Cross-Cultural Exchanges

The Silk Roads

Long Distance Trade & the Silk Roads Network

Trade Networks of the Hellenistic Era

• Road construction, bridges & establishment of imperial states improved conditions – Merchants could more easily travel

• This increased volume and accessibility of exotic goods throughout the eastern hemisphere

• Greek merchants & bankers were attracted east– Ptolemies in Egypt maintained routes into Africa

• Learned monsoon rhythms to navigate Indian Ocean– Established links between Arabia, India, east Africa & Egypt– Huge economic by back despite the expense to maintain &

protect

The Silk Roads - The Silk Roads - StructureStructure

• The overland trade routes known as the Silk Roads were anchored across Eurasia by– Han Dynasty: controlled China & central

Asia– Parthian Empire: ruled Persia &

Mesopotamia– Roman Empire: held the Mediterranean

world– Kushan Empire: provided protection &

stability in northern India• Silk Roads also included water routes & sea

lanes that link the eastern hemisphere – Used a series of ports along the Asian &

African coasts from the South China Sea to the Red Sea

The Silk Roads - TradeThe Silk Roads - Trade• Wide variety of manufactured &

agricultural goods traveled the road– Silk from China

•Chinese guarded the secret of production

– Spices from China & central Asia•Served as condiments, as well as

ingredients in medicines, perfumes & magical potions

– Cotton textiles, pearls, coral & ivory went west

– Glassware, jewelry, wool & linen went east

– High quality jade from central Asian & horses were prized in both the east & west

The Silk Roads – The Silk Roads – Changes & ContinuitiesChanges & Continuities

• Merchants did not travel the entire length of the roads– Small merchant communities

developed along the silk roads & coastlines

• Trade occurred in stages– Governments guarded the

movement of merchants within their empires•Wanted to ensure collection of taxes &

tariffs on the goods crossing their territories

Cultural & Biological Cultural & Biological ExchangesExchanges

along the Silk Roadsalong the Silk Roads

The Spread of Buddhism:Religious Development

• Buddhism was the most prominent faith of the silk roads merchants from 200 BCE- 700 CE

– Promoted by Emperor Ashoka it was spread with merchants to Ceylon, Bactria, Iran, central Asia, southeast Asia & China

The Spread of Buddhism:Changes & Continuities

• Did not take hold in China until monks used the 5th century Chinese unrest as a springboard

• Quickly took hold in China, Japan & Korea

The Spread of Hindusim:Religious Development

• Merchants took Hinduism along the sea lanes– Spread to Java, Sumatra, the Malay

Peninsula, parts of modern Vietnam and Cambodia

The Spread of Hinduism:Changes & Continuities

• Many areas adopted the cults of Shiva and Vishnu

• Sanskrit writing became the written means of communication in many of these areas

The Spread of Christianity:Religious Development

• Early Roman persecution was the result of Christian refusal to follow state prescribed religious ceremonies– Christian missionaries were perceived as

violent & disruptive • Missionaries capitalized on ease of travel &

communication provided by the roads – By the end of the 3rd century Christian communities

flourished along the Mediterranean, Anatolia, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, across northern Africa & into southwest Asia

The Spread of Christianity:Changes & Continuities

• Christian practices were influenced by converts in Mesopotamia & Iran– Asceticism & withdrawal from secular socieity

became a dominant aspect• Influenced the development of monasteries &

separate communities in the western Mediterranean

• Nestorian Christianity developed in the east– Greek theologian, Nestorius, stressed the

human side of Jesus over the divine• Mediterranean Christians opposed this & the

Nestorians moved eastward

Spread of Manichaeism:Religious Development The

• The spread of Manichaeism relied on the trade routes of the classical world– Developed in the 3rd century by Mani

• Based in Zoroastrianism with a dash of Christianity & a pinch of Buddhism

– Mani believed that syncretism would meet the changing needs of the new cosmopolitan world

• The faith promoted a strict ascetic – Turned away from the physical temptations of the

classical world– Promised salvation & eternal association w/light &

good

The Spread of Manichaeism:Changes & Continuities

• Empires throughout the eastern hemisphere saw Manichaeism as a danger to public order– Wanted to exterminate the followers

