The Silk Road And Eurasia

Have you ever wondered what it was like to travel across the country to get what you want? The Silk Road was a treacherous journey that spanned from Asia all the way to Rome. People carried their countries goods in large caravans to exchange them with other people across the country. The Silk Road helped people get what they want by traveling there. The Silk Road took a huge part in history because it helped a number of cultures get closer to each other and share part of them, for example traditions and beliefs. The Silk Road was a difficult and dangerous trek, eventually traders found out the Silk Road increased the kingdom’s economy and the wealth of an individual. In addition, it spread culture, ideas and goods.

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

During the time period 600 C.E. to 1450 C.E., trade networks were relied upon to transfer goods, ideas, and services. Both the Trans-Saharan and Silk Road trade routes depended on animals, luxury goods, and economic growth. However, the trade routes differed in animals, types of luxury goods, and success of economic growth.

“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.

Imagine traveling into an area with burning summers, freezing winters, and limited resources. A time where the internet has not been invented, where traveling is long, hard, and often deadly. These are the circumstances that adventures dealt with when traveling throughout Asia on the famous Silk Road. It is often thought that the Silk Road consists of one main route when in fact it is various roads under a unified name. The Silk Road connected that time periods views regarding social class, gender roles, violence and religions. The book, Religions of the Silk Road, written by Richard Foltz brings these points to life.

One significant changes of the Silk Road is when it was first started it mainly started as a way for trade to flourish between Europe and Asia. But the purpose of this Silk Road has also expanded to transcend different culture and technologies from different places and caused cultural diffusion along the Silk Road. This happened

Between the era circa 600 BCE to 1500 CE trading systems expanded with the introduction of new trade routes, some of which being the Silk Road that connected Europe and Asia, the Mediterranean sea trade routes connecting the Mediterranean basin, and the Indian ocean trade connecting India with east Africa. The emergence of these new trade routes led to the rapid accumulation of wealth by the merchants who traded. Religious responses contrasted with state responses to wealth accumulation in Eurasia during roughly 600 BCE to 1500 CE in the sense that religious responses resulted in both punishment and the absence of blessings in an individual. Whereas state responses resulted in taxation, inspection of sales reports and weights and measures,

In the Post-Classical Era, trade was crucial for the diffusion of cultures because it connected major areas of the world. With many different trade routes such as the Trans-Saharan and the Silk Roads, religions, ideas, and technology were able to spread with ease. Religions that traveled along those trade routes are Islam and Christianity. Both religions spread far and wide through the practices of trade and warfare. Merchants had a significant impact on the spread of both religions, as they were the ones traveling along these trade routes and learning about different religions and cultures. As both religions spread through vast regions, the different peoples and cultures they came in contact with began to use these religions as a unification tactic as well as a way to identify themselves as individuals. For example, as Christianity spread through the Silk Roads, the Roman emperor Constantine converted, so Christianity

During the first century C.E., trade became very active with the beginning of the Silk Road, which ran from China to the Mediterranean. Many goods and ideas were traded between China, India, Africa and Europe. One of the main things that spread through this trade was religion. Buddhism, after being rejected in India, quickly spread to China and was widely accepted. Buddhism quickly gained popularity during and after the Han dynasty, while some encouraged the blending of Confucian and Buddhist ideals, many Tang Confucian scholars began to reject its views, as they did not originate in China.

During the era of The Silk Road, The Indian Ocean Trade Network, and the Trans-Saharan Trade Network; religions constantly spread throughout the use of these routes. The spread of Buddhism was apparent in China, because of their use of the Buddhist monasteries for trade. During the period of instability in China, Buddhist monks were involved and aided in the trade of silk and other luxury goods on The Silk Road and their religious ideas spread. Because of the time period they were in, some ideas of Buddhism, such as their belief that anyone can reach Nirvana

The Silk Road not only traded goods, but also culture, ideas and inventions to be spread across the settled world. Even though the it is called the Silk Road, it is a network of trade routes that traded goods such as paper and gunpowder that were invented in China, “had a much greater impact on culture than did silk,” (Mark 1) which the road is named after. One cultural exchange was language on the Silk Road used between people of different backgrounds, “language has always been the single most essential tool of communication between the various people,” (Sinor 3), which allowed merchants and scholars to become multi-lingual in order to keep commerce flowing. Another cultural trade was the spread of religion was popular on the Silk Road with Islam and Buddhism; “the Silk Road traffic predominantly Muslim, during the 13th century under Mongol rule,” (Jones-Leaning, et al. 325) and “traders and religious teachers, who were among the first travelers to bring Buddhism to China,” (Xinru 57). For Japan, “sea routes became more important than overland trade routes,” (Grotenhuis 10) and the coastal regions helped settle areas to become ports for trade such as Hakata, a gateway for economic and cultural trade with China. Japan also used the Silk Road for the trade of goods such as tea and porcelain but also for

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.