Trade Route Project

For the first time in history, The creation of major trade routes had not only brought in wealth but also many values of culture and values. In Africa, The increase of commerce had brought Islam with it, and with Islam a very defined set of social rules that later shaped the continent as we know today. Such examples are not only found in Africa, but in every early civilization that practiced large trade routes.

The expansion of three main empires: The Byzantines, Tang China, and The Abbasid Caliphate encompassed the entirety of the silk road. Under these empires rule Silk Road trade flourished because the merchants were protected from the northern nomadic tribes.

Although journey across the Silk Road was a long trip, the protection from roaming marauders and the opportunity to make money was very appealing to merchants from all of the areas along the road.

Just like every other early trade route cultural diffusion occurred between the Christian Byzantines, the Muslim Abbasids, and the Buddhist Tang China. One major export of China was silk, a very highly prized commodity throughout the world. Under the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, monks were sent as spied on the silk road in order to procure silkworm eggs. The monks were successful and thus began silk production in the Mediterranean.

Under Justinian's rule they Byzantine Empire was able to reclaim much of the Western Roman Empire even Rome itself. The Byzantine Empire conducted multiple conflicts including The Gothic War, The Vandalic War, The Iberian War, and The Byzantine-Sansanian Wars.

After the Tang Dynasty reunified the whole nation, Emperor Kao Tsu paid much attention to develop agriculture and successively implemented a series of reforms, such as the Land Equalization System and The Zuyongdiao System. Thus the peasants' burden was lessened and production efficiency was improved.

At the same time Constantinople was a prime hub in a trading network that at various times extended across nearly all of Eurasia and North Africa.

The society under the Abbasid Caliphate was hierarchically divided. From top to bottom follows, The Caliph and his Family, The Professionals- (Doctors, Teachers, and Merchants), The Dhimmis- (Peoples of other faiths that recognized the superiority of Islam and paid taxes), The Slaves, and The Women.

Similar to that of the Abbasid Caliphate, Tang China was also hierarchically divided under eight classes. The Emperor and his family, The Aristocracy, The Bureaucracy, The Eunuchs, The Clergy, The Peasants, The Artisans, and The Slaves.

The Trans-Saharan trade route can be traced back to the early civilization of Carthage in North Africa. The Phoenician colony started the earliest known official trade routes dating back around 600 BCE.

In North Africa, The extreme heat and rough conditions (Especially across the Sahara) was enough to cause any form of trade before the introduction of the camel to be kept to a minimal - It was simply impossible to be able to trek through these conditions in a profitable way.

It wasn't until the camel - an animal capable of going up to 10 days without water and go through long distances with heavy loads - that trade in the Trans-Saharan areas began to pick up.

The introduction of Islam throughout the commerce was the most important and guiding factor in the development of the culture. Islam had promoted certain types of buildings, designs , belief systems and rules that are based on Islamic rule - or qadis - and the empires who adopted it strengthened the people through a sense of underlying culture.

The photo above shows the Great Mosque of Djenné, A mosque west of the major trading kingdom Mali that was known for its heavy influence from Islam.

Many kingdoms participated in massive trading expeditions to expand their wealth and grow. So much so, many kingdoms found it in there interest to annex neighboring cities just to increase the total amount of revenue. The most notorious at the time was the kingdom of Sonike.

With constant flow of wealth going around trading routes, Stealing from the commerce was very rampant. Many saw stealing as an easy way to create money with the amount of wealth that was in circulation. Unfortunately, Many Qadis soon followed under Islamic pressure to punish those heavily who stole.

The economic systems before a established trade was created was one that was very localized between two different states. While trade became possible with the introduction of the camel, the sudden appeal of extreme wealth came and governments soon started to expand everything to strengthen their economy through trade. All economies that participated in the trade had started to massively become a unstoppable force of wealth.

The Mongols conquered many cultures and ruled with an iron fist. They sustained their horde armies by getting tribute from the people they conquered. They also got tribute by governments that didn't want to be conquered and protect their independence. The Mongols also pillaged and plundered to get money.

