1. SILK ROAD & INDIAN OCEAN
THE SILK ROAD
Origins and operations:
Overland trade route that linked China to the Mediterranean, thru Mesopotamia, Iran, and Central Asia
Two Periods of heavy use:
150 BCE – 907 CE
13th thru 17th centuries
Origins located in the occasional trading of Central Asian nomads

2. SILK ROAD & INDIAN OCEAN
THE SILK ROAD
Regular, large scale trade was fostered by the Chinese demand for western products (horses):
Imports – alfalfa, grapes, medicinal products, metals, precious stones
Exports – peaches, apricots, spices, manufactured goods (silk, pottery, paper)

3. SILK ROAD & INDIAN OCEAN
THE SILK ROAD
Parthian state (NE Iran) controlled markets in Mesopotamia…also foster trade along the Silk Road

4. SILK ROAD & INDIAN OCEAN
THE SILK ROAD
Nomads in Central and Inner Asia
Steppe nomads (Scythians) provide animals, handlers, and protection
Transport lightweight dwellings on wagons across deserts and grasslands
Moved too far and often to farm, self-sufficient
Relied on animals for meat, milk and clothing
Women oversaw livestock

5. SILK ROAD & INDIAN OCEAN
THE SILK ROAD
Impact of the Silk Road
Turkic Nomads become dominant pastoralist group in Central Asia
Elites construct houses, lived settled lives, and become interested in religion:
Christianity
Manichaeism
Zoroastrianism
Buddhism
Islam
Religions and goods move back and forth across large regions

6. SILK ROAD & INDIAN OCEAN
INDIAN OCEAN MARITIME SYSTEM
Linked the lands bordering the Indian Ocean and the South China sea:
South China Sea – dominated by Chinese and Malays
SE Asia to east coast of India – dominated by Malays and Indians
West coast of India to the Persian Gulf and east Africa – dominated by Persians and Arabs

7. SILK ROAD & INDIAN OCEAN
INDIAN OCEAN MARITIME SYSTEM
Trade was made possible by sailing and seasonal changes in the monsoon winds
Triangular Lateen Sail
Shipbuilding techniques:
Piercing planks, tying together, caulking the boards together
>Distances traveled were further than in the Mediterranean, traders did not retain political ties to homeland

8. SILK ROAD & INDIAN OCEAN
INDIAN OCEAN MARITIME SYSTEM
Origins on contact and trade:
Evidence of trade between ancient Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley…ends with Mesopotamian trade networks with East Africa
Sailors from SE Asia migrate to Madagascar…do not retain communication with homeland

9. SILK ROAD & INDIAN OCEAN
INDIAN OCEAN MARITIME SYSTEM
Impacts:
The Periplus of the Erythrean Sea
Greco-Egyptian text that is source of pre-Islam history
Describes trading system that was well established and flourishing
Goods traded – spices, aromatic resins, pearls, Chinese pottery, luxury goods
Volume was lower than in the Mediterranean networks

10. SILK ROAD & INDIAN OCEAN
INDIAN OCEAN MARITIME SYSTEM
Culture of Isolation:
In the West – trading ports did not have access to inland populations of potential customers
In the East – ports had access to inland populations BUT civilizations did not become oriented toward the sea
Traders and sailors married local women in ports they frequented – women became mediators between cultures