The Silk Road
Unit 2: c. 1200-1450
Main Ideas:
-
Improved commercial practices → Increased the reach and volume of trade → Created new trading cities
-
Specialized in luxury goods such as silk, porcelain, and textiles
-
Mongols conquered many different cultures & were religiously tolerant → Facilitated exchange of many different cultures & religions
The Mongols & Silk Road
A Trade Route Connecting China & Europe
Key Ideas:
-
Improved commercial practices increased the volume of trade → Led to creation of new trading cities
-
Use of credit system, caravanserai (inns), horses/camels, etc.
-
New trading cities emerged on Silk Road such as Samarkand and Merv
-
-
Silk Road specialized in luxury goods
-
Goods like silk & porcelain were traded as they were expensive enough to be worth transporting on a difficult overland route (compared to a maritime route)
-
-
Mongols were religiously tolerant of all the cultures they conquered → Facilitated exchange of lots of goods, ideas, and cultures
-
Mongols ruled Central Asia and had control over parts of India, China, Persia, Southeast Asia, and Europe → Connected most of Eurasia through their empire
-
Pax Mongolica: Because the Mongols ruled the entire land from Europe to China, merchants could safely travel the entire Silk Road without risk
-
-
Buddhism spread as Buddhist merchants openly practiced their religion in trading cities
-
Gunpowder, paper, and bubonic plague spread
-
Goods & Ideas Exchanged:
Buddhism
Bubonic Plague
Gunpowder
Silk
Porcelain
Paper
Samarkand, Uzbekistan, one of the largest trading cities on the Silk Road

A photo of camels transporting goods across the desert in the Silk Road
