1. The Silk Road - What is it? Why is it important?

2. The Silk Road The Silk Road lasted for 1200 years.
From the Roman Empire until Medieval Europe.
There were three phases where it was traveled more than other times.
Han Dynasty (2nd Century B.C.E. – 2nd Century C.E.)
Tang Dynasty (7th – 10th Century C.E.)
Yuan Dynasty (12th – 14th Century C.E.)
Marco Polo visits China

3. The Silk Road
The Silk Road was not actually a road. It was not paved. It was not even a single route. 
The Silk Road was a name given to a series of interconnected trade routes that led across China to Rome. It was a 4000-mile trip. At one end was China. At the other end was Rome. 

4. After the Silk Road the “East” and “West” become Interdependent
Each had something the other wanted.
Rome had gold and silver and precious gems.
China had silk and spices and ivory. 
Ideas also traveled along the Silk Road, ideas that affected everyone.
The spreading of goods and ideas between cultures is known as cultural diffusion.

5. Exchange of Goods

6. ITEMS TRADED ALONG THE SILK ROAD
OUD
ITEMS TRADED ALONG THE SILK ROAD
GLASS
BACTRIAN CAMELS
CARPETS
PORCELAIN
METAL WORK
SILK
JADE
SPICES

7. What do you see?
How can we compare this to the trade of today?
Why was this important to global history?

8. WHAT WAS LIFE LIKE TRAVELING ON THE SILK ROAD?

9. What do you see?
The market on the Silk Road in Kazakhstan.

10. What is this?
On the way to Turpan – center bewteen East and West Asia???

11. The Silk Road
Over the centuries, the Silk Road developed a civilization of its own.
Where possible, the Silk Road became lined with huge Buddhist temples, Islamic mosques and booming cities where much cultural diffusion.
It became far easier to travel the road. The journey became safer during the high trade eras.
But it was never easy. There were still vast stretches of deserts and mountains to cross, with no city or water in sight. 

12. Turn, talk, and answer:
Do you think that cultural diffusion benefits civilizations? Why or why not?

13. The Asian Empires we will study next.
Byzantine
Empire
Mongol Empire
The Asian Empires we will study next.
Ottoman
Empire
China
Empire
Mughal
Empire

14. Dangers of the Silk Road
It was incredibly dangerous to travel along the Silk Road.
You faced desolate white-hot sand dunes in the desert, forbidding mountains, brutal winds, and poisonous snakes. 
There was one nice section, called the Gansu Corridor, a relatively fertile strip that ran along the base of one of the mountains.
To reach this strip, you had to cross the desert or the mountains.
And of course, there were always bandits and pirates.  
Even the traders did not make the whole trip.
They worked in relays. Each trader would go a certain distance, exchange their goods for other goods, and hopefully return. The next would move along the road, trade, and hopefully return.  
There were three main routes, and all were dangerous.
Northern Route – Westward to Black Sea
Central Route – Westward to Persia, Mediterranean Sea, Rome
Southern Route – Westward to Iran, India

15. Geography of the Silk Road: Even though there were many physical obstacles, trade continued.
Taklimakan Desert
Himalayan Mountains
Kunlun Mountain Painting
Pamir Mountains

16. Taklamakan Desert: Western China “The Desert of Death”
The Silk Roads avoided the Taklamakan Desert and passed through the oasis towns on its outskirts

17. Making Silk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1RTqAWKenM&safe=active
silkworms are still raised for the silk threads they produce.
The silkworm, when fully grown, reaches a length of about 5 to 7 centimetres, and it's an amazing worker. In only a few days, a single silkworm spins a cocoon from which can be removed a silk thread up to 600 metres in length. But it still takes about 25,000 cocoons to make half a kilogram of raw silk. Most of the silk today is produced by China and India, and a few other countries. 60,000 tonnes of raw silk are made each year, and are turned into dresses, shirts, bed sheets, curtains, and other products. It's a big industry, especially in China, where ten million Chinese farmers grow silkworms, and another half million make silk fabrics. There are 600 silk weaving mills in China.
Around the world there are different varieties of silkworm used to make different types of silk; there is even one type of silkworm that makes a coccoon together with another silkworm, producing a double-thread! Although synthetic fibers such as nylon and polyester, which are stronger than silk and lower in price, have turned silk into a luxury product, silk is still in demand because of its superior look and feel.
A silkworm moth is yellowish-white, with a thick, hairy body, and a wingspread of about 4 cm. The adults live only a short time ... long enough for the female to lay her eggs. The larvae, which hatch in about ten days, are about half a centimetre long. Larvae in captivity are fed their favourite food, the leaves of the white mulberry plant, so they will produce the finest quality silk. Full-grown larvae are up to 7 cm long, and yellowish-gray in color.
After about six weeks of continuous eating, the larvae climb to the top of a branch and spin their coccoon. It takes about six days, and to do it they produce one continuous long silk thread. They will emerge from their coccoon after several weeks of pupating, as adult moths. But on silkworm farms, only enough adult moths are allowed to emerge to ensure continuation of the species, since they destroy the coccoon when emerging. The remaining silkworms are killed by heat while they are inside their coccoons, so that the silk can be drawn off and spun into threads, and woven into fabric.

