The Great Silk Road is a route along which caravans with goods from East Asia traveled to the Mediterranean. Since time immemorial, people have traded among themselves. But it was not just a trade road, it was a connecting thread between countries and peoples, along which economic, cultural and even political ties passed.
Trade, its importance in the development of human society
Where caravans went, cities arose, they became cultural and economic centers that played an important role in the history of civilizations.
Trade began with a simple exchange of goods that were not in one place, but were abundant in another. These were the most important commodities: s alt, colored precious stones and metals, incense, medicinal herbs and spices. At first it was an ordinary barter exchange, when one product was exchanged for another, and then, with the development of economic relations, the purchase and sale of goods for money began. Thus was born trade, which needed its placescommission, in other words, places of trade: markets, bazaars, fairs.
The paths along which the caravans of merchants moved connected distant countries, cities and peoples. Systems of certain caravan routes connecting various countries of the Near and Middle East appeared already in Neolithic times and became widespread in the Bronze Age.
The paths allowed not only trade, but also exchange between different parts of civilization at the cultural level. Separate segments of it merged, the roads went further and further to the west and east, north and south, covering more and more new territories. This is how the Great Way arose, as they would say in our time, a transcontinental highway that for many centuries ensured the trade and cultural dialogue of various cultures and civilizations.
Time of the appearance of the Great Silk Road, date
The beginning of the laying of roads along which the Great Way will pass can be attributed to the second half of the 2nd century BC. e. An outstanding Chinese official, diplomat and spy, Zhang Jiang, played a decisive role in this.
In 138 B. C. e. he moved on a dangerous diplomatic mission to the nomadic people of the Yuezhi and revealed for the Chinese the West of Central Asia - the countries of Sogdiana and Bactria (now the territories of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan). He was amazed at the demand for goods from China and was overwhelmed by the number of goods that China had no idea about.
How the Great Way was created
Returning to his homeland in 126 BC.e., this official sent his report to the emperor on the advantages of trade with Western countries. In 123-119 years. BC e. Chinese troops defeated the Xiongnu tribes, making the path from China to the West safe. Thus, two roads were connected into a single whole:
- From East to West, to Central Asia. It was explored by Zhang Jian, who traveled this part of the way from North to South, through Davan, Kangyu, Sogdiana and Bactria.
- And the second - going from West to East, from the Mediterranean countries to Central Asia. It was explored and passed by the Hellenes and Macedonians during the campaigns of Alexander the Great, to the Yaksart (Syrdarya) River.
A single highway was formed that connected two great civilizations - Western and Eastern. She was not static. The development of the Great Silk Road made it possible to connect even more countries and peoples. According to Chinese and Roman documents, caravans with goods, diplomatic missions and embassies went along this road.
First description
The very first mapping of the route from the Eastern Mediterranean to China was described by May the Macedonian. Who did not personally visit China, but used the denunciations of his scouts. They compiled their information about this country from the population of Central Asia. Partial representations of the roads that lead from West to East can be found in the documents of the Greeks, Romans and Parthians.
According to them and the data of archaeological excavations, in the period of the 1st c. BC e. - I century. n. e. East and West were connected by ways, which we will talk about in more detail.
South Sea
He ran from Egypt to India, originated in the ports of Myos Hormus and Brenik on the Red Sea, and then bypassed the Arabian Peninsula to the ports of the Indian coast: Barbaricon on the Indus River, Barigaza on Narmada and the port of Myrmirika on the southern side of the peninsula. From Indian ports, goods were transported either into the interior of the country or to the North, to Bactria. To the East, the path went by a detour, bypassing the peninsula, immediately to the countries of the Asian South-East and China.
Where were the paths-roads
The branches of the Great Silk Road began in Rome and through the Mediterranean Sea led directly to the Syrian Hieropolis, from where, passing through Mesopotamia, Northern Iran, Central Asia, they ran to the oases of East Turkestan and followed further to China. The section of the path of Central Asia originated in Areia, from where the path deviated to the north and ran to Antioch of Margilan. Further southwest to Bactria, and then there was a division in two directions - to the north and east.
Besides this, there was the Northern Road of the Great Silk Road. She walked along the crossing over the Amu Darya in the Tarmita (Termez) region and further along the Sherabad River ran to the Iron Gates. From the Iron Gates, the road went to Akrabat, and then turned north to the Kesh region (present-day Shakhrisabz and Ketab) and went to Marakanda.
From here, overcoming the Hungry Steppe, the road went to Chach (Tashkent oasis), Fergana and further to East Turkestan. From Tarmita along the valley of Surkhandarya, the road went to a mountainous country located in the area of modern Dushanbe, and further to the Stone Tower, not far fromwhich was the parking lot of merchants. After it, the Great Silk Road went around the Takla-Makan desert from the north and south, dividing into two roads.
