Medieval Trade Systems Learning Goal 2: Analyze how the Silk Route and the African gold-salt trade facilitated the spread of ideas and explain how the slave trade in East Africa developed.

Trade Routes Silk Roads (Eurasia) Sea Roads (Indian Ocean) Sand Roads (Sahara)

Sahara Desert Indian Ocean Black Sea Caspian Sea Constantinople Taklimakan Desert Chang’an Sahara Desert Himalayas Mecca Indian Ocean

Silk Road Trade China Gun powder Paper Silk Mirrors Porcelain India Cotton fabric Spices Gems Middle East Dates Nuts Dyes Perfumes Olive oil Buddhism Islam Diseases

Silk Roads Land-based “Relay Trade” Began as indirect trade routes Prospered when large and powerful civilizations began to provide security for their merchants and travelers Continued to flourish when the Byzantine Empire, the Muslim Abbasid dynasty and Tang dynasty created a continuous belt of states across Eurasia

Goods in Transit Usually carried in large camel caravans Traveled over harsh and dangerous steppes, deserts, and oases Most of the goods were luxury products Silk came to symbolize the Eurasian exchange system Used as currency in Central Asia Symbol of high status Associated with the sacred

Sea Roads - Indian Ocean Trade Taklimakan Desert Sahara Desert Himalayas Monsoon Nov - Feb Monsoon April - Sept Indian Ocean Slaves Ivory Gold Tortoise Shell Iron Islam spreads to cities along the East African coast & to Southeast Asia

Sea Roads Sea-based Used the Indian Ocean to connect people all across the Eastern Hemisphere Transportation costs were lower in comparison to the Silk Roads Ships could carry larger and heavier cargo Used the monsoon seasons to their advantage Islam spread to the east coast of Africa & southeast Asia via the Indian Ocean trade complex Trade from the east coast of Africa centered around the trade of slaves. Why did they go to the east coast of Africa for slaves? It is forbidden in Islam to enslave a fellow Muslim

Sand Roads, the Gold – Salt Trade Taklimakan Desert Timbuktu Benin Sahara Desert Himalayas Gold from West Africa Salt from within the Sahara Slaves Ivory Nuts Dates Cloth Islam Sub-Saharan West Africa is pulled into the Muslim trade network Indian Ocean

Sand Roads Land-based Connected North Africa and the Mediterranean world with West Africa Made possible with the introduction of the camel Caravans would include as many as 5,000 camels and would take up to 70 days to reach their destination Sub-Saharan West Africa becomes an important part of the Muslim trade network Crash Course: Mansa Musa and Islam in Africa

Culture in Transit Islam and Arabic http://www.mapsofwar.com/images/Religion.swf