• Roman & Sasanid emperors were largely successful– Still survived in the plains of central Asia

• Readily adopted by nomadic Turkish peoples who traded along the silk roads

The Spread of Epidemic Diseases:

Demographics• Pathogens for disease traveled easily

along the silk roads– Small pox, measles, and bubonic plague

• Both the Roman & Han empires lost about 25% of their populations to disease carried along the silk roads

The Spread of Epidemic Diseases:

Changes & Continuities• Demographic changes impacted the

economy– Both empires moved away from international

trade• Focused on regional exchange of goods

• Demographic changes impacted society– Cities became less desirable places to live

• Demise of both empires can be linked to the spread of disease along the silk roads

ChinaChina

After the Han DynastyAfter the Han Dynasty

Internal Decay of the Han Internal Decay of the Han State:State:

Political StructuresPolitical Structures• Main problems for the last Han Emperors:

– Land distribution– Conflicting factions in the Imperial household

• Widespread unrest– Yellow Turban Rebellion was a secret peasant

revolutionary group

• Wiley generals stepped in to take control

Internal Decay of the Han Internal Decay of the Han State:State:

Changes & ContinuitiesChanges & Continuities• China was eventually divided in 3

sections– Wei– Wu– Shu

• Northern nomads grabbed northern China– Controlled it for the next 300 years

Cultural Change in Post-Han Cultural Change in Post-Han China:China:

Religious DevelopmentReligious Development• After the fall of the Han China was filled

with nomadic invasions and war– Population was decreased– People migrated from the cities

• Nomadic tribes populated China– Eventually settled & intermarried with

Chinese– In time the nomads became Chinese in

character• This is sinicization: sinicization: invaders are assimilated

into Chinese culture

Cultural Change in Post-Han Cultural Change in Post-Han China:China:

Change & ContinuityChange & Continuity• Religious change also resulted from the

fall of the Han Dynasty– Confucianism, used to justify the Han, lost

creditability as the chaos made it irrelevant

• Daoism offered hope– Elixirs & potions for health became popular

• Buddhism increased popularity– Had already been embraced by northern

nomads– Laid foundation for new political unity

Fall of the Roman Empire

Internal Decay in the Roman Empire:

Political Structure• Size of the Empire was a major

problem– “Barracks Emperors” attempted to

seize & hold power• Almost all died violently as another took

over

• Epidemics weakened the empire– Many areas moved from commercial

economies to self-sufficient economies

Internal Decay in the Roman Empire:

Change & Continuity• Diocletian attempted to restructure the

empire by dividing it• Constantine moved the capital to the

wealthier eastern part of the empire– Byzantium (renamed: Constantinople) was

more strategically located & easier to defend

– Finally only the western half of the empire fell

Germanic Invasions:Political Structure

• Migratory Germanic people brought down the western half of the empire in the 5th c.– Eastern half remained until the 15th century

• Pressure from the Huns of the steppes west of China pushed the Germans into the empire– Visigoths had lived on Rome’s border for

centuries• Had adopted agriculture & Christianity - fought as

mercenaries for Rome

Germanic Invasions:Change & Continuity

• Visigoths had lived on Rome’s border for centuries– Had adopted agriculture & Christianity -

fought as mercenaries for Rome• Attila the Hun pushed the Visigoths,

Ostrogoths, Vandals & Franks into the Empire– At first settled in less densely populated

areas• Eventually dominated Spain, France, Britain

and north Africa• By 476 CE they controlled Rome

Cultural Change in the Late Roman Empire: Developments

• Christianity & the Roman Empire changed– Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan

• Gave legal protection to Christians

– Emperor Theodosius made it the official religion of the empire

• Augustine of Hippo reconciled Christianity with Greek & Roman philosophy– Made it more appealing to the educated, rather

than the working-class, slaves & women

Cultural Change in the Late Roman Empire: Changes &

Continuities• Growth of the church created a need for

standardization of the faith & development of a structural hierarchy– Council of Nicaea & Council of Chalcedon

• Proclaimed Jesus human & divine• Established hierarchy: Bishop of Rome (pope),

Patriarchs of Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria & Constantinople

• After the fall of the western empire the importance of the Pope grew– Power of the patriarchs was subordinate to the

emperor of the eastern empire