Silk Road

The Silk Road was a trade network the connected the East to the West on the Eurasian continent. This trade included both overland and maritime routes. The central Asian kingdoms and peoples became the nexus point for much of this trade which lasted from the 3rd century B. C. E. to the 15th century C. E. Many products and other cultural expressions moved along the Silk Road and diffused among various kingdoms along it. In breaking down and separating the patterns of interaction that occurred along the Silk Road from 200 B. C. E. to 1450 C. E. one can conclude that changes and continuities in these interactions included products traded (changes in specific products and impact, continuity in luxury goods), cultural expressions and diffusion (changes in artistic expressions and societal impacts, continuity in diffusion), and religion (changes in the religions that traveled and impact, continuity in spread of religion along the trade route ). One of the patterns of interaction along the Silk Road was in the products that were traded. The Silk Road trade system was created by interactions between Han China in the 2nd century B. C. E. nd their western neighbors when an expedition for alliances to deal with a pesky neighbor turned into something else. The first product traded for on the Silk Road were Ferghana horses that the Chinese leader of the expedition Zhang Qian brought back with him which stimulated a trade between the Han and Central Asia for these fine war horses . In return, Central Asian kingdoms began to see various Chinese goods such as silk but also jades, medicinal herb, bronze and other luxury goods. This trade continued throughout the first four centuries of the timeframe with more groups getting involved in the lucrative trade.

Indian spices and cotton, European gold and silver, and Central Asian horses and camels all started being acquired by each other . With the fall of both the Han and Roman empires by the 476 CE, the trade declined due to less demand and merchant’s fear of trading on less protected routes . The rise of the Tang Empire in the 7th century C. E. , along with a stabilized Byzantine empire in the West, led to a renewed vigor as well as the Abbasid caliphate in the Middle East led to stabilized trade routes again .

From the East, paper and porcelain begin to appear. The stirrup appears out of the Middle East and influences both Europe and China. In Europe it creates the medieval feudal knights because they can now stay seated and weld a long lance without fear of being unseated. A similar emphasis is put on heavy cavalry in China for the same reasons as Europe . Europe continues to export gold and silver from the West because it was what was valued heavily by eastern merchants as a medium of exchange (pretty much accepted everywhere ). By the 10th century C. E. China was in decline again under the Song dynasty and lost control over much of the central and northwestern parts of the trade route. They began to emphasize more the of the southern maritime routes and thus because of this invent the maritime compass that will make its way across to the West and later lead to an age of discovery with Portugal at the end of this timeframe circa 1450 C. E. beginning to search out another maritime route directly to Asia by exploring the African coast using Chinese inspired compasses and Islamic maps of the Indian Ocean .

With arrival of the Mongol conquests in the 1200s C. E. , once again the Silk Road has a sponsor to protect the merchants and trade thrives between East Asia, the Islamic Middle East and Europe . Silk, porcelain, and paper continue to come from the East along with gunpowder. Gunpowder now shows up on the Silk Road because of the Mongols taking it from China and using it in a more direct fashion in its conquests . Cannon now appear at the end of the timeframe being used by the Ottoman’s in their conquest of Constantinople in 1453 and by the Portuguese on their caravel ships .

Central and South Asian products still include spices and animals but now cotton also begins to appear within the trade out of India . Because the Mongols controlled so much territory from China to Russia and the Middle East (they conquered Baghdad and overthrew the Abbasid caliphate), the Silk Road prospered like no other time and products flowed freely from East to West . A continuity throughout the timeframe was the fact that luxury goods usually drove the trade. Because products had to travel such great distances and thus there were so many middle men, only the very wealthy could partake of the trade .

That is why gold and silver were preferred exchange mediums for the trade of silk and other fine eastern products . Another pattern of interaction was cultural expression and diffusion . In the early part of the timeframe (200 B. C. E. -1450 CE), there was very little cultural influence occurring . This is because intermediaries carried on the trade between the Han and Roman empires and the two imperial powers really had no contact directly with each other . During the Tang dynasty in the middle of the timeframe, this actually changes.

Persian dance and the game of polo are introduced in China as well as musical and clothing styles which become popular . Chinese paper influenced the Islamic and European medieval periods with written works now becoming more the norm in saving and transmitting cultural knowledge such as written bibles, histories, math and other intellectual discoveries . At the end of the timeframe during the 13th through 15th centuries the Mongols were instrumental in the dissemination of knowledge throughout the Middle East territory they controlled.

