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The Great Silk Way the economic artery of Middle Asia

Plan
I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. Introduction Silk. Its history and significance The formation of the Silk Road. Routes taken The decline of the Silk Road Literature reviews Conclusion Bibliography

I.

Introduction

The Silk Road was a system of caravan routes, which linked the huge space from India, Central Asia, Middle and Near East, the Mediterranean to China and for more than 2 thousand years from BC 2 to AD 15. The period of time, when the Silk Road was functioning, was an amazing era of development, discovery of new and improvement of international relationships between East and West. Ancient civilizations appeared and died, new traditions were born and whole nations perished. At that time, different monuments of culture were created, and explorers made surprising discoveries. Ive chosen this particular topic for my research paper, because I find the history of the Great Silk Road full of mysteries and unknown facts, so I wanted to investigate it and find out much new about it. So I will investigate how was the sericulture in China developing, how the relations between Eastern and Western countries were born, what were other products being traded and literature reviews will help me make a conclusion. My main aim is to discover how the knowledge of the history of the Silk Road might be applicable to nowadays situation in the world, since there is a talk of opening the New Silk Road.

II.

Silk [1]

Sericulture or silk production has a long and colorful history unknown to most people. For centuries the West knew very little about silk and the people who made it. For more than two thousand years the Chinese kept the secret of silk altogether to themselves. It was the most zealously guarded secret in history. * Origin of silk. Legend of Lady Hsi-Ling-Shih Chinese legend gives the title Goddess of Silk to Lady Hsi-Ling-Shih, who was credited with the introduction of silkworm rearing and the invention of the loom. Half a silkworm cocoon unearthed in 1927 from the loess soil astride the Yellow River in Shanxi Province, in northern China, has been dated between 2600 and 2300 BC. Another example is a group of ribbons, threads and woven fragments, dated about 3000 BC, and found at Qianshanyang in Zhejiang province. More recent archeological finds - a small ivory cup carved with a silkworm design and thought to be between 6000 and 7000 years old, and spinning tools, silk thread and fabric fragments from sites along the lower Yangzi River reveal the origins of sericulture to be even earlier. * The secret of sericulture The technique and process of sericulture were guarded secrets and closely controlled by Chinese authorities. Anyone who revealed the secrets or smuggled the silkworm eggs or cocoons outside of China would be punished by death. When silk was first discovered, it was reserved exclusively for the use of the ruler. But gradually the various classes of society began wearing tunics of silk, and silk came into more general use. As well as being used for clothing and decoration, silk was quite quickly put to industrial use by the Chinese. This was something which happened in the West only in modern times. Silk, indeed, rapidly became one of the principal elements of the Chinese economy. Silk was used for musical instruments, fishing-lines, bowstrings, bonds of all kinds, and even rag
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paper, the world's first luxury paper. Eventually even the common people were able to wear garments of silk. * Silk and its trade Silk became a precious commodity highly sought by other countries at a very early time, and it is believed that the silk trade was actually started before the Silk Road was officially opened in the second century BC. An Egyptian female mummy with silk has been discovered in the village of Deir el Medina near Thebes and the Valley of the Kings, dated 1070 BC, which is probably the earliest evidence of the silk trade. During the second century BC, the Chinese emperor, Han Wu Di's ambassadors traveled as far west as Persia and Mesopotamia, bearing gifts including silks. A Han embassy reached Baghdad in AD 97, and important finds of Han silks have been made along the Silk Road. So since AD II silk became the main product being traded by Chinese merchants for international trade. Light, compact and therefore convenient for its transportation, silk attracted the attention of consumers throughout all the caravan ways, despite the high cost. Also the silk fabrics had been giving the unusual feelings of softness, elegance, beauty and exoticism. Consumers liked to enjoy and admire it. It very popular in East Turkestan, Middle Asia, India, Alexandria and Rome. * Trade Goods of the Silk Road [2] While important to keeping the trade connection open, silk was only one of many items passing across the Silk Road's network. Precious ivory and gold, food items such as pomegranates, safflowers, and carrots went east out of Rome to the west; from the east came jade, furs, ceramics, and manufactured objects of bronze, iron and lacquer. Animals such as horses, sheep, elephants, peacocks, and camels made the trip, and most importantly perhaps, agricultural and metallurgical technologies, information, and religion were brought with the travelers. * A secret out to the world In spite of their secrecy, however, the Chinese were destined to lose their monopoly on silk production. Sericulture reached Korea around 200 BC, when waves of Chinese immigrants arrived there. Silk reached the West through a number of different channels. Shortly after AD 300, sericulture traveled westward and the cultivation of the silkworm was established in India. It is said that in AD 440, a prince of Khotan (today's Hetian)--a kingdom on the rim of Taklamakan desert -- courted and won a Chinese princess. The princess smuggled out silkworm eggs by hiding them in her voluminous hairpiece. This was scant solace to the silk-hungry people of the West. Then around AD 550, two Nestorian monks appeared at the Byzantine Emperor Justinian's court with silkworm eggs hid in their hollow bamboo staves. Under their supervision the eggs hatched into worms, and the worms spun cocoons. Byzantium was in the silk business at last. The Byzantine church and state created imperial workshops, monopolizing production and keeping the secret to themselves. This allowed a silk industry to be established in the Middle East, undercutting the market for ordinary-grade Chinese silk. However high-quality silk textiles, woven in China especially for the Middle Eastern market, continued to bring high prices in the West, and trade along the Silk Road therefore continued as before. By the sixth century the
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Persians, too, had mastered the art of silk weaving, developing their own rich patterns and techniques. It was only in the 13th centurythe time of the Second Crusadesthat Italy began silk production with the introduction of 2000 skilled silk weavers from Constantinople. Eventually silk production became widespread in Europe. * Silk today World silk production has approximately doubled during the last 30 years in spite of manmade fibers replacing silk for some uses. China and Japan during this period have been the two main producers, together manufacturing more than 50% of the world production each year. During the late 1970's China, the country that first developed sericulture thousands years ago dramatically increased its silk production and has again become the World's leading producer of silk.

