Trans-regional Trade Networks
Cultural, Technological, and Biological Exchanges,
600 B.C.E. to 600 C.E.
Networks of Communication & Exchange
• Large scale empires = increase in long distance trade
• Developed from a demand for raw materials and luxury
goods
• Land and Water routes link regions of Eastern
Hemisphere
• Alongside trade, there was an exchange of:
– People
– Technology
– Religious and Cultural Beliefs
– Food Crops
– Domesticated Animals
– Disease Pathogens
Networks of Communication & Exchange
Long Distance Trade
• Two developments lead to increased trade:
1. Building of roads
2. Large imperial states
• Major Trade Routes:
1. The Silk Road
2. Trans-Saharan Route (Gold Road)
3. Indian Ocean Trade Routes
4. Mediterranean Sea Lanes
5. Turquoise Road
The Silk Road
• Trade in silk grew under the Han Dynasty in the first
and second centuries C.E.
• Central Asian herders ran caravans linking trade
between China and urban areas in Mesopotamia.
• The domestication of pack animals such as the
horse, oxen, and mule allowed goods to be
transported long distances
• The introduction of new technologies such as yokes,
saddles, and stirrups also increased the distances
goods could travel
The Silk Road
• Central Asian military technologies like the stirrup
were exported east and west.
– This significantly impacted the conduct of war at this
time.
The Silk Road
• The 7000 mile route spanned China, Central Asia, Northern
India, and the Roman Empire. It connected the Yellow River
Valley to the Mediterranean Sea
The Silk Road
• The Chinese traded their silk with the Indians for
precious stones and metals such as jade, gold, and
silver, and the Indians would trade the silk with the
Roman Empire
• Buddhism spread from India to China along the route
Trans-Saharan Trade Routes
• Becomes known as the “Gold Road”:
Trans-Saharan Trade Routes
• Early Saharan trade patterns included the exchange
of salt and palm oil.
• During the days of the Roman Empire, North Africa
also supplied Italy with olives, wheat and wild
animals.
• Later, during the African empires of Mali and
Ghana, gold became the major trade commodity
out of Africa (followed later by slaves)
Trans-Saharan Trade Routes
• Geography of Sahara desert
made early trade difficult
• Introduction of camel from
Arabia sometime between
1st and 3rd centuries C.E.
– Flat feet, ability to store fat
and water
• By the early 3rd century,
caravans crisscrossed the
Sahara to trade with
Mediterranean and Arab
worlds
Trans-Saharan Trade Routes
• “Ships of the Sahara”:
Indian Ocean Trade Routes
• In addition to the Silk Road, trade routes developed
between Africa, Europe, and Asia through the Indian
Ocean
Indian Ocean Trade Routes
• The Indian Ocean trade network included sailors from
China Malaysia, Southeast Asia and Persia.
• Chinese pottery was traded along with Indian spices and
ivory from India and Africa.
• The banana came to Africa from S.E. Asia via the Indian
Ocean. The banana spread throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.
• The Indian Ocean trade network will continue to play a
major role in the development of the Eastern Hemisphere
well into the 16th century.
Indian Ocean Trade Routes
• New knowledge of
the monsoon winds
allowed sailors to
quickly sail between
East Africa and East
Asia
• Cosmopolitan cities
developed in ports
as sailors awaited
the winds
Indian Ocean Trade Routes
• New maritime
technologies such as
the lateen sail and
dhow ship also
increased exchanges
between the two
zones
Dhow ship with lateen sail
Mediterranean Sea Lanes
• An extensive network of trade routes developed
throughout the Mediterranean regions as well
– Linked up with the Silk Road and Gold Road to transport goods
to west Europe
Mesoamerican Trade
• As the Eastern Hemisphere became increasingly reliant
upon trade, the civilizations of Mesoamerica were
developing networks as well
• About the time of the height of Rome and the Han (c. 1st –
3rd centuries C.E.), the Mayan civilization began its Classical
Age on the Yucatan peninsula
Mesoamerican Trade
• The Mayan and other Mesoamerican
civilizations started an extensive
network of trade known as the
Turquoise Road
– Named after the lucrative trade commodity
– Sometimes referred to as the Scarlet Macaw
after the colorful bird of the region
• Trade would eventually extend from the
Yucatan to the Anasazi of modern SW
United States
Mesoamerican Trade
• The Turquoise Road:
• The Scarlet Macaw:
Impact of Trade Routes
• As traders and merchants moved
along these trade routes, not only
did they exchanged goods, but
they shared ideas, technology,
religions, cultures, food crops,
domesticated animals, and
diseases.
– Process known as “diffusion”
Impact of Trade Routes
• Cultural Diffusion:
1. Spreading of religions
– Buddhism from India to China via the Silk Road
– Christianity around the Mediterranean regions via
merchant ships and Roman trade
– Islam across North Africa via the Trans-Saharan Trade
routes
Impact of Trade Routes
• Cultural Diffusion:
1. Spreading of
religions
Impact of Trade Routes
• Cultural Diffusion:
1. Numeric systems
– Arabic traders adopted from Hindu merchants and
eventually shared the ideas with Europeans who
adopted them for their own needs
Impact of Trade Routes
• Cultural Diffusion:
2. Numeric systems
– Even more
interesting is
why our
numbers look
like this:
– 1, 2, 3, 4, etc…
It was all about
angles that the
Arabic traders used:
Impact of Trade Routes
• Cultural Diffusion:
3. Foodstuffs
– Rice and cotton from China to
Middle East
4. Clothing
– Persian head wrap in Hellenistic
culture and eventually adopted as
a Muslim religious tradition (hijab)
Impact of Trade Routes
• Technological Diffusion
1. Irrigation Techniques
– The qanat system of Persia spreads
across Asia and Africa
2. Paper making
– Techniques in making paper
spread from China across Eurasia
Impact of Trade Routes
• Biological Diffusion
1. Diseases carried by traders moved swiftly from
place to place along with the goods
2. Several major plagues wipe out vast populations
in Central Asia and Europe
– People had not been exposed to these diseases
– Urban areas hit hardest
Impact of Trade Routes
• Biological Diffusion
3. During 2nd and 3rd centuries, major epidemics hit
Roman and Han empires
– Smallpox and measles
– Severely weaken empires as populations shrink
•
•
Less soldiers
Less taxes
Impact of Trade Routes
• Smallpox:
COMP Theses: Trade Networks
•
In the Classical world both the Silk Route and Mediterranean served to facilitate the spread of state
sponsored religions (Christianity) and cultures (sincizatons), both spread disease leading to the decline
of great classical empires like Rome and the Han dynasty, however the Silk route would gain influence
spreading Eastern culture to the Middle East whilst the Mediterranean would maintain its influence as a
Roman lake (Mare Nostrum)
•
The Indian Ocean and Trans-Saharan would differ in the technologies employed to transmit connections
(dhow and latten sail vs. caravanserai) , the Indian Ocean would facilitate the spread of Hinduism and
Buddhism while the only religion spread across the Sahara in the Classical Age was Christianity in the
East to the Kingdom of Axum. Both trade networks, however would connect major classical Empires
through trade.
Changes and Continuities
• Changes:
Move from barter to coins as system of exchange
Greater interaction between civilizations – direct
links between Rome and China
Cultural diffusion through trade – spread of
religion, architecture, disease
Decline in trade in Europe after fall of Rome
Changes and Continuities
• Continuities:
Dominance of India and China in trade
China’s demand for silver
The Silk Road and Indian Ocean trade routes
Constantinople as western trade hub