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Introduction to the Silk Road. Antiquity ’ s Internet Highway. Essential Question:. How has the evolution of the Silk Roads impacted cultural diffusion within modern society?. The History of the Silk Road.
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Introduction to the Silk Road Antiquity’s Internet Highway
Essential Question: How has the evolution of the Silk Roads impacted cultural diffusion within modern society?
The History of the Silk Road • In order to describe the ebb and flow of travel and trade between the East and the West the Silk Roads is divided into four periods
1st Period • Lasted around the 2nd B.C.E. to the 2nd Century C.E. • This was the era of initial development of the various Silk Roads & establishment of the oases and towns which connected the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.E -220C.E.) with central & west Asia • With the collapse of the Han & the Parthian Empire, Persia diminished commerce & travel along the East-West trade routes
2nd Period • From the 7th to the late 9th century C.E. • Tang dynasty & expansion of Islam from the Arab World through Persia to Central Asia • Decline and downfall of Tang late 9th & early 10th centuries • Growing turbulence in central Asia resulted in dramatic reduction of commerce on the Silk Roads
3rd Period • 13th & 14th centuries coincided with the rise & expansion of the of the Mongol empire because leaders favored trade & conquests led to a Pax Mongolia over a lot of the Silk Roads facilitating trade & travel along many of these routes • Disintegration /break-up of the Mongol Khanates & the discovery of sea routes from Europe to Asia late 15th century disrupted the Silk Roads trade & led to decline in parts of Central Asia
4th Period • Spans the late 19th century to the present • Started with Tsarist Russia expansion into Central Asia in the 1850s and 1860s • The Silk Roads are referred to as the Oil and Gas Roads, • They are also referred to as Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Mongolia (with its wealth of petroleum)
Why Study The Silk Road?Cultural Diffusion Major Themes • The significance of trade • The spread of religions • The diffusion of technology & the arts • The development powerful military forces & empires
Concluding Thought: Revisit the Essential Question