THE SILK ROADS

• the silk road was a luxury goods trading network that stretched across Eurasia
• • chinese silk & porcelain were traded throughout the silk road
• • increased demand in silk & porcelain caused an increase in production of these goods by Chinese, Indian, and Persian artisans
• innovations that facilitated expansions of these networks

  transportation technologies and commerical practices
• caravanserai is an example of

  technological innovation
• caravanserai

  brought merchants from all different cultures and backgrounds together and that created the occasion for significant transfers, whether it was cultural or technological
• credit is a form of commerical practices
• money economy is a form of commerical practices
• in these commerical practices, money economy used paper money to facilitate exchange and trade
• • increase in trade led to rise of powerful trading cities that grew and flourished precisely because they were located along these routes (ex: Hangzhou)
• • the silk road interconnected eight regions
  • the persian gulf
  • central asias northern passage
  • the china sea
  • southeast asia
  • the arabian sea
  • north africa
  • eastern Mediterranean 
  • western europe