Islamic scholars in all fields have their works spread from Europe to China . In Europe, a Renaissance emerges due to reconnection to Silk Road trade because of the Crusades which began in the 10th century and continued into the 13th century. Crusaders reconnected with Eastern luxury goods such as spices and cloth but were also culturally influenced when they saw large vibrant, urban cities . It changed their outlook on life in general. Some ancient works such as the Greeks were re-introduced due to reconnection with the Byzantine Empire and the Abbasid caliphate .

Also eastern works were transmitted along the Silk Road thus inspiring Muslim and European scholars. The works of Ibn Battuta and Marco Polo become hits in Europe and the Muslim world because they opened the eyes of the people to the broader world that existed. Marco Polo actually traveled under protection of the Mongol Khan while Battuta traveled in the Muslim realm due to his being more comfortable in Arabic speaking kingdoms that practiced his form of religion . The station of merchants also changed by the end of the period in China because of the Mongols.

During the Han period and other dynasties, Confucian principles kept merchants at the bottom the social hierarchy. Because the Mongols valued the profits they could generate, merchants under the Yuan period held much higher stations in life . A continuity in this period was the constant cultural diffusion that took place as intermediaries engaged one another and kingdoms became acquainted with each other. Lifestyles changed and peoples were introduced to new knowledge throughout the period.

Religion, art, and knowledge were continually diffused throughout the history of the Silk Road . The last pattern of interactions that was evident on the Silk Road was that of religion . Trade was a great disseminator of culture along the routes of trade and religion was one of those cultural traits that spread throughout the period. Three major religions spread along the Silk Road- Christianity, Buddhism and Islam . Buddhism appeared early on the Silk Road in roughly the first century B. C. E.

It was forced out of India due to its rejection by the Hindu majority but found homes in places like Tibet, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia . Many steppe peoples adopted it because it fit into their animistic religions of a universal spirit. Lower class people and women adopted it due to its equalitarian nature and its promise of an afterlife . It spread throughout the timeframe appearing in China and Japan during the Tang dynasty and being reinforced in places like Tibet and Mongolia when the Mongols adopted it .

Christianity also spread along the trade routes in Western Asia but was blocked from spreading any farther eastward than the Byzantine Empire due to the rise of Islam in the middle of the period during the 7th and 8th centuries . Because of the adoption of Islam by the Il-Khan khanate, Islam would make its way into southern China by the end of the period in the 14th and 15th centuries . Christianity and Buddhism were spread by missionaries while Islam was primarily spread by merchants and by the sword.

Buddhism as stated earlier continually spread throughout the period and found refuge primarily in Central, East, and Southeast Asia . It did not spread westward due to Islam and Christianity having hold on western Asia and Europe . In conclusion, there were several patterns of interaction on the Silk Road due to the many different cultures that interacted on it. It influenced cultural expressions, spread of religion, and as well as products and ideas that changed many cultures such as the stirrup and gunpowder to name a couple.

These interactions were not all positive however in that one of the byproducts of this trade led to the spread of bubonic plague from China to Europe. The Black Death as it was called in Europe is one of the reasons that Silk Road trade diminished as well as the isolationist policies of the Ming emperors who abhorred all things “foreign” and the collapse of the Mongol empire due to internal fragmentation. Trade systems such as the trans-Saharan trade and the Indian Ocean maritime system had many of the same cultural impacts as the Silk Road and in total created early global networks of trade .

Between the years of 200 BCE and 1450 CE, the Silk Road went through a number of changes. With the rise and success of the ancient empires the trade route thrived and was the main trade route connecting the Mediterranean to China. As the empires collapsed so did the use of the Silk Road as it became unprotected and unsafe for use. With the Mongol empire in 1200 CE the Silk Road had a temporary revival, but when the Mongolian Empire collapsed the use of Silk Road did as a permanent switch to the Indian Ocean Network was made.

Around 200 BCE the Roman, Han and Gupta empires were established and expanded. The Silk Road began in the East in Changan, went through Mongolia and Turkestan, then through the Takalamakan Desert. It then expanded southeast to India or central Asia and then Eastern through the Roman Empire. Trade routes were traveled in stages from city to city through the empires. The invention of the camel saddle made it easier for merchants to transport their goods with efficiency. Heavy use of the Silk Road began in 300 BCE as goods were traded and ideas were spread.

Silk, cotton, spices, pearls, ivory and coral were traded east to west along the Silk Road. Glassware, bronze, linen, and olive oil were traded East to West. Ideas such as Buddhism moved along this route as well as the spread of disease such as smallpox and the plague. Diseases were one of the many reasons of the fall of the ancient empires. At the collapse of these empires around 600 CE the Silk Road was left unprotected and many merchants ventured from the Silk Road.

