Central to the silk roads rediscovery was a man named aurel stein, a hungarianborn scholar and archaeologist employed by the british service. Ch, 2009, empieres of the silk road, princeton and oxford addeddate 20109 18. At certain points it divided into a number ofside routes. Kashgars importance is derived from its strategic position at the foot of the pamir mountains.
Constantinople and china maintained an important relationship on the western and eastern ends of the silk road throughout justinians reign. Click download or read online button to get silk roads book now. The byzantine empire had been the eastern half of the roman empire. China with india and the mediterranean and this road became the highway of wealth for the chinese, arabs, and europeans.
Ottoman empire and the spice routes in the 16th century. Byzantium by giles morgan overdrive rakuten overdrive. The silk road is one of the oldest and most important routes in trade history. Empress irene, byzantium at the terminus of the silk route. The fall of constantinople which had been a key city on the ancient silk road, linking east and west led many to consider the prospect of opening up new lines of trade, sea exploration that would eventually lead to major new discoveries, new routes and new worlds.
This symbolic overture mirrored the entire shifting of the capital from original rome. A very short history of merchants and trade in constantinople. This audio lecture from chp china history podcast gives us an interesting view of the history of the silk road in ancient history. Stephen lawheads novel byzantium 1996 is set in 9thcentury constantinople. The first type of good that moved its way both in and out of constantinople was christian relics. The empire in the east survived and it became known as the byzantine empire with constantinople as its capital. The short history of nicephoros patriarch of constantinople. The silk road sadik ridvan karluk, suleyman cem karaman turgut ozal university, ankara, turkey throughout history, silk road played an important role with connecting more than 50 countries between its endpoints. Search the history of over 424 billion web pages on the internet. The eurasia land mass, home to the majority of the worlds population and many of its most economically productive areas, is divided by geography and historical development. Central to the silk road s rediscovery was a man named aurel stein, a hungarianborn scholar and archaeologist employed by the british service. The early years of the silk road excellent presentation.
Empires of the silk road places central eurasia within a world historical framework and demonstrates why the region is central to understanding the history of civilization. Constantinople in the silk road the role of the capital of an empire in the silk road. If we extend the history of the silk road down through the seventeenth century, the ottomans and ottoman istanbul are an essential part of the story which will have to be treated in a separate essay. As my research expands i hope to keep the above bibliography growing. During the reign of emperor justinian i 527565 ad, constantinople continued. The first silk roads era 50 bce 250 ce the first major period of silk roads trade occurred between about 50. The impact of the silk road trade on a local community.
The silk road once linked china with the mediterranean. If any readers of this document should know of a particularly excellent silk road history, biography of a silk road character, or even a good silk road novel, please let me know. The silk road in world history pdf ebook download free. Introduction historically, constantinople was the largest and wealthiest city in europe from the 5th to early th century ad. The silk road was a network of trade routes which connected the east and west, and was central to the economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between these regions from the 2nd century bce to the 18th century.
From there, the reader will have to follow his or her own interests, but at least a good foundation will have been laid. Even in this period when mongol power was in fact beginning to disintegrate, the route to china was safe and the silk road was flourishing, constantinople being one of its main points of trade in the west. Example of the historical atlas of eurasia silk roads routes as a gis shapefile. The ancient silk roads were the sea and land economic corridors which connected. The bubonic plague, thought to have been brought through the silk road, decimates constantinople. Byzantium was one of the most important western terminals of the silk road. There was a high demand for silk in the mediterranean during the reign of justinian, both within constantinople and into the outreaches at the highest extent of the byzantine empire. The silk road primarily refers to the land routes connecting east asia and southeast asia with south asia, persia, the arabian peninsula, east africa and southern europe. The silk road is as iconic in world history as the colossus of rhodes or the suez canal.
The term is used for both overland routes and those that are marine or limnic. The geopolitics pertaining to the silk road network in the period from the 6th to. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. In the 4th century bce the greek philosopher aristotle mentioned that sericulture was practiced on the island of kos, but the art was evidently lost and reintroduced into byzantium from china in the. The two most important points of the silk roads were cairo egypt, as far as the sea lanes were concerned, and constantinople istanbul, as far as the land routes were concerned. Trade, particularly in silk, dominated the connection between the two civilizations during the reign of justinian, helping to fuel a prosperous commercial enterprise. Christian merchant living in constantinople under the byzantine empire. The silk road was an ancient network of trade routes, formally established during the han dynasty of china, which linked the regions of the ancient world in commerce between bce1453 ce.