III.

The formation of the Great Silk Road [4]

The opening of a full-length silk road where trade could pass easily and unhindered did not happen until nearly 115BC. The Chinese were split into warring factions and only few fragments of silk made it out of Chinas domains. It wasnt until 221BC that the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, successfully united his land with those surrounding him. He pooled the resources of the various states, built the earliest form of the Great Wall, and developed road infrastructure. It was the Han Dynasty that saw the benefits of trade and as the subsequent emperors grew stronger they looked farther afield not only for new lands, but also formed trading and political allies. Zhang Qian was a young officer of the Imperial Household who was sent in 138 BC to do exactly this and source out the lands to the West which could be brought under control. He played a great role in the formation of the Silk Road through Trans-Eurasian railway. And by 115 BC the Chinese succeeded in driving out the Barbarians from the Mongolian steppes and Gansu corridor. They extended the Great Wall to Dunhuang while Yuang Khan and Yumen Kuan (Jade Gate) were built to mark the entrances to the northern and southern routes through the Taklamakan desert. With the route opened, the offers of the riches of trade became too good for Chinas neighbours to resist and the inevitable politics began in earnest. It was through tactic, cunning and guile that the Parthians became very effective middlemen in the Silk Road. In 53BC they prevented the Roman empires expansion at the battle of Carrhae. And thereby kept Rome almost entirely ignorant of China with whom it effectively did much of its trade. They were already famed for their ability to control horses with just their legs, leaving their upper body free to fight with. Despite the Roman defeat, their demand for silk increased and the merchants traded increasingly with the Parthians. In the meantime a small tribe, the Kushans, grew independent from the Parthians. The Kushans placed their capital at Bactria and expanded forming another at Peshawar. Their interest was purely financial rather than political. They built cities and connecting canals and before long caravans began to arrive in their hundreds. These middlemen were extremely effective at what they did and at preserving the idea that all trade had to go through them by exaggerating the distances involved in the travel. Consequently goods exchanged hands several times during their travels and the price rose accordingly, allowing the middlemen to also profit handsomely. It is surprising, but this trans-Asian network remained opened and thrived for several hundred years. A series of unfortunate disasters in close proximity however brought this prosperity to an almost abrupt end. The Han dynasty collapsed in 220 AD which caused China to
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break up again. The Romans too were having difficulty defeating barbarian attacks and plague (probably from bacteria brought across from China via the Silk Road) beleaguered this once allpowerful nation. In 330 AD the empire split, with the capital being moved to Constantinople before it collapsed in 476 AD suffering a series of defeats against the Goths, Visigoths and Attilas huns. Even the middlemen, the Parthians, were overthrown by one of their subject tribes, the Sassanians who subsequently brought the Kushans under their control. All this turbulence did little to help the Silk Road merchants and since the Sassanians preferred to trade by Sea they began to cut out the middlemen. The fact that they were often at war with the Romans also did not help matters. [4] But as merchants and other travelers traversed The Silk Road, they also carried with them culture, art, philosophies and beliefs. * Recovery of the Silk Roads[5] In 565 AD, the Turks, has started to expand their own empire of Turkestan comprising of modern day Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Xinjiang. They formed their own direct trade route to the north allowing goods to pass via the Caspian Sea to Baku or Astrakhan and on towards the Black Sea and the