The southern branch went through the oases of Yarkand, Khotan, Niy, Miran and connected to Dunhua with the Northern section, which passed through the oases of Kizil, Kucha, Turfan. Then the path ran next to the Great Wall of China to the capital of the Heavenly Empire - Chang'an. Today there is an assumption that it went further to Korea and further to Japan and ended in its capital Nara.
Steppe path
Another road of the Great Silk Road ran north of Central Asia and originated in the northern cities of the Black Sea region: Olbia, Tire, Panticapaeum, Chersonese, Phanagoria. Further, the steppe road went from coastal cities to the large ancient city of Tanais, located in the lower part of the Don. Further through the steppes of South Russia, the Lower Volga region, the lands of the Aral Sea. Then through the South of Kazakhstan to Altai and the East of Turkestan, where it connected with the main part of the route.
Jade Part of the Path
One of the routes passing in the northern direction went to the Aral Sea region (Khorezm). Through it, deliveries were made to the interior regions of Central Asia - to the Fergana and Tashkent oases.
As part of the Great Silk Road, there was also the Jade Road, along which jade, which was highly valued there, was brought to China. It was mined in the Baikal region, from where it was delivered through the Eastern Sayan Mountains, the oasis of Khotan, to Central China.
The path andGreat Migration
He was not only a trade road, the Great Migration of Nations went through it. According to him, starting from the 1st c. n. e., nomadic tribes passed from East to West: Scythians, Sarmatians, Huns, Avars, Bulgarians, Pechenegs, Magyars and others “they are countless”.
In East-West trade, most of the goods moved from East to West. In Rome, during its heyday, Chinese silk and other goods from the mysterious East were very popular. From the 9th century this product was actively purchased by Western Europe. The Arabs brought them to the South of the Mediterranean and further to Spain.
Goods that went through the Silk Road
Silk fabrics and raw silk are the main goods on the Great Silk Road. It was very convenient to transport them over long distances because silk is light and thin. He was very much appreciated in Europe, he was sold at the price of gold. China had a monopoly on silk production until about the 5th-6th century. n. e. and for a long time was the center for the production and export of silk along with Central Asia.
In the Middle Ages, China also traded in porcelain and tea. Wool and cotton fabrics were supplied to China from the countries of the Middle East and Central Asia. From the countries of South and Southeast Asia, traders delivered spices and spices to Europe, which cost more than gold in Europe.
All the goods that existed at that time went along the way. These are gold and products made from it, paper, gunpowder, precious stones and jewelry, dishes, silver, leather, rice and so on.
The Meaning of the Greatway
The routes of the Great Silk Road were full of dangers that awaited at every turn. The path was long and difficult. Not everyone was able to overcome it. It took more than 250 days, or even a whole year, to get from Beijing to the Caspian Sea. This path has always been a conductor of not only trade, but also culture. Much in history is connected with the Great Silk Road. The personalities of the great rulers, famous people who lived in the cities located on the territory of its passage, entered the history of mankind. Caravans were accompanied not only by merchants, but also by poets, artists, philosophers, scientists, and pilgrims. Thanks to them the world learned about Christianity, Buddhism, Islam. The world received the secret of gunpowder, paper, silk, learned about the culture of various parts of civilization.
Dangerous roads
In order for caravans to move freely along the Great Silk Road, peace was needed on the territory of its passage. This could be achieved in two ways:
- Create a colossal empire that could control the entire territory of its passage.
- Divide this territory between strong states that have the ability to create safe routes for traders.
The history of the Great Silk Road knows three such periods when one state completely controlled it:
- Turkic Khaganate (late 6th century).
- The Empire of Genghis Khan (late 13th century).
- Empire of Tamerlane (late 14th century).
But due to the huge length of trade routes, it was necessary to establish the necessary controlextremely difficult. "Dividing the world" between large states is the most realistic way to exist.
Loss of influence of the Great Silk Road
The decline of the route is primarily associated with the development of maritime trade and navigation off the coast of the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia. Maritime movement in the XIV-XV centuries. was much safer, shorter, cheaper and more attractive than land roads full of dangers.
The journey by sea from Southeast Asia to China lasted approximately 150 days, while the land journey took just under a year. The carrying capacity of the ship was equal to the weight carried by a caravan of 1000 camels.
This served to ensure that the Great Silk Road to the XVI century. gradually lost its importance. Only some of its parts continued to lead caravans for another hundred years (the trade of Central Asia with China continued until the 18th century).