With the invention of new navigational technology such as fore-and-aft rigging, the dhow and the junk many merchants went to the Indian Ocean Network. Around 1200 CE the Mongolian Empire came to power. Through conquest they came to control most of Asia and their armies protected the overland trade routes. This led to a temporary revival of the Silk Road. When the Mongolian empire collapsed around 1400 the Silk Road was left unprotected once again. With the invention of the astrolabe, compass and improved cartography a permanent switch was made to the Indian Ocean Route.

Between the years of 200 BCE and 1450 CE, the Silk Road went through a number of changes. With the rise and success of the ancient empires the trade route thrived and was the main trade route connecting the Mediterranean to China. As the empires collapsed so did the use of the Silk Road as it became unprotected and unsafe for use. With the Mongol empire in 1200 CE the Silk Road had a temporary revival, but when the Mongolian Empire collapsed the use of Silk Road did as a permanent switch to the Indian Ocean Network was made.

This is the story of a great young adventurous traveler. At the young age of 21, he embarked upon and successfully completed, the tasks seemed practically impossible to achieve in the era to which he belonged.  He was not much educated in the academic sense, but till date he continues to be the research subject for the aspiring Doctorates.  He studied everything in the college of self-education, where his mind was his Principal. His initiative, his Professors! His hard work his tutors! A man who would decide! A man who would act! A man who would start and a man who would finish! God moulds souls like Marco Polo but rare, perhaps for the specific purpose of inspiring the younger generation!

The Great Khan must have given him the brief, mostly from political angle, but the self-starter Marco Polo, brought along with him the comprehensive information and details that staggers the most fertile imagination.  Marco Polo is a trader-author; not an author-trader.  The latent writing ability in him of which perhaps he was not consciously aware, enthralled those who read his work. Volumes have been written and discussed about his travelogues. If Marco Polo were to appear for a test on criticism/appreciation about his writings, the syllabus would be so vast, Marco Polo would not be able to cover it in his life-time.  The critics have seen so much in his writings, made threadbare analysis, which the original author would have never imagined.

Another reason for the popularity of the book was—the details highlighted in it were revealed to the outside world for the first time. They were so mysterious that the readers were enthralled by the descriptions. Many refused to believe his accounts. When Marco Polo lay on his deathbed, his priest, his friends and relations clustered around him to plead that he at last renounce the countless lies he had recounted as his true adventures, so his soul would be cleansed to Heaven. The old man rose up, roundly damned them all and declared, “I have not told the half of what I saw and did!” Remember, the people who were attempting to cross him belonged to that generation which   argued that the Earth was flat and the sun rotated around the Earth! Marco Polo was much ahead of his times!

I think Marco Polo provided the greatest inspiration to the younger generation of not only Italy, but the entire world, as for adventures and travels. He was the genius, who embodied the spirit of hard aspirations and their fulfillment, under most difficult conditions. His travel experiences have all-time significance, all over the world. I do believe that Marco Polo provided positive knowledge, information that was not known to the people. He was the first Westerners to travel through the Silk Road. (It is only named as a Silk Road, but in reality there is nothing silken about it; it is a rough, rugged, treacherous route.)

He is hailed as one of the most important figures from Italy. His life p from 1254-1324, was quite eventful. He highlighted the differences between Europe and Asia.  During the medieval times, religion had the greatest impact on the lives of Kings and his subjects. Marco Polo explains how secularism was practiced then. “But concerning God and your own soul do what you will, whether you be Jew or pagan, Saracen or Christian, who live among Tartars.

They freely confess in Tartarv that Christ is a lord; but they say that he is a proud lord, because he will not keep company with other gods but wants to be over all others in the world. So in some places, they have a Christ of gold or silver and keep him ensconced within a shrine and say that he is the great lord of the Christians.”(Polo, 1958, p.47).The concept of unity in diversity was clearly seen and appreciated by Marco Polo.

Education and trade:

To Marco Polo, it must be admitted, traveling and interest in trade is the family heritage. In 1260, Niccolo Polo, the father of Marco Polo, and his brother Maffeo went across Black Sea in search of profitable ventures.  They brought from Venice sizeable quantity of extraordinary jewels and set out from Constantinople by ship to Sudak and onward to Barku. When Marc Polo was introduced to the Great Khan, he was just 21 years old. By then, he had possessed an excellent knowledge of the letters and customs of the Tartars.

