Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. Chapter 12 Cross-cultural Exchanges on the Silk Roads

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. Long-Distance Travel in the Ancient World Lack of police enforcement outside of established settlements Trade was a risky transaction in ancient times Changed in classical period  Rulers invested in improved infrastructure  Development of large empires that bordered one another  Cost of long distance trade droped

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. Hellenistic Trade Networks Develop Dramatic increase in trade due to Greek colonization Maintenance of roads, bridges Discovery of Monsoon wind patterns  Summer: Blow from Southwest  Winter: Blow from Northeast Hellenistic rulers closely supervised foreign trade and levied taxes on it---income from trade

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. Trade in the Hellenistic World Bactria/India  Spices, pepper, cosmetics, gems, pearls Persia, Egypt  Grain Mediterranean  Wine, oil, jewelry, art All traded slaves Development of professional merchant class

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. The Silk Roads As Classical empires expand so does trade Named for principal commodity from China Dependent on imperial stability Overland trade routes from China to Roman Empire Sea Lanes and Maritime trade Link South China Sea with the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. The Silk Roads, 200 BCE-300 CE

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. Trade Goods Know goods traded between regions and regional specializations Pages

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. Organization of Long-Distance Trade Divided trade into small segments--did not go from one end of Eurasia to the other Tariffs and tolls finance local supervision Tax income incentives to maintain safety, maintenance of passage Trade was also passed between several groups

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. Cultural Trade: Buddhism and Hinduism Merchants carry religious ideas along silk routes, especially Buddhism India through central Asia to east Asia Cosmopolitan centers promote development of monasteries to shelter traveling merchants Buddhism becomes dominant faith of silk roads, 200 BCE-700 CE

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. The Spread of Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity, 200 BCE – 400 CE

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. Buddhism in China Originally, Buddhism restricted to foreign merchant populations (Indians, Parthians, & central Asians) Lived in separate Buddhist enclaves Gradual spread to larger population beginning 5 th c. CE (China, Japan & Korea)

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. Buddhism and Hinduism in SE Asia Spread to Southeast Asia Sea lanes in Indian Ocean 1 st c. CE clear Indian influence in SE Asia In SE Asia:  Rulers called “rajas” (kings)  Sanskrit used for written communication  Buddhism, Hinduism become increasingly popular faiths

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. Christianity in Mediterranean Basin In the face of persecution, Christians take advantage of Roman roads and sea lanes Gregory the Wonderworker, central Anatolia 3 rd c. CE (Influenced by Paul of Tarsus) Christianity spreads through Middle East, North Africa, Europe Sizeable communities as far east as India Judaism, Zoroastrianism also practiced

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. Christianity in SW Asia Influence of ascetic practices from India  Chastity, refusal of comforts, withdrew from family & friends Desert-dwelling hermits & monastic societies After 5 th c. CE, Christianity in SW Asia & the Mediterranean went different ways SW Asia: followed Nestorios  Emphasized human nature of Jesus  Established communities in China, India & Central Asia

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. Spread of Manichaeism Missionary religions make use of the Silk Roads Mani a Zoroastrian prophet ( CE) Influenced by Christianity and Buddhism & promoted blend of religions Dualist--Cosmic struggle between  good vs. evil  light vs. dark  spirit vs. matter

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. Manichaean Society Devout Manichaeans: “the Elect”  Ascetic lifestyle  Celibacy, vegetarianism  Life of prayer and fasting Less pious: “the Hearers”  Material supporters of “the Elect”

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. Decline of Manichaeism Spread through silk routes to major cities in Roman Empire Zoroastrian opposition provokes Sassanid persecution  Mani arrested, dies in captivity Romans, fearing Persian influence, also persecute Survives to an extent in Central Asia

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. The Spread of Epidemic Disease Role of trade routes in spread of pathogens Pathogens spread beyond their origins to communities with no acquired immunity Limited data, but trends in demographics reasonably clear Smallpox, measles, bubonic plague Effect: Economic slowdown, move to regional self- sufficiency

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. Epidemics in the Han and Roman Empires

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. Internal Decay of the Han State Collapse is due largely to internal problems Infighting & backstabbing at the imperial level Formation of factions Problem of land distribution  Large landholders develop private armies  Able to shift tax burdens onto peasants Epidemics Peasant rebellions  184 CE Yellow Turban Rebellion

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. Collapse of the Han Dynasty Generals assume authority, reduce Emperor to puppet figure Alliance with landowners 200 CE Han Dynasty abolished, replaced by 3 kingdoms Immigration of northern nomads increases

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. Sinicization of Nomadic Peoples “China-fication” Nomadic adoption of sedentary lifestyle  Agriculture Adoption of Chinese names, dress, intermarriage Nomad peoples become sinicized Distinctions between Chinese and Nomads become less obvious

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. Popularity of Buddhism and Daoism The Confucian tradition looses credibility In a state of disorder Confucianism seems irrelevant Disintegration of political order casts doubt on Confucian doctrines Buddhism, Daoism gain popularity Religions of salvation

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. Fall of the Roman Empire: Internal Factors Combination of internal & external pressures The Barracks Emperors (internal pressures) claimants to the throne, all but one killed in power struggles Sprawling empire poses challenge for central governors (unmanageable) Epidemics Disintegration of imperial economy in favor of local and regional self-sufficient economies

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. Diocletan (r CE) Attempted to deal with the unmanageability Divided empire into two administrative districts Eastern District (Anatolia, Syria, Egypt, Greece) Western District (Italy, Gaul, Spain, Britain, N Africa) Co-Emperors, dual Lieutenants  “Tetrarchs” The four that rule Currency, budget reform Relative stability disappears after Diocletans’s death, civil war follows Constantine emerges victorious and wants to be sole emperor Constantinople becomes the capital of a united Roman Empire Faced same pre-Diocletan problems

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Fall of the Roman Empire: External Factors Visigoths, influenced by Roman law, Christianity  Settle on the buffer states of the Roman Empire Attacked by Huns under Attila in 5 th c. CE Massive migration of Germanic peoples into Roman Empire Sacked Rome in 410 CE, established Germanic emperor in 476 CE Empire survives in the East AKA Byzantine Empire

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. Germanic invasions and the fall of the western Roman empire, C.E.

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. Cultural Change in the Roman Empire Christianity survives the collapse of western empire  Constantine’s Vision, 312 CE  Promulgates Edict of Milan, allows Christian practice  Converts to Christianity 380 CE Emperor Theodosius proclaims Christianity official religion of Roman Empire

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. St. Augustine ( CE) Hippo, North Africa Experimented with Greek thought, Manichaeism 387 converts to Christianity Major theologian

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. The Institutional Church Conflicts over doctrine and practice in early Church  Divinity of Jesus (is he mortal or divine)  Role of women Church hierarchy established  Patriarchs, Bishop of Rome primus inter pares