The Mongols were lenient on religion. They allowed any type of religion to foster in their borders. Islam, Buddhism and Christianity flowed through freely. The Mongols also brought their ruthlessness to the areas they conquered. Russia was deeply influenced by the Mongols and would learn this ruthlessness.

The Silk Road under Mongolian control was large and expensive. It was mostly desert that needed camels to be crossed. The silk road facilitated major changes to the environment of the world. The trade route and Mongolian warfare facilitated the means for the Bubonic plague to be spread. This ravaged Europe and propelled them to the modern age. The Silk Road also spread gunpowder that strengthened the Middle Eastern and European states.

The Mongols built the largest land based empire in the world. They assimilated and "cleansed" (raped their women and made them more Mongolian) the peoples of these areas. The Mongols were a horde that moved around the areas that they would attack. They left their governing to provincial governers that would run the local area.

East Africa was mostly desert and had little resources. Trade was a necessity to grow or else the West African people would never have grown into city states. Southeast Asia with its ties to the ocean could benefit from this trade too. They picked up new culture traits from the sea based trade and assimilated it into their cultures.

The main people that benefited from this trade route were the East African People and South East Asia. The people there made their civilizations with this trade. It also helped the Indian, Middle Eastern and Chinese peoples.

With the spreading of Buddhism and Hinduism, cultures built great monuments. In the case of the Khmer, the assimilation of new ideas into their own created this great monument. First it was made to worship Hinduism then, it was converted to Buddhism.

The peoples of East Africa before the Indian Ocean trade were in tiny villages with minimal interaction. The Indian Ocean trade revolutionized their politics. Empires and city states came into the picture. The result was less subsistence agriculture and more resources into trade.

The Mediterranean was a major asset to both trade and cultural diffusion in East Europe, North Africa, and West Asia. Studying this trade network will help us understand the origin and development of Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Canaanite, Phoenician, Hebrew, Carthaginian, Greek, Roman, Arab, and Islamic cultures.

The development of maritime technology and ships with keeled hulls began with the appearance of the Phoenicians who took control of the open seas and created a flourishing sea trade. Later on with further strides in technology the Roman and Greek empires were able to establish massive trade networks spanning all the way to Asia Minor due to the speed and volume at which the boats were able to meet.

Trade included foodstuffs, (olives, salt, wine, and beer) animal products, (leather, hide, and other exotic animal products) and materials (textiles, pottery, metal, glass, and marble). The Mediterranean’s fast travel time also contributed to the slave trade. It also allowed for the spread of religion through empires. (Hellenistic Empire: Greek Gods, Roman Empire: Roman Gods and Christianity, and Ottoman Empire: Islam.)

With the emergence of greater maritime technologies and empires at war, the Mediterranean proved to be a major facet to troop movements, supply lines, and naval warfare. Under these empires many symbols of strength and might arisen labeled the wonders of the world including The Colosseum in Italy, The Statue Of Zeus in Olympia, The Colossus of Rhodes in Rhodes, The Temple Of Artemis in Epheses, The Mausoleum in Halicarnassus, The Great Pyramid Of Giza in Egypt, The Hanging Gardens Of Babylon in Babylon, and The Petra in the Nabatean Kingdom.

The Hellenistic Empire's paramount position next to the Mediterranean gave it control over some of Egypt's and North Africa's most crucial seaports and trade routes. Because of this the Greek economy was largely dependent on imported goods.

Compared to the Greeks the Romans were an agrarian, slave based economy. The need to secure more grain producing provinces lead to the vast conquests conducted in Egypt, Sicily, and Tunisia.

In Ancient Greece there were four tiers of the Social Hierarchy, Athens- The Upper Class, Metics- The Middle Class, Freedmen- The Lower Class, and The Slaves.

In Ancient Rome there was also a social hierarchy but they sometimes overlapped. Someones status would be established by ancestry, wealth and political privileged, honors, and citizenship.

The wide-variety of artifacts and goods traded in the routes may have differed, but the effects on the country all shared the same common effect - the shaping of culture. All of the civilizations that participated in a major trade route had massively changed just from a few traders bringing in what culture they left their hometown left. All civilizations - for the greater or worse - had changed human history as we know it from massive trade routes.