Khan took great fascination for this brilliant youth and soon he was the trusted lieutenant of Khan with whom he took counsel on important issues. Marco Polo was then sent on a mission to Kara-jang (Yunnan) in the far south west, as an emissary. The mission was a great success. The trader- instincts surfaced en route, Marco Polo made the detailed scrutiny of all the curiosities and novelties. On return, the Great Khan was given a brief, about the issues and business for which he was sent. The curious customs of the people were highlighted. This young lad impressed Khan on all counts.

The Silk Road is—the travel chronicles about the arduous three years journey from Venice to the abode of the Great Khan initially through the ancient trade corridor and blow by blow account of his wonderful experiences based on facts related to the peoples of Iran, Iraq, India, Tibet, Pamir, Mongolia and China. Marco Polo made it a point to record every aspect of the life that he encountered; they were so different, peculiar and interesting from region to region, country to country.  Therefore, Marco Polo is regarded as a great anthropologist. In addition, the book contains many areas which Marco Polo covered during his epic travels as an emissary for the Great Khan, when he was in China for seventeen long years.

I think Marco Polo had a great eye for the details, and nothing escaped his attention. The emporiums en route, the construction of yurt in Mangolia as residential quarters( comparable to the mass cheap housing  colonies in the developing countries), fireworks, paper currency, printing and pasta, the treatment and honor provided for the dead, glass making, the introduction of ginger in various recipes, tea as a popular form drink, Marco Polo’s statement in Persia that he had chicken cooked in pomegranate juice, turmeric,(look at the style how he introduces turmeric –“here is also a vegetable that has all the properties of true saffron, as well as the smell and the color, and yet it is not really saffron.”).

Marco Polo was responsible for transfer of scientific and technological innovations, such as gunpowder, ceramics, the magnetic compass, the printing press and mathematics,  along the Silk Road to the West. I also feel that Marco Polo won the trust of Kubilai (the sixth Khan in the Yuan dynasty) and retained it for 17 long years is one of his greatest achievements. He began his journey with an empty book and returned as an encyclopedia.

To complete his mission, Marco Polo traveled by foot, on horse and boat. The Silk Road is not just an historical entity of the 13th century. In the modern times also, this route holds fascination for the travelers. As if to pay compliments and tributes to  History, during the summer vacation, people in large numbers traverse along the original route from Shaanxi Province east to Gansu and then to  Xinjiang. En route, one can see the traces and landmarks of the ancient glory—the religious art painted in caves by art-loving travelers.

The ancient pagodas stand tall and majestic side by side with the new artistically and classically designed buildings. Traveling on this Silk Road is to study the pages of an historical book.  Actual travel and experiencing is more than to study a dozen books on the subject. Columbus treasured Marco Polo’s book as a reference guide for his adventures, not without reasons.  Marco Polo provided some amazing and accurate details relating to trade routes. He did his job of amassing details and making notes with the enthusiasm of a modern MBA research scholar. He was alone on his travel and other efforts, but he never hesitated to collaborate with the local populace and authorities regularly. Marco Polo had rare insight for minutest of the details regarding a particular product or activity.

Marco Polo-the legend of a name:

The name Marco Polo has assumed legendary significance. That was not a jet -set age where one can travel end to end of the world within a matter of days. Grit and courage were the domineering traits. That a 21 year young lad achieved the   intimate trust and became the emissary of the Great Khan is an inspiration to the modern youth. He was successful in all his political, trade and cultural assignments. His name has become a legendary trademark!  Marco Polo’s name was given to a children’s game, in a story in the science fiction series of Doctor Who. A ship with three masts clipper built in Saint John, New Brunswick, in 1851 was named Marco Polo.

Marco Polo was the first ship to sail around the world in under six months. Many ships of the Italian name were named Marco Polo. The International Airport in Venice is named Marco Polo. In Hong Kong also at least there are 3 Marco Polo Hotels. He is the source of inspiration to many novelists like Donn Byrne’s Messer Marco Polo (Irish Writer), Gary Jennings’s novel The Journeyer (1984). Marco Polo is one of the important characters in Italo Calvino’s novel Invisible Cities.

When he was 15 years old, John Goddard, who was also known as “the real life Indiana Jones,” and one of his expeditions, “the most amazing adventure of this generation” was to follow Marco Polo’s route through all of the Middle East, Asia and China. Marco Polo continues to be the perennial source of inspiration for adventure-seeking younger generation.

References Cited:

Polo, Marco (Author), Latham Ronald (Author) Book: The Travels of Marco Polo. Publisher: Penguin Classics (September 30, 1958) ISBN-10: 0140440577 ISBN-13: 978-0140440577