1. Classical and Post-Classical Trade and Economy
Key Concept 2.3
Key Concept 3.1
Classical and Post-Classical Trade and Economy

2. Trade Overview
Transregional trade routes developed in the Classical Era (Pd. 2) & expanded in the post-Classical Era (Pd.3)
1. The Silk Roads
2. The Trans-Saharan
3. The Mediterranean Sea
4. The Indian Ocean basins
Expanded due to improved transportation technologies and commercial practices
Result: increased volume of trade and expanded geographical range
Strong relationship between trade and urbanization (growth of cities) and diffusion (people, language, culture, crops, technology)

3. SILK ROADS
Link pastoral and agricultural peoples (inner, outer Asia)
“relay trade”
Camel caravans braved steppes, deserts
Classical period: links Rome, Han, Persia
7th and 8th centuries: revived by Byzantine, Abbasid, and Tang
13th and 14th: Mongol Empire links Asia and Europe

4. Trans-Saharan trade routes

5. Trans-Sahara Trade Revolutionized by camel around 300 C.E.
Sudan traded gold*, ivory, kola nuts, and slaves
North Africa traded salt*, horses, cloth, dates, manufactured goods
Sudanic kingdoms – Ghana, Mali, Songhay
1300s: Mali monopolizes gold and salt trade
Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage
Diffusion of Islam after 1000 C.E.

6. Mansa Musa

7. Med Sea Connects Europe to North Africa and Middle East trade
Key to Greeks and Romans
At high point, Arab Empire controlled 75%

8. Indian Ocean trade routes
Center of world trade pre-1492
Lower transportation costs
Began with first civilizations
Major changes :
1. Reemergence of China
2. Rise of Islam
East Africa
gold
salt
slaves

9. Southeast Asia
Heavily influenced by India (Hinduism and Buddhism) and China
Malay sailors opened all-sea route India  China through Malacca straights
Rise of Malay kingdom of Srivijaya
Buddhist monasteries at Borobudur, Angkor

10. Borobudur: 9th century Mahayana Buddhist temple (Java, Indonesia)

11. Angkor Wat (Hindu Buddhist temple in Cambodia)

12. East Africa: Swahili culture
Began as small Bantu fishing & farming villages
Traded gold, ivory, quartz, leopard skins, slaves
: dev. of independent Swahili city-states
Ex: Kilwa, Mombasa, Malindi
Cosmopolitan; Arab, Indian, and Persian visitors
Navigational knowledge

13. American Trade New trade routes centered on Mesoamerica and the Andes
Maya – network of city-states

14. Review: What was traded?
Luxury Goods
China: silk textiles, porcelain
India: Cotton textiles, Spices, Gems
Africa: Slaves, exotic animals, gold
SE Asia: spices

15. Review: Who was trading?
Empires facilitated trade
China, Byzantine Empire, Caliphates, Mongols
Byzantine Empire
Manufactures glassware, jewelry, & silk
Trade a major part of the economy
Mediterranean Sea, Silk Roads, Russia, etc.
Urbanization: Constantinople
Arabs
Did not rely heavily upon agriculture
Dar al-Islam facilitated expansion of trade
Islamic law protected merchants
Revival of the Silk Road
Growth of Indian Ocean trade - Dhows increase the volume of maritime trade

16. Review: How did they trade?
Land routes
Yokes, Saddles, Stirrups
Horses, Oxen, Llamas, Camels
Caravan organization
Caravanserai – roadside inn
Camel saddles

17. Review: How did they trade?
MARITIME
Advanced knowledge of the monsoon winds
Dhow ships with lateen sails
triangular; allowed to tack against wind
Use of the compass (China)
Astrolabe – used for location
Larger ship designs

18. Review: How did they trade?
Monetization– using currency instead of barter
Bills of exchange
Credit
Checks
Banking houses
First paper currency – Song Dynasty

19. Travelers
The writings of interregional travelers show extent and the limits of intercultural knowledge
Ibn Battuta
Marco Polo
Xuanzang

20. Xuanzang 7th century Buddhist monk
Purpose was to find true Buddhist scriptures in India
Traveled on Silk Road,
converted pirates who tried to rob him
Importance: help understand Buddhism and cultures along Silk Road

21. Marco Polo Born in Venice to wealthy trading family
Traveled with father and uncle to China
employed by Kublai Khan (Mongol ruler) for 17 years
Importance: sparked European interest in the East; however…
Some question whether Polo ever reached China
No mention of foot-binding, tea drinking, Great Wall?

22. Ibn Btutta Arab scholar Born in Morocco
Visited Spain, Anatolia, West and East Africa, Arabia, Iraq, Persia, Central and Southeast Asia, India, China
Critical of Islam on the frontier
Importance: illustrate vast expanse of Islamic civilization, never an “outsider”

23. Review: Travelers
Where did they go?

24. Diasporic Communities
Merchants along routes introduced their own cultural traditions into the indigenous culture.
Muslim merchant communities in the Indian Ocean region
Chinese merchant communities in Southeast Asia
Jewish communities in the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean basin, and along the Silk Roads

25. The Fates of Cities Periods of significant decline due to…
Invasions
Disease
The decline of agricultural productivity
The Little Ice Age
Periods of increased urbanization
rising productivity and expanding trade networks
The end of invasions
The availability of safe and reliable transport
The rise of commerce
Warmer temperatures between 800 and 1300
Increased agricultural productivity  Subsequent rising population
Greater availability of labor

26. Cities

28. Changing Cities
Cities continued to play roles as governmental, religious, and commercial centers
Many older cities declined
Rome
Xi’an (former Han capital)
New cities emerged to take on established roles
Novgorod (Russia)
Timbuktu
The Swahili city-states
Hangzhou (China)
Calicut (India)
Baghdad (Abbasids)
Melaka (SE Asia)
Venice (Italy)
Tenochtitlan
Cahokia (North America)

29. Post-Classical Migration
Camels!

30. Human Migration: Polynesians
Bananas!

31. Austronesian Migrations
Agricultural
Originated in southern China
Spread to Philippines, Indonesia, and Madagascar
Used double-outrigger canoes
Brought new plants and animals

32. Austronesian Migrations

33. Linguistic Map of Southeast Asia

34. Bantu Migrations Agricultural society
Began in West Africa c. 3,000 B.C.
Spread East and South through Sub-Saharan Africa
Diffusion of iron metallurgy technology and agriculture
Iron plow
Bantu Migrations Interactive

37. Diffusion of Language

38. Diffusion of new foods Champa rice (Vietnam  East Asia)
Arab traders brought…
Citrus and sugar from SE Asia to Europe and Mediterranean
Cotton from India to Europe
Bananas from SE Asia to Africa and Middle East