The Silk Road

Research Paper # 61459

Archaeology
History

The Silk Road

An in-depth look into the history and geography of this major link between East and West.

5,159 words () | 12 sources | MLA | 2005 United States

Paper Summary:

The Silk Road, the ancient 4,000 mile caravan route, was used primarily for trade and linked East to West, from China to Rome. This paper covers the nearly 2000 years of history of the Silk Road, which served the world's four main civilizations from approximately 500 B.C. to 1500 A.D. as the major highway for transporting material goods and knowledge between Europe (till Rome), the Near East, India, and China.

Paper Outline:
The Geographical Setting
The Silk Road
Travel of Ideas and Techniques
Music of the Silk Road
Bibliography

From the Paper:

"The Silk Road - a network of trade routes that connected East Asia to the Mediterranean--was the main conduit for the spread and exchange of goods, ideas, religions, and cultural elements among the many peoples of Eurasia. Along it, Buddhism spread from India to China, Korea, and Japan; Islam from the Middle East to the subcontinent and Southeast Asia; Christianity--particularly Nestorian Christianity--to the Far East. Not only silk and spices but paper, printing processes, gunpowder, the magnetic compass, and prized ceramics and laquerware flowed westward, while glassware and gold and silver metalwork flowed eastward. Developments in mathematics and the sciences--as well as in art and music--coursed back and forth, building upon each other. The legacy of the exchanges enacted along the Silk Road from about 500 B.C. until A.D. 1500 permeates cultures in both East and West to this day."