The Silk Road
The Silk Road:
introduction
Network of trade routes, which linked the regions
of the ancient world in commerce; between China
and the Mediterranean
The Silk Road:
introduction
• Officially established in Han Dynasty
(206 BC - 220 AD)
– Expanded in 114 BCE by Zhang Qian
• Yuan Dynasty (Kublai Khan), trade from
China along the Silk Road peaked.
(Pax Mongolia).
The Silk Road:
introduction
Silk
A valuable cloth
Originally made only in China
Fine, strong, soft, lustrous, warm/cool
Produced by silkworms
Technique/process of sericulture (silk
making) were closely guarded secrets
Revealed secrets/smuggled silkworm eggs
or cocoons outside of China = punished by
death.
The ancient silk road of china
The Silk Road
What was traded?
- Goods, religions, idea, technologies, diseases
Historical Significance:
- Contributed to the development of civilizations
(China, Indian Sub-continent, Persia, Europe,
Arabia)
- Established political and economic relationships
Products Traded along the Silk Road
Products
Area of Origin
Wool, gold, silver, ivory, jewels, metals, figs, walnuts
Europe
Jars
Mediterranean
Glass
Mesopotamia and Egypt
Oil
Baku (Azerbaijan)
Dates, pistachios, peaches, walnuts, Tyrian purple, indigo, frankincense, myrrh,
storax, muslin cloth, wine, glassware, olive oil, silver vessels, glass and stone beads
Persia, Middle East
Incense
Southern Arabia
Household slaves, pets, arena animals, exotic furs, cashmere wool, raw and finished
cotton, spinach, sandalwood, palm oil, cane sugar, perfumes, gems, gold, ivory,
opium, glass and stone beads
India
Cinnamon
India, Sri Lanka
Jade
Khotan (northwestern China)
Silk, skins, iron, mirrors, weapons, porcelain, lacquerware, nephrite jade, rhubarb,
ivory, paper, grain, gunpowder, medicines, Epsom salts, elixirs, ginseng, snake bile,
seaweed
China
Silver, gold
Southern China, Tibet,
Indochina
Spices, aromatic roots, resins
Southeast Asia
Sulphur
Indonesia
Camphor
China, Japan, Borneo,
Indochina
The Silk Road:
Fun facts
• 4,000+ miles long
• Many routes; some dangerous
• Marco Polo traveled to China along the Silk Road.
• The Bubonic plague (Black Death) traveled to
Europe from the Silk Road.
• Goods were traded at trade posts. Few merchants
traveled entire route.
The Silk Road:
Vocabulary
Culture:
the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded
collectively.
Cultural diffusion/ exchange:
the spread of cultural items (ideas, lifestyles, religions, technologies, languages etc.)
betweenindividuals from one culture to another.
Globalization:
The tendency of businesses, technologies, or philosophies to spread throughout the
world, or the process of making this happen.
Innovation:
a new method, idea, product, etc. (typically something that makes life easier)
Trade:
the business of buying and selling or exchanging items
The Silk Road:
Vocabulary
Caravan:
group of people, especially traders or pilgrims, traveling together across
a desert in Asia or North Africa.
Caravansaries:
an inn with a central courtyard for travelers in the desert regions of Asia or North Africa.
Bandit:
a robber
Cargo:
goods carried by caravans to be traded
Emissary:
a person sent on a special mission, usually as a diplomatic representative.
Mirage:
optical illusion seen by travelers on the Eastern Silk Road caused by the heat
of the desert.
The Silk Road:
routes
The silk road:
religions
The Silk Road:
languages
The Silk Road:
territories
The Silk Road
Geography & climate
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
Economy
the wealth and resources of a country or region, especially
in terms of the production and consumption of goods and
services.
Trade
the action of buying and selling goods and services.
Scarcity
the state of being in short supply;
Tradeoff
Balance achieved by compromise
Specialization
when a nation or individual concentrates its productive efforts on producing a
Limited variety of goods
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
Supply & Demand
the amount of a commodity, product, or service
available and the desire of buyers for it,
considered as factors regulating its price.
Exchange Rate
Price for which the currency of a country can be exchanged
for another country's currency
Incentive
a thing that motivates or encourages one to do something.
a payment or concession to stimulate greater output or investment
Middle man
a person who arranges business or political deals between other people.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
Barter
exchange (goods or services) for other
goods or services without using money.
Money
a current medium of exchange in the form of coins
and banknotes; coins and banknotes collectively.
Economic Interdependence
Participants of economic system are dependent on others
for the products they cannot produce efficiently themselves
Crash Course
The Silk Road:
- Introduction to the Silk Road & Questions
- The Dynamics of Trade along the Silk Road
- Belief Systems Along the Silk Road & Questions
- Silk Road Timeline
- A Journey Along the Silk Road Poster Project
- The Growth of Cities
Interactive maps