Pamir Mountains
The Travels of
Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta
“Crossing the World”
ROLE-PLAYING Group Activity
Doc 7.2 and 7.3 - Pages 347-354
WHY DID THE HAN FAMILY OPEN AND EXTEND THE SILK ROADS?
THE CHINESE WANTED TO MAKE A PROFIT ($) FROM SELLING SILK AND THE WEALTHY
WANTED ACCESS TO GOODS FROM OTHER LOCATIONS.
WHAT WAS LIFE
LIKE TRAVELING
ON THE SILK and
Trans-Saharan
ROADS?
• It was more than one road - actually a network of caravan routes that stretched across Eurasian
• Developed over time by many traders, empires, and merchants
• Almost no one traveled the whole route. Most people bought and sold goods on either end of one segment of the route.
The Travels of Ibn Battuta
Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta, also known as Shams ad - Din, was born at
Tangier, Morocco, on the 24th February 1304 C.E. (703 Hijra). He left Tangier on
Thursday, 14th June, 1325 C.E. (2nd Rajab 725 A.H.), when he was twenty one years of age. His travels lasted for about thirty years, after which he returned to
Fez, Morocco at the court of Sultan Abu 'Inan and dictated accounts of his journeys to Ibn Juzay. These are known as the famous Travels (Rihala) of Ibn
Battuta. He died at Fez in 1369 C.E.
Ibn Battuta was the only medieval traveler who is known to have visited the lands of every Muslim ruler of his time. He also travelled in Ceylon (present Sri Lanka),
China and Byzantium and South Russia. The mere extent of his travels is estimated at no less than 75,000 miles, a figure which is not likely to have been surpassed before the age of steam.
What were trade cities/towns really like for merchants, traders, travelers, and the people living in them?
•
Varied depending on region, but most had these things in common
1.
Lack of sanitation systems
2.
Extreme poverty in many of the populations of people
3.
Ostentatious wealth of the elite
4.
Absence of building codes
5.
Prevalence of diseases
6.
Some government control of traders
Imagine that your group is following Ibn Battuta in the 14
th
Century as he travels from Timbuktu to Chang’an with a pit stop in Bactra.
•
As a group review this PPT and read the information on Ibn Battuta
•
Answer the following questions on a fresh piece of paper. (one per group)
1.
What types of transportation and supplies will we need?
2.
What is the best route? How long might that route take?
3.
What types of weather, environments, and geographic elements will be have to endure?
4.
What types of people, civilizations, empires, and religions will be encounter?
5.
What are the possible dangers?
OUD
ITEMS TRADED ALONG THE SILK ROAD
BEER
BACTRIAN
CAMELS
CARPETS
How long would these items last?
GLASS
PORCELAIN
METAL
WORK
WINE
WHEAT
JADE
SPICES
SILK
Animals
People
Bandits and
Monks
Merchants
Places
Mountains,
Deserts,
Oases
(plural of oasis)
Our Silk Roads journey starts in China.
Between
Chang’an (#1) and
Dunhuang (#4) :
Bandits from Mongolia or Tibet may attack caravans.
Therefore, Chinese soldiers must travel with the caravans.
In the Chinese city of
Chang’an (#1)
, merchants load fine silk cloth and herbal medicines onto two-humped Bactrian camels.
We will explore the Silk Roads using a satellite image.
Find dry areas near the numbered Silk Road towns.
Which colors indicate drier areas or deserts? tan
In this satellite image, the green color tells us about vegetation.
Green areas have enough water for trees and crops.
Dunhuang (#4) is an important
Buddhist religious center.
Buddhist monks traveled along the Silk Road and brought Buddhism from India to China .
Taklamakan Desert
( “if you go in, you won’t come out” ):
Caravans must travel through this desert before the heat of summer hits.
Rivers carry melted snow down from high mountains!
High, snow-covered mountains surround the
Taklamakan.
Oasis towns are located along the edge of the Taklamakan Desert .
Kashgar (#10) is an oasis town, where local merchants trade their dates, melons, and grapes for silk that the caravans bring from China.
Why did the Chinese travel this far west
(to Central Asia)?
Pamir Mountains (between #10 and
#13) :
The route continues through mountains and is called the “Trail of Bones” because the route is dangerously steep and cold.
Pamir Mountains :
Between Kashgar (#10) and
Tashkent (#13) , caravans climbed the
“Trail of Bones” through the high, steep Pamirs .
The highest elevations are purple and dark gray .
Pamir Mountains :
Elevations are above 10,000 feet .
It is extremely cold, and there is no food.
Why cross the
Pamirs?
The highest elevations are purple and dark gray .
In Tashkent (#13) ,
Chinese military use silk to purchase the strong horses raised in the grasslands of Central Asia .
In Tashkent (#13), local merchants also sell fine locally made wool carpets as well as musical instruments and glass objects that have come from
Europe and the Middle East.
Dromedary camels from Arabia are used from here westward.
In Herat (#17), a great
Islamic mosque stands near the city market.
People from Arabia brought the religion of
Islam to Silk Road towns.
#20 and #21 send spices and cotton cloth from India and precious stones from
Ceylon .
Tyre (#27) : Goods are loaded onto ships in this port city on the
Mediterranean Sea .
In Baghdad (#24), ivory, gold, and spices from Africa and pearls from the
Persian Gulf are exchanged for silk.
In Byzantium (#28), few people know where
China is, but wealthy people want the silk that has traveled along the Silk Roads.
Silk Road towns connected the largest cities of the West and East in 100 CE.
Silk Road towns connected the largest cities of the West and East in 800 CE.
