Cross-Cultural Exchanges On The Silk Road

Long Distance Trade and the Silk Roads NetworkLong Distance Trade

Brought wealth and access to foreign productsEnabled the spread of religious ideasFacilitated the transmission of devastating

diseasesDramatically altered social, political, and

economic traditions

Long Distance TradeTrade Networks and the Hellenistic Era

Construction of roads, bridges, and imperial empires during the classical era provided ease of movement and safety.

Increased safety lead to increase in volume and accessibility of exotic goods throughout the eastern hemisphere.

Long Distance TradeTrade Networks of the Hellenistic Era

Used monsoon winds and roads to create trade networks between Arabia, India, east Africa, Egypt, and then link those expeditions to ones across the Mediterranean to Europe.

Trade routes had huge payback in the wealth of goods and in taxes for Hellenistic governments.

Spices, luxury fabrics, precious metals, jewels, grain, oils, and slaves.

Long Distance TradeThe Silk Roads

Linked the extreme ends of the Eurasian landmass. Linked Han Empire, Parthian empire (Persia and

Mesopotamia), Romans, and Kushan empire (India)Included water routes, sea lanes, and overland

roads.Wide array of agricultural and manufactured

goods travelled over the Silk Roads Silk (China), Spices (China and India), Cotton,

pearls, coral, and ivory (West), horses (Central Asia), Glassware, Jewelry, woolen and linen textiles, bronze items, olive oils, wine, and works of art (West)

Cultural and Biological ExchangesBuddhism

Spread from India into Ceylon, Bactria, Iran, Central Asia, southeast Asia, and China via merchants (traders)

After entering China, Buddhism spread quickly into Japan and Korea.

ChristianitySpread from Rome to Anatolia, Syria, Palestine, Egypt,

north Africa, and Southwest AsiaNestorian Christianity – Developed in the east, after

the teaching of Greek theologian Nestorius, who stressed the human nature of Jesus rather than the divine.

Cultural and Biological ExchangesThe Spread of Manichaeism

Incorporated teachings of Hinduism and Buddhism

Promoted strict ascetic lifestyle, turning away from the material and physical temptations of classical civilizations.

Promised individual salvation and eternal association with the forces of light and good.

Cultural and Biological ExchangesThe spread of epidemic disease

Smallpox, measles, and bubonic plagueDevastated a quarter to a third of the Han and

Roman populations and also had huge impact on other civilizations.

China after the Han DynastyInternal problems weakened the Han dynasty,

dissolving the central government by the early third century C.E.

China after the Han DynastyInternal Decay of the Han State

Land disputes and internal unrest lead to the decay of the Han Empire.

When the Han era ended, Chinese lands were divided into three large kingdoms: Wei, Wu, and Shu.

Northern nomads took advantage of Han disunity and gain control of many northern borderlands for more than 300 years from approximately 200 CE to 500 CE

China after the Han DynastyCultural Change in Post-Han China

After the fall of the Han Dynasty in 220 CE, War and nomadic invasion characterized life in China.

Population decreased and people left the cities.Nomad population increased and as they adopted

agricultural practices they started to form permanent settlements Intermarried with native Chinese and eventually began

adopting native Chinese practices and differences between Chinese and nomads lessened.

Sinicization – Invaders assimilating to Chinese culture. Constant theme in Ancient China.

China after the Han DynastyConfucianism fell out of favor (Had been used

to justify the Han Imperial rule due to emphasis on relationships)

Daoism and Buddhism became more popular.

The Fall of the Roman EmpireCollapse of the Roman Empire, much like the

Han empire, was a result of internal troubles and growing external pressures which coincided with major religious and cultural changes.

The Fall of the Roman EmpireInternal Decay in the Roman Empire

Problems of ruling a large empireDiocleitan – attempted to restructure the empire by

dividing it into two parts and appoint a co-emperor forestalled the disintegration for a few generations, but nor for long.

Constantine – Managed to hold back the fall of Rome by recognizing that the wealth of the empire lay in the east and by moving his capital to the former Greek city of Byzantium, a strategic site and much more easily defendable than the city of Rome. Built new capital and named it Constantinople.

Fall of the Roman EmpireGermanic Invasions and the Fall of the

Western Roman EmpireMigratory Germanic people brought an end to

the western Roman empire in fifth century CE, but the eastern Roman empire lasted until the fifteenth century CE. Pressure from the Hun, nomadic warriors in China,

led by Attila, pushed Germanic groups like the Visogoths, Ostrogoths, Vandals, and Franks into the Roman empire where they first set up permanent settlements and eventually overtook western Rome in 476 CE

Cultural Change in the Late Roman EmpireChristianity, and hence the Roman Empire,

underwent many changes during the last centuries of the western Roman Empire.Edict of Milan – Issued by Constantine offered

legal protection to Christians.Emperor Theodosius- Declared Christianity the

official religion of RomeChristianity was meshed with Roman and Greek

philosophy to make it more appealing to intellectual elites.

Pope came to power.