The silk road was a network of trade routes connecting the east and the west in ancient and medieval times. John tells us, for example, that trade between the levant and the aegean can be disrupted or dominated by a naval presence on. Other powers, in an attempt to break the venetian hold on spice trade, began to build up maritime capability. It was the prized fabric of the notably welldressed imperial court and an overall hot commodity in the area. Historical geography developed by joe naumann, umsl the silk road the silk road, or silk route, is an interconnected series of trade routes through southern asia mainly connecting changan todays xian in china, with asia minor and the mediterranean. But its cultures and oases were swallowed by shifting sands. The han dynastys official history records the exploits of a general. The silk roads enabled these early exchanges to expand dramatically, leading to even more significant changes in human history. Although islamic empires have successfully taken much of. According to george friedman, some spices, like pepper, could sell as high as gold. Regardless, nestorian christianity was a religion that was exported on the silk road by constantinople. When the city was renamed byzantium in the fourth century a.
Its value as a commercial center for the export of silks into medieval europe was enormous. The political history of the city would change radically when, in may 1453, constantinople fell to the ottoman turks. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Target audience world history learners from the esri geoinquiries collection for world history the silk roads. Constantinople under justinian is the scene of the book a flame in byzantium isbn 0312930267 by chelsea quinn yarbro, released in 1987. You are in kashgar, the silk road handoff point fom central asians to persians and indians.
Kashgar great links below is an important hub on the silk road, a vibrant islamic center, it is the largest oasis city in chinese central asia. In india, china, the middle east, and the mediterranean, there were a. Byzantine silk is silk woven in the byzantine empire byzantium from about the fourth century until the fall of constantinople in 1453 the byzantine capital of constantinople was the first significant silkweaving center in europe. Silk was one of the most important commodities in the byzantine economy, used by the state both as a means of payment and of diplomacy. Silk road city links historys historiesyou are history. Justinian and the international silk trade sinoplatonic papers. This ancient city was the starting point for darius persian royal road. Click the lines on the map that make up the silk roads trade routes is the silk road one continuous route or many segments. Yet, as the penn museum exhibition of silk road artifacts demonstrates, we are still learning about that history. The silk road was an ancient network of trade routes, formally established.
To that end, it was emperor constantine who truly elevated the architectural ambit of the original settlement, by refounding it as nova roma new rome or. It conjures up a hazy image of a caravan of camels laden with silk on a dusty desert track, reaching from china to rome. Until the mid15th century, trade with the east was achieved through the silk road, with the byzantine empire and the italian citystates of venice and genoa acting as a middle man. The former dealers in silk in constantinople and every other city, by sea. The eastwest trade routes between greece and china began to open during the first and second centuries b. It is still possible to trace this part of the silk route in northern. Purported letter of prester john to rome and constantinople, twelfth century he has a very large palace, entirely roofed with fi ne gold. As the silk road was not a single thoroughfare from east to west, the term silk routes has become increasingly favored by historians, though silk road is the more common and recognized name.
Reviving this ancient trade route is a contemporary discussion among politicians. Constantinople, reaching a peak in the spring of 542 with 5,000 deaths per day in the city, although some estimates vary to 10,000 per day, and it went on. Constantinople, the capital, stood at the crossroads of europe and asia where many sea and overland trade routes linked the two regions. The political history of the city would change radically when, in may 1453, constantinople fell to. Constantinople was wealthy because it was at the center of trade between europe and asia at the mediterranean sea and the silk road, and it had many good harbors. Get an answer for explain how the capture of constantinople by the ottoman turks led to great discoveries of new routes. The many roads of the silk route as we have seen, the silk route consisted ofmore than just one single road linking east and west. The short history of nicephoros patriarch of constantinople was written at the end of the 8th century and the chronicle of theophanes confessor at the beginning. Silk weaving became a major industry and one of chinas chief exports in the han dynasty. Constantinople is the title of a song by the decemberists. It was also a time that portugal built up its eastern empire with. Constantinople timeline ancient history encyclopedia. If i were just starting my silk road research id first read peter frankopans the silk roads, a new history of the world, and follow that with peter hopkirks foreign devils on the silk road.
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