Caucasus. The Kazakhs became so powerful during this period that they effectively controlled the Caspian Sea trade. This gave merchants the choice of routes and seriously challenged the Persian role as middlemen. Things were beginning to improve in China under the newly formed Tang Dynasty that lasted from 618-907 AD. Their influence spread into Central Asia almost as far as the Pamirs and was used to help welcome foreign trade. They used their power to control and protect the Silk Roads. New fashions, recreations and innovations thereby flowed into China like never before. It was also at this time that religion was able to spread rapidly and freely along the silk roads. Despite the death of Mohammed in 632 AD, Islam was spreading rapidly as were other religions. The irony during the time however, was that Europe was in its Dark Age and owes much to the merchants and empires of the Silk Road who preserved the previously acquired knowledge. The subsequent Song dynasties (907-1279) kept trade within China and hugely diminished their use of the Silk Road. Their loss of control in Central Asia and also parts of northern China did not allow them to regain the magnitude of the former Tang dynasty. During this time the precarious nature of the towns that had built up and flourished under the passing trade was evident for all to see. While trade was burgeoning the cities would have extended influence into the desert. Military outposts were built to ensure merchants travelled safely and paid their taxes. The income from the taxes and levies helped increase the wealth of the city and allowed some goods to remain in them improving the quality of life for city dwellers. Conversely, as soon as trade decreased or collapsed, these once affluent oases became ghost towns all too easily. Despite the decline of the Eastern Silk Road, the Western half was undergoing a particularly interesting set of developments. The first of nine crusades occurred from 1095-1099 in response to a call for help from the Byzantine rulers. But the European merchants werent about to let war affect their trade prospects. For example the Fourth Crusade was persuaded by the Venetians to attack Constantinople to reinforce their trading dominance there. In fact trade once again flourished as never before. The Jews rapidly became shrewd bankers and money lenders as they were the only people whose religion allowed them to make money out of money.
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Despite Christian attempts to split the Muslim world, it remained dominant in the region until the arrival of the Mongols from the East. * Pax Mongolica [6] It was an ordinary man by the name of Genghis Khan (Temujin) born in 1162 AD who managed to conquer and unite the Mongol people by 1196 AD. These people had always been present along the Silk Road, but had often been classed as Turks on account of their Turkic language. Genghis Khan was ruthless in his ambitions for acquiring new lands and control over the Silk Road. His aim, it seems, was to conquer as much land and plunder as many riches as he possibly could. He defeated the Mongols and made them obey him. His attitudes seemed to resemble those of Alexander the Great some 1500 years earlier. By 1221, Bukhara, Samarkand and Tbilisi were destroyed. Many of the cities that he demolished never recovered. Their treasures and architecture hardly remain today. For example in Rey (now incorporated into Tehran) it can be hard to imagine that the Silk Road ever passed through since it never recovered from the Mongol fury. While the Mongol territorial expansion was ruthlessly occurring, the lands within their control were relatively peaceful and allowed a revival of trade along the Silk Road. During the Mongol reign in the 13th and 14th centurys trade was revived significantly, although never in the way it had done before. But this was the Grand Finale of the Silk Roads long and distinguished history. During this time several people travelled almost the entire length of the Silk Road. Although Marco Polo was the most famous of the travelers, he was by no means the only one. Missionaries and artists were keen to travel and spread their word.

