The Silk Road
The Gold Road
The Trade Highway between
Asia and Europe and Africa
Essential Vocabulary
1.Globalization
2.Silk Road
3.Han Dynasty
4.Merchant
5.Cultural Diffusion
6.Gold Road
7.Sahara
8.Traders
WHAT DO WE GET FROM THE INTERNET?
Entertainment: video
games, music,
movies, Youtube, etc.
Buy & sell goods on
EBAY, AMAZON, etc.
E-mail anyone
in the world
Google
Earth /
Mapquest
INTERNET
Online
banking
$$$$$$
Research to gain
more knowledge &
information about a
topic
Meet people /
online dating
#1 GLOBALIZATIONdescribed as a process by which the
people of the world are unified into a single
society and functioning together.
The internet promotes
globalization in the world today.
1. What do you see?
2. How can we compare this to the internet of today?
3. Why was this important to global history?
#2 SILK ROAD - a 5,000 mile trade route that stretched from
China to the Fertile Crescent in southwestern Asia (opened up by
the Han Dynasty)
THE HAN DYNASTY, LED BY A PEASANT NAMED GAO ZU,
OVERTHREW THE QIN DYNASTY IN 206 B.C.
WHY DID THE HAN FAMILY OPENED UP THIS TRADE ROUTE?
THE CHINESE WANTED TO MAKE A PROFIT ($) FROM
SELLING SILK.
OUD
ITEMS TRADED ALONG THE SILK ROAD
GLASS
BACTRIAN
CAMELS
CARPETS
METAL
WORK
PORCELAIN
SILK
JADE
SPICES
CULTURAL DIFFUSION - the exchanging of
goods and ideas from one culture to another usually
done through trade and war.
THE SILK ROAD IS AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE OF
CULTURAL DIFFUSION.
WHY?
#3 MERCHANT - a person whose job is to buy, sell &
trade goods. (salesman or businessman)
WHAT WAS LIFE LIKE
TRAVELING ON THE
SILK ROAD?
• It was more than one road - actually a
network of caravan routes that stretched
across the continent.
• Developed over time by many traders
and groups.
• Almost no one traveled the whole route.
Most people bought and sold goods on
either end of one segment of the route.
Pamir Mountains:
Between Kashgar (#10) and
Tashkent (#13),
caravans climbed the
“Trail of Bones” through
the high, steep Pamirs.
Pamir Mountains:
Elevations are above 10,000 feet.
It is extremely cold, and there is no food.
The highest
elevations are
purple
and dark gray.
Why cross the
Pamirs?
The highest
elevations are
purple
and dark gray.
Tyre (#27): Goods
are loaded onto ships
in this port city on the
Mediterranean Sea.
In Baghdad (#24),
In Byzantium (#28),
few people know where
China is,
but wealthy people want
the silk that has traveled
along the Silk Roads.
ivory, gold, and spices
from Africa
and pearls from the
Persian Gulf
are exchanged for silk.
Gold Road
GOLD ROAD
 Sahara – the largest and most dry desert in
the world that stretches from the Red Sea to
the Mediterranean Sea
 Traders – people who
 exchanged one good
 or item for another
 - Fertile Crescent
 Connected the Silk
and Gold Roads
Silk and Gold Road
Accomplishments
1. Dissemination of ideas, inventions, and
technologies
2. Trade of goods, rise of business(merchants)
3. Spread of religion – Christianity, Islam, and
Buddhism
The Fertile Crescent - Arabia
The Story of Nanivandak
The Story of Nanivandak
What type of journey is Nanivandak on?
Who is he traveling with?
What type of transportation does he
use?
What types of trade goods does he use
and carry?
What are some of the dangers he
encounters?
I am Nanivandak, a merchant from
Samarkand. I travel for many months from my
hometown to Chang’an to buy and sell goods.
Along the route I meet many different people.
Yet, although we all come from various places,
we all speak the language of the Silk Road Arabic. Ever since I was a young man, I have
traveled to Chang’an. I even remember my
first trip with my uncle. We had to take the
Northern Silk Road, rather than the Southern.
Other merchants and travelers warned us
about the Tibetan troops near Kashgar.
The journey is dangerous. The mountains are full
of pit falls and freezing temperatures. As we move closer
into China, the terrain (land) and climate once again
changes. In the spring the melting snows causes
avalanches. The journey is not only hard for us, but also
our animals. We need to collect fresh horses every so
often. Soon we will be exchanging our horses for
camels. Camels are the only animals that can carry the
goods and us across the desert. Yet , they are expensive
, and we need to provide for their care on top of paying
14 bolts of silk for each animal. We are held responsible
for any injury or death that occurs to our camels. I have
seen my uncle willing to sacrifice a man or woman if it
meant saving a camel.
My uncle and I whenever possible, travel with other
merchants. Safety is my uncle’s main concern. We hear
enough horror stories about the lack of water, sudden
windstorms and even sandstorms. Sometimes we come
across bones of small groups who broke away or decided
to take a less traveled road. The greatest threat is the
bandits (thieves).
The trip is worthwhile if we survive. We take home
the profits and more goods to be sold back to our
homeland. We brought with us glass, carpets and brass
to sell in Chang’an. The Buddhists monks need the brass
for their statues. Chang’an is a merchant’s paradise. The
market place has 3000 stalls representing 200 merchant
guilds in the city. The city is beautiful. Soon with the
help of Allah, I will be there in the comfort and beauty of
the city.
Silk Road Map Activity
Locate and Label each of the following locations on your Silk Road Trade
Map – Utilize WH Atlas pages 30,42,43,44, and 126-127
1. Arabian Sea
2.
Black Sea
3.
Aegean Sea
4.
Caspian Sea
5.
Indian Ocean
6.
Pacific Ocean
7.
Mediterranean Sea
8. Persian Gulf
9. Bay of Bengal
10. Himalayan Mountains
11. Sahara Desert