. Islam was one of the religions to flourish and thrive in the environment of the Silk Road, it was one of the fastest spreading religions and became a dominant religion, because of the Silk Road it is still one of the largest religions today.

“The most significant commodity carried along this route was not silk, but religion. ” Buddhism, one of China’s largest religions was brought there from India via the Silk Road. This alone makes the Silk Road very significant because of the effect Buddhism has had on the world, especially China. Mingdi, a Han Emperor had a vision about Buddha and sent an official West to India. This official brought back two Buddhist Monks with him. From there Buddhism continually grew. The rise of Buddhism can be seen all along the Silk Road. With many different monasteries, statues, and artwork. Not only did the West have influences on China, China also had a huge influences on western civilizations.

Between 500-1500 CE, four major trade routes were developed; the Silk Roads, Sea Roads, Sand Roads, and the American Web. The Silk Roads linked China to the west and led to the intense spread of religions and ideas, and the Sea Roads connected the Eastern Hemisphere and improved long distance trade. The Silk Roads and the Sea Roads were similar in that they both assisted the spread of disease and the spread of cultural traditions, but different in what goods were traded along the routes. Before all the cross-cultural interaction on the trade routes, people had only been introduced to the diseases that developed in their area, which led to the development of immunity. This is because they were only communicating with people within their civilizations, rather than traveling across the continent to experience different environments and bacteria. But, due to the Silk Roads and the Sea Roads, new diseases (such as the measles and smallpox) were presented to them, which had many consequences. For one, since so many people were dying, it led to economic stagnation. This means that there were fewer people producing goods and making money for the states and empires which led to the fall of some civilizations because there weren’t enough funds to sustain them. A solution to this problem would be to demand higher wages. Another effect was that the power of elites was weakened. This was because the people who supported them were getting infected. Diseases, such as the Black Death and the Bubonic Plague, introduced a new way of fighting. The Mongols used the plagues to their advantage by taking the dead bodies and throwing them into enemy territory. This was known as biological warfare. While the diseases had a big impact on societies, they weren’t the only thing being spread. Cultural traditions and religions were shared along the Silk Roads and Sea Roads as well. Buddhism and Islam played a big part in changing societies, but they weren’t the only ones that spread. Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and Manichaeism were also connecting to different parts of the world. These religions were used to comfort those in the time of need due to the fact that they allowed them to develop a routine that they believed would lead to

In document 4 Gerontius, a Christian monk, wrote a biography on the Christian saint Melania the Younger in circa 450 CE, 11 years after her death in 439 CE. In the excerpt of the biography, The Life of Melania the Younger, Gerontius writes about the benefits of abandoning wealth and worldly possessions to become closer to God and to serve a greater purpose. He states that it would be “impossible to offer pure worship to God unless they made themselves enemies to the confusions of a wealthy life…” This was probably written to encourage the rich to give up their worldly possessions to experience more of God’s blessings. In document 5 the Qur’an, the holy book of Islam addresses wealth accumulation resulting in the resentment of an individual.

Christian, Buddhist, and Islamic religions were spread because of the Silk Road. Christianity was able to spread because of its followers willing to die on a religious creed to convert others (Tignor, 283). This martyrdom that many religious followers were willing to accept represented the deep tie to religion that had been spread to and engrained in the minds of the various peoples across Afro-Eurasia. In the Roman and Han Empires agriculture was essential to survival, and the Romans employed slaves from the people they conquered, thus allowing for further spreading of ideas as slave catchers and the military brought these men and women in to work the fields. As trade success continues along with globalization, the use for slave’s increases, and thus new markets are claimed as other peoples are conquered. During the period of 600-1000 CE Islam was growing in central Afro-Eurasia while the Chinese under Tang China was gaining in East Asia. These two forces grew the region economically through merchandise, technological innovations, and scholars traveling from end to end of coastal Africa. Islam brought goods from Egypt, Syria, and Iraq, Tang brought goods from

The Crusades probably kept the trade between Christians and Buddhists from going through, because the Muslims were against the Christians, and most of the major trade routes went through Islam territories.

The Silk Road proved to be an important trade route that helped transform many imperial worlds. The Silk Road was established when Alexander the Great was in power and promoted governments to enhance trade. While promoting trade, the Afro-Eurasian world shared commodities and interests that would integrate the different cultures. (202) Different ideas were exchanged throughout Afro-Eurasia, including religion. In particular, Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam were religions that were widely spread throughout the trade route.

Although the spread of Buddhism and Christianity are similar because both used missionaries to spread and were adopted by emperors, they are different because Buddhism spread on the Silk Road while Christianity was spread primarily through letters. The religions of Buddhism and Christianity are similar because they both were adopted by emperors, which made them prominent, and they were spread by emperors through missionaries. Around 260 B.C.E, Ashoka, the third emperor of the Mauryan Dynasty, converted to Buddhism. Publicly, Ashoka began to practice Buddhist traditions and spread it around his empire.

Nothing influenced China as much as another religion along the Silk Road as much as Buddhism, which is still practiced there today. The Silk Road extended through many lands and sea routes giving many places goods such as silk, spices, teas, and porcelain from China, ivory, textiles, stones, and pepper from India, and gold, glassware, carpets, and jewels from the Roman Empire. This documentary ties into the textbook, Ways of the World, since in the textbook, it explains the reign of Qin Shihuangdi and his accomplishments as a powerful ruler because of his contribution to the building of The Great Wall, and the discovery of his Terracotta soldiers. Another example is when the documentary mentions the motive for the beginning of the Silk Road, and in the textbook, it explains that the Silk Road began with the Chinese desire for better horses. Lastly, this documentary ties into the textbook because it said that many religions were brought along the Silk Road, and in the textbook, it explains that Buddhism was the most influential religion, and that other religions were created with blended aspects of Confucianism and

Many thousands of years ago, upon the earliest creations of civilization, there were two thriving civilizations. Both of which knew little to nothing about each other’s existence. In this ancient world, there was no connection of the two civilizations, no trade in commerce or culture. It was not until the second century BC that Europe and Eastern Asia interacted in a significant way. What is known as “The Silk Road” was established during the Han Dynasty of China, it was a network of trade routes that created a link between these two regions during this ancient world (ancient.eu). Though these routes have history prior to the Han Dynasty, this is when many historians see the routes in full practice. This time during the second century BC was crucial in the connection of these separately thriving civilizations, connecting them through commerce, religion, and exploration.