IV.

Routes taken [3]

* Overland routes The Silk Road in the 1st century As it extends westwards from the ancient commercial centers of China, the overland, intercontinental Silk Road divides into the northern and southern routes bypassing the Taklimakan Desert and Lop Nur. The northern route started at Chang'an (now called Xi'an), the capital of the ancient Chinese Kingdom, which, in the Later Han, was moved further east to Luoyang. The route was defined about the 1st century BCE as Han Wudi put an end to harassment by nomadic tribes. The northern route travelled northwest through the Chinese province of Gansu from Shaanxi Province, and split into three further routes, two of them following the mountain ranges to the north and south of the Taklamakan Desert to rejoin at Kashgar; and the other going north of the Tian Shan mountains through Turpan, Talgar and Almaty (in what is now southeast Kazakhstan). The routes split again west of Kashgar, with a southern branch heading down the Alai Valley towards Termez (in modern Uzbekistan) and Balkh (Afghanistan), while the other traveled through Kokand in the Fergana Valley (in present-day eastern Uzbekistan) and then west across the Karakum Desert. Both routes joined the main southern route before reaching Merv (Turkmenistan). A route for caravans, the northern Silk Road brought to China many goods such
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as "dates, saffron powder and pistachio nuts from Persia; frankincense, aloes and myrrh from Somalia; sandalwood from India; glass bottles from Egypt, and other expensive and desirable goods from other parts of the world."[11] In exchange, the caravans sent back bolts of silk brocade, lacquer ware and porcelain. Another branch of the northern route turned northwest past the Aral Sea and north of the Caspian Sea, then and on to the Black Sea. The southern route was mainly a single route running from China, through the Karakoram, where it persists to modern times as the international paved road connecting Pakistan and China as the Karakoram Highway. It then set off westwards, but with southward spurs enabling the journey to be completed by sea from various points. Crossing the high mountains, it passed through northern Pakistan, over the Hindu Kush mountains, and into Afghanistan, rejoining the northern route near Marv. From there, it followed a nearly straight line west through mountainous northern Iran, Mesopotamia and the northern tip of the Syrian Desert to the Levant, where Mediterranean trading ships plied regular routes to Italy, while land routes went either north through Anatolia or south to North Africa. Another branch road traveled from Herat through Susa to Charax Spasinu at the head of the Persian Gulf and across to Petra and on to Alexandria and other eastern Mediterranean ports from where ships carried the cargoes to Rome. * Maritime Routes Going back nearly 2000 years, during China's Eastern Han Dynasty, a sea route, although not part of the formal Silk Route, led from the mouth of the Red River near modern Hanoi, through the Malacca Straits to Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka and India, and then on to the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea kingdom of Axum and eventually to Roman ports. From ports on the Red Sea, goods, including silks, were transported overland to the Nile and then to Alexandria from where they were shipped to Rome, Constantinople and other Mediterranean ports. Another branch of these sea routes led down the East African coast, called "Azania" by the Greeks and Romans in the 1st century, CE, as described in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea at least as far as the port known to the Romans as "Rhapta," which was probably located in the delta of the Rufiji River in modern Tanzania. The Silk Road extends from Guangzhou, located in southern China, to present day Brunei, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Malacca, Ceylon, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Iran and Iraq. In Europe it extends from Israel, Lebanon (Collectively, the Levant), Egypt, and Italy (historically, Venice) in the Mediterranean Sea to other European ports or caravan routes such as the great Hanseatic League fairs via the Spanish road and other Alpine routes. This water route is called in some sources "the Indian Ocean Maritime System".

