A Silk Road Caravan - The Globalist

Did people often travel the whole distance? On the ancient Silk Road, caravans never completed the entire route. Goods were dropped at weigh stations, where ... TheGlobalist Dailyonlinemagazineontheglobaleconomy,politicsandculture        Home Features Countries Issues Syndication IntheMedia About GlobalistFactsheet Previous Next ASilkRoadCaravan WastheSilkRoadindispensabletothelargeempires?Andisitstillrelevanttoday? ByTheGlobalist,January1,2001 Takeaways TheSilkRoadhasreachedanalmostmythicalstatusinhistoryasthecenterofancientculturalandeconomicexchange.However,somescholarsbelievethattheimportanceofthelandtradingroutesthatmadeuptheRoadhasbeenexaggerated.WastheSilkRoadindispensabletothelargeempires?Andisitstillrelevanttoday?WetakeacloserlookattherealitybehindthesymbolicpoweroftheSilkRoad. JusthowlongwastheSilkRoad? Dependingonhowonemeasuresit,theSilkRoadwasabout7,000mileslong. (WashingtonPost) Wasitsimplyastraitpaththewholeway? TheSilkRoadisnotreallyasingleroad,butachainofroads,pathsandothermeansofpassagefromXi'aninChinatotheMediterraneanSea. (WashingtonPost) Andhowoldisit? Itmaybewellover10,000yearsold—evidencedbyChinesesilkfoundinEgyptianmummiesasfarbackasthetenthcenturyB.C. (WashingtonPost) Howdiditgetitsname? TheSilkRoadreceiveditsnamein1859fromGermanscholarBaronFerdinandvonRichtofen—centuriesafterthecaravanroutestoppedbeingused. (UBS) WhenwastheheydayofSilkRoadcommerce? TheartandcivilizationoftheSilkRoadachieveditshighestpointinthe8thcentury.WesterncivilizationbegantoreachChinainthelate6thcenturywiththeassistanceofArabmiddle-men.InChina,theTangDynastyhadunitedthecountryanditscapital,Changan—whichispresentdayXi’an—hadapopulationoftwomillionpeopleandanestimatedfivethousandforeigners. (UniversityofCaliforniaatIrvine) Anyothertimes? TheSilkRoadalsoflourishedduringtheMongolKhanateofthe13thand14thcenturies.TheMongols,whoruledavastempire,safeguardedanorthernSilkRoadlandroutethatcrossedtheEurasiansteppes.(SilkRoadProject) (UniversityofCaliforniaatIrvine) HowlongdidittaketotraveltheancientSilkRoad? Around-tripjourneytakeninancienttimesalongtheSilkRoadfromChinatoRometooktwoyears. (FinancialTimes) Didpeopleoftentravelthewholedistance? OntheancientSilkRoad,caravansnevercompletedtheentireroute.Goodsweredroppedatweighstations,wheretheywerepickedupbyothercaravans.Theytransportedthemtothenextcity—untiltheyreachedtheirfinaldestination. (WashingtonPost) Whatdidthatdotothepriceofthegoodsbeingtransported? GoodsthattraveledalongtheancientSilkRoadincreasedinpriceateachcityalongtheroutetoitsdestination—asnewtransporterspickedupthegoodsandmovedthemfurtherfromtheiroriginaldestination. (WashingtonPost) WhatisanexampleofculturalexchangefacilitatedbytheSilkRoadthatstillhasrelevancetoday? KnowledgeofwinemakingpassedeastwardsfromtheMiddleEasttoChina,whiletheideaofnoodlesmovedtheoppositedirection. (TheEconomist) Whatelsewasexchanged? Transferoftechnologiessuchasgunpowder,themagneticcompass,theprintingpress,mathematicsandceramicandlacquercraftsoccurredbothdirections.Often,therecipientshadnoclearideaastotheirorigins—duetothelargeamountsoftimeittooktocoverthevastdistances. (SilkRoadProject) WasitthemostimportantlinkbetweenEuropeandAsia? Cheaper,easiersearouteswerethemainreasonwhytheimportanceoftheSilkRoaddeclinedasearlyasthe1stcentury. (HughPope,SunsoftheConquerors:RiseoftheTurkicPeople) IsthereanewSilkRoad? TheoldSilkRoadconnectedcivilizationcenterssuchasPersia(Iran),theLevant(Lebanon,SyriaandJordan)andMesopotamia(Iraq).Nowadays,the"NewSilkRoad,"includesDubai,Beijing,Mumbai,Chennai,Tokyo,Doha,KualaLumpur,Singapore,andRiyadh. (NewAmericaFoundation). Whatislinkingthesecities? For30years,EastandSouthAsianinvestorshavebeensignificantinvestorsintheMiddleEast—competingformanagementandinvestmentcontracts,manyintheenergysector—whilecapitalhasgoneintheotherdirection. (TheGlobalist) WhataboutCentralAsiancitiesalongtheSilkRoad? Today,Baku,nowthecapitalofAzerbaijan,isstillabattlegroundoveroilandnaturalgasfromtheCaspianSea.Duringthe19thcentury,Azerbaijanwasa"waystation"ontheancientSilkRoadandwascentraltothebattleforregionaldominancebetweenRussiaandBritain. (FinancialTimes) HowhaveTurkishcitiesalongtheSilkRoadfared? Turkey's"AnatolianTigers"—today'sfastdevelopingmanufacturingcitiessuchasKayseriandMalatyaintheSouthernAnatoliaregion—areallalongtheancientSilkRoad. (WallStreetJournal) IftheChineseandEuropeanempireswereoncetheenddestinations—andkeyinfluences—oftheancientSilkRoad,whatwouldbethepivotpointofthenewSilkRoadtoday? DubaimightwellbecometheunofficialMiddle-EastcapitalofthenewSilkRoad.InContrast,Iran—onceacentralforce—isnowlaggingbehind. (HarvardUniversity) Andfinally,howdidtheWesterninterestinChinesesilkleadtowar? In1839,thefirstOpiumWarbeganwhenChinesecustomsofficialsatCantondestroyedalargequantityofopiumthatBritishmerchantsweretryingtosmuggleintoChinainordertobuyteaandsilk. (StanfordUniversity) Norelatedposts. Responsesto“ASilkRoadCaravan” Ifyouwouldliketocomment,pleasevisitourFacebookpage. GetTheGlobalist'slatestheadlinesinyouremailinboxthreetimesaweek. GetUpdates StephanRichterdiscussesBrexitonGermany'sARD-Presseclub(April14,2019)Publisher'swelcomeWhatisGlobalism?WhoIsaGlobalist?Speakingandinterviewtopics/ExpertiseTVappearancesRadiointerviewsEnglish-languageop-eds German-languageop-edsRichterarticlesonTheGlobalistBio|Hi-resphoto AngelaStentDecipheringPutin’sRussia:WhytheStrainswiththeWest? SuzanneLoftusCOVID19:Post-TruthAge–OrFactsMakingaComeback? TomasCasasiKlettTheEurozone“Soviet”? 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