Silk Road Flashcards
What was the Silk Road?
The silk road was a network of trade routes connecting the Eastern Mediterranean to Central Asia and Central Asia to China
When was the Silk road used?
The Silk Road began during China’s Han Dynasty in 130BC and lasted until 1453AD when the Ottoman Empire closed the trade routes
Where was the Silk Road?
The silk road stretched through Asia with additional overland and water trade routes connecting China, India, Mesopotamia, Arabia, Egypt, Africa, Greece, Rome, and even Britain
What is the history of the Silk Road?
1) Zhang Qian pioneered the Silk Road between 138-125BC during the Han Dynasty
2) The Silk Road reached it’s peak during the Mongol controlled Yan Dynasty between 1271-1368AD
What was a huge Chinese secret and what was the penalty for telling what it was?
The origin of silk and it process was a tightly held Chinese secret. The penalty for attempting to take a silkworm and it’s eggs out of China was death
What were Caravans and why did travelers use camels to travel?
Traders often traveled together in Caravans to stay safer from Bandits and to share supplies. Camel were used to carry the traders goods because they could travel a long distance without water. Camels could not carry heavy items over mountains and across deserts so the items traded along the Silk Road were usually small (Like spices)
What were Oasis Towns?
Oasis towns along the Silk Road became important trading posts because here, they could get supplies, and they could eat and rest. They became places where merchants could buy goods from the traders. Oasis towns were located along the major trade routes about 1 day’s travel apart. Many of these towns became thriving cities (Like Rome)
What are some products and ideas that travelled from West to East (To China)?
Products:
Wool cloth, carpets, gold, silver, ivory, coral, precious stones, cucumbers, walnuts, sesame seeds, figs, alfalfa, pomegranates
Ideas:
Winemaking from Grapes, Buddhism
What are some products and diseases that travelled from East to West (From China)?
Products:
Silk, Gunpowder, Paper, Furs, Ceramics, Cinnamon Bark, Rhubarb
Diseases:
Measles, Small Pox, and the Bubonic Plague
What was Commerce?
Very few people traveled the entire 4000 miles of the Silk Road to sell their goods. Traders sold their goods to a merchant at a trading post or city along the Silk Road and these goods were exchanged along the rest of the Silk Road by an intricate network of middlemen.
What were the dangers involved with using the Silk Road?
Silk road travelers faced difficult travel through deserts and treacherous mountain passes. Sandstorms, lack of water, ice storms, heavy snow, avalanches, and flooding contributed to the dangers as did theives that lay in wait along the routes for vulnerable traders.
Who was Marco Polo and why is he important?
Perhaps one of the most famous Silk Road travelers was Marco Polo, a Venetian merchant whose adventuresome travels across Asia from 1271-1295AD and his experience in the court of Kublai Khan were recorded in a book - The Travels Of Marco Polo. There is some debate about whether Marco Polo actually traveled across Asia or whether he simply weaved a fictional tale. Nevertheless, his tales helped increase Europe’s fascination with Asia and even inspired a new generation of explorers