IV. The Decline of the Silk Road

During the Mongol reign in the 13th and 14th centuries trade was revived significantly, although never in the way it had done before. But this was the Grand Finale of the Silk Roads long and distinguished history. During this time several people travelled almost the entire length of the Silk Road. Although Marco Polo was the most famous of the travelers, he was by no means the only one. Missionaries and artists were keen to travel and spread their word. Indeed Kublai Khan, Genghiss grandson, was so taken by Marco Polos Christian religion that he ordered him to send 100 learned Christians from Rome to convert his people. Such a conversion of the Mongols and their subjects would have undoubtedly changed the face of history. In the end only two friars were sent who fled in fear before they reached the Khan. The overthrow of the Mongols by the Chinese and the creation of the Ming dynasty spelled the end of the Silk Road. This didnt happen overnight, but as the political powers along the Silk Road began to draw frontiers between themselves, and cut themselves off economically and culturally from one another the Silk Road trade was no longer in such high demand. This was made especially rapid because secrets of silk, glass and paper among other things were now being made all across Europe, Central Asia and China. Furthermore, the rise to power of the conqueror Timur Leng (Tamerlane) in the 14th century caused further damage to trade passing through. In an attempt to expand his empire from his capital, the oasis of Samarkand, he effectively finished off the destruction of neighboring cities that the Mongols had started. The power of the nomads, so long the important middlemen in the Silk Road trade, was also declining. This may have been due to the fact that societies were beginning to settle and become self-contained rendering the nomads less valuable. For example the Ming dynasties did nothing to encourage trade between China and the rapidly developing West rather they encouraged isolation. This attitude persisted until the 19th century when the Western powers began to make inroads into Chinese territories. While the Silk Road was a fantastic link between people, cultures and civilizations, it also provided a dangerous route for diseases to spread. The Black Death pandemic, which started in China in the 1320s, is likely to have spread to Europe by travelling along the Silk Road. Its effects were devastating killing vast percentages of the Chinese, Asian, African and European populations. Trade along the Silk Road effectively came to an abrupt halt. The demise of the Silk Road was further facilitated by the growing maritime trade. Whilst the Silk Road was never the only route by which goods were traded, it provided a relatively secure route. There was however at this time a sharp transition towards using the developing sea routes. There had always been sea trade, though it reflected more the overland trade with local tradesmen and large levies making goods very expensive by the time they got to their destination. For longer journeys there were problems with the strength of ships used, scurvy and pirates.

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VI.
1)

Literature reviews
According to Vadime Elisseeff (2000): <1>

Along the Silk Roads, technology traveled, ideas were exchanged, and friendship and understanding between East and West were experienced for the first time on a large scale. Easterners were exposed to Western ideas and life-styles, and Westerners too, learned about Eastern culture and its spirituality-oriented cosmology. Buddhism as an Eastern religion received international attention through the Silk Roads. By this Elisseeff meant that the Silk Road used to be a kind of like a connecting component, a knot tying East and West, connecting their cultures, letting people get to know other peoples religion, ideas and lifestyle. Figuratively speaking, the Silk Road opened eyes of Western people to East and the other way around. 2) The revival of the Silk Road for modern road transportations will end trade desertification in many countries without additional investment in infrastructure, which now happening due to the concentration of world trade only in several major international ports.,- said Martin Marmi, IRU Secretary General. <2> It has said about the creating the Motor Silk Road from Uzbekistan to Europe. By this speech, Martin Marmi meant that the economy of Uzbekistan and other neighboring countries is, to say the least, not in its best condition, so creating this Road could help increasing the economy. And it would expand the area of world trade, because now it is concentrated in major, key ports, therefore other regions are left behind. 3) The basis of the New Silk Road vision is that if Afghanistan is firmly embedded in the economic life of the region, it will be better able to attract new investment, benefit from its resource potential and provide increasing economic opportunity and hope for its people, Under Secretary of State for Economic, Energy and Agricultural Affairs Robert Hormats said September 29, 2011. <3> It has said about new idea of the United States to make the New Silk Road with its main port in Afghanistan. What Robert Hormats had in mind was that Afghanistan came through a lot of challenges and is still in the time of war, therefore it is in a really bad economic state, theres no development, no investments, so the New Silk Way would help improving economy of the country, which would also bring the people of Afghanistan hope, because it is obvious that their psychological state was affected too, so they need some changes for the better. On the one hand, it sounds right, because the Great Silk Road used to play the role of peculiar economic artery of all the places it went through. But on the other hand, apparently, when thinking of Afghanistans situation, Hormats did not consider the fact that theres actually still a war between Afghanistan and the U.S., so it is obvious, that dealing with the war is more logical way to improve their economic situation than building the New Silk Road. 4) Hormats was joined via videoconference by Sham Bathija, senior economic adviser of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Afghanistan finds itself at a historical crossroads today, Bathija said. Either it continues to depend on foreign aid as the principal driver of economic development, as well as foreign forces to safeguard its security, or it quickly shifts to a new model of development rooted in the private sector as the main generator of
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jobs and wealth and the Afghan National Security Forces as the chief guard of our national and personal security. For my country, the region and the world to be secure, we must implement the vision of the New Silk Road initiative, Bathija said, calling the plan the way forward for improving the livelihoods of people across South and Central Asia. Like Hormats, Bathija emphasized the importance of building up Afghanistans economic stability as the country takes full control of its own security from international forces by the end of 2014. Bathija hopes for Afghanistan to finally become an independent state, that is able to control its economy and is free from foreign interventions. In his opinion, Afghanistan is on a historical crossroad, so whatever decisions are being made now will influence the economy of Afghanistan and its people themselves in the future, he sees the way out in the New Silk Way.

References: <1> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_route#cite_note-Elisseeff1-32 <2> http://www.arba.ru/news/4485 <3>http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/russian/article/2011/10/20111004140215x9.35 4144e-02.html#axzz1b4CsGwjo <4>http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/russian/article/2011/10/20111004140215x9.35 4144e-02.html#axzz1b4CsGwjo

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VII.

Conclusion

The Great Silk Road time can be characterized as unique, because of the amount of significant changes happened in the world at that time. During that period, the world became an integrated and interconnected system. For a long time, the exchange of information between nations is a very important factor in the development of society. Cultural achievements of one nation became known for others because of the contact between them by trade, migration, gains etc. And a special role in this process was played by caravan routes, the Great Silk Road in particular, which connected China, India, Central Asia, Middle and Near East, and the Mediterranean region in the Ancient and early Middle Ages. It is obvious that the XXI century is and will continue to be the time of the globalization of international relationships. So thats why the fact of integration of Central Asian countries and their participation in international programs shows the development not only these particular regions, but planet as a whole. Today the world is faced with the need to find new ways of cooperation, to improve diplomatic relationships across the globe and improve the economy. Nowadays lots of countries want to revive the Silk Road to activate the economy of some particular regions Uzbekistan, Afghanistan etc. On the one hand I think that this could be a good idea, because those countries do need a change for a better, since they (especially Afghanistan) has been facing hardships and wars for a really long time and people of these countries would find hope again. But, on the other hand, these regions are the centers of drug trade, so opening the road through all of CIS and Europe countries may increase the distribution of drugs. As for the USA being so initiative about that, it seems to me that the USA tries to show the World that they really care about Afghanistan by suggesting the New Silk Road and wishing for Afghanistans economy to rise, but they never do anything without the benefit of it. So, assuming that the statement about the U.S. is using the Afghanistan because of its suitable location to transport oil is true, I think that the U.S.s initiative might be coming from that, they may use it to transport oil. The history of the Great Silk Way is the history of wide cultural interaction and exchange between the peoples of the West and the East. It proves that only close cooperation and mutual enrichment of cultures is the foundation of peace and progress for all the people of the planet.

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VIII. Bibliography [1] http://www.silk-road.com/artl/silkhistory.shtml [2] http://archaeology.about.com/cs/asia/a/silkroad.htm [3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_Road#Routes_taken [4] http://www.travelthesilkroad.org/content/view/15/29/ Development of the Silk Roads [5] http://www.travelthesilkroad.org/content/view/15/29/ Recovery of the Silk Roads References for literature reviews: <1> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_route#cite_note-Elisseeff1-32 <2> http://www.arba.ru/news/4485 <3>http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/russian/article/2011/10/20111004140215x9.3 54144e-02.html#axzz1b4CsGwjo <4>http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/russian/article/2011/10/20111004140215x9.3 54144e-02.html#axzz1b4CsGwjo

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