18. Hear the story of a Silk Road Merchant
MERCHANT - a person whose job is to buy, sell & trade goods. (salesman or businessman)

19. Prepare to be a Silk Road Trader

20. Antioch - - Islam - glassware– edge of Arabian Peninsula
Cstestiphon –carpets - A- Islam - rabian Peninsula – near Tigris and Euphrates River under the Syrian Desert
Kashgar – spices – Buddhism - north of India – between four sets of mountains
Kucha – gold and Buddhism – north of the Taklamakan Desert and to the east of the Tian Chan Mountans
Dunwhang – silk and Buddhism -– on the edge of the Gobi Desert close to China just outside the Great Wall of China

21. Antioch - - Islam - glassware– edge of Arabian Peninsula
Cstestiphon –carpets - A- Islam - rabian Peninsula – near Tigris and Euphrates River under the Syrian Desert
Kashgar – spices – Buddhism - north of India – between four sets of mountains
Kucha – gold and Buddhism – north of the Taklamakan Desert and to the east of the Tian Chan Mountans
Dunwhang – silk and Buddhism -– on the edge of the Gobi Desert close to China just outside the Great Wall of China

22. Spices Glassware Gold Carpet Silk
Antioch - - Islam - glassware– edge of Arabian Peninsula
Cstestiphon –carpets - A- Islam - rabian Peninsula – near Tigris and Euphrates River under the Syrian Desert
Kashgar – spices – Buddhism - north of India – between four sets of mountains
Kucha – gold and Buddhism – north of the Taklamakan Desert and to the east of the Tian Chan Mountans
Dunwhang – silk and Buddhism -– on the edge of the Gobi Desert close to China just outside the Great Wall of China

23. Antioch - - Islam - glassware– edge of Arabian Peninsula
Cstestiphon –carpets - A- Islam - rabian Peninsula – near Tigris and Euphrates River under the Syrian Desert
Kashgar – spices – Buddhism - north of India – between four sets of mountains
Kucha – gold and Buddhism – north of the Taklamakan Desert and to the east of the Tian Chan Mountans
Dunwhang – silk and Buddhism -– on the edge of the Gobi Desert close to China just outside the Great Wall of China

24. Antioch - - Latin Islam - glassware– edge of Arabian Peninsula
Cstestiphon –Persian carpets - A- Islam - rabian Peninsula – near Tigris and Euphrates River under the Syrian Desert
Kashgar – spices – Hndi - Buddhism - north of India – between four sets of mountains
Kucha –gold and Buddhism – Mongolian north of the Taklamakan Desert and to the east of the Tian Chan Mountans
Dunwhang – silk and Buddhism – Mandarin Chinese on the edge of the Gobi Desert close to China just outside the Great Wall of China

25. Antioch - - Islam - glassware– edge of Arabian Peninsula
Cstestiphon –carpets - A- Islam - rabian Peninsula – near Tigris and Euphrates River under the Syrian Desert
Kashgar – spices – Buddhism - north of India – between four sets of mountains
Kucha – gold and Buddhism – north of the Taklamakan Desert and to the east of the Tian Chan Mountans
Dunwhang – silk and Buddhism -– on the edge of the Gobi Desert close to China just outside the Great Wall of China

26. Antioch - - Islam - glassware– edge of Arabian Peninsula
Cstestiphon –carpets - A- Islam - rabian Peninsula – near Tigris and Euphrates River under the Syrian Desert
Kashgar – spices – Buddhism - north of India – between four sets of mountains
Kucha – gold and Buddhism – north of the Taklamakan Desert and to the east of the Tian Chan Mountans
Dunwhang – silk and Buddhism -– on the edge of the Gobi Desert close to China just outside the Great Wall of China

27. Antioch - - Islam - glassware– edge of Arabian Peninsula
Cstestiphon –carpets - A- Islam - rabian Peninsula – near Tigris and Euphrates River under the Syrian Desert
Kashgar – spices – Buddhism - north of India – between four sets of mountains
Kucha – gold and Buddhism – north of the Taklamakan Desert and to the east of the Tian Chan Mountans
Dunwhang – silk and Buddhism -– on the edge of the Gobi Desert close to China just outside the Great Wall of China

28. Antioch - - Islam - glassware– edge of Arabian Peninsula
Cstestiphon –carpets - A- Islam - rabian Peninsula – near Tigris and Euphrates River under the Syrian Desert
Kashgar – spices – Buddhism - north of India – between four sets of mountains
Kucha – gold and Buddhism – north of the Taklamakan Desert and to the east of the Tian Chan Mountans
Dunwhang – silk and Buddhism -– on the edge of the Gobi Desert close to China just outside the Great Wall of China

29. Antioch - - Islam - glassware– edge of Arabian Peninsula
Cstestiphon –carpets - A- Islam - rabian Peninsula – near Tigris and Euphrates River under the Syrian Desert
Kashgar – spices – Buddhism - north of India – between four sets of mountains
Kucha – gold and Buddhism – north of the Taklamakan Desert and to the east of the Tian Chan Mountans
Dunwhang – silk and Buddhism -– on the edge of the Gobi Desert close to China just outside the Great Wall of China

35. Debriefing
What aspects of the activity were the most challenging? Why?
Would you have wanted to be a trader along the Silk Road? Why or why not?

36. Make a connection from the class to the history… fill in the T-chart in your packet with your seatmates.
Center table (Kashgar) was most crowded
Piece of paper with drawing on it
Farthest east room was Duoyang
Couldn’t walk further west than Antioch
Crawling on floor
Climbing over desks
Closing eyes
One of the trade goods you got
Most people didn’t make it to all five trading spots

37. Now let’s discuss as a class
Center table (Kashgar) was most crowded
Pictures on the papers
Farthest east room was Duhyuang
Couldn’t walk further west than Antioch
Crawling on floor
Climbing over desks
Closing eyes
One of the trade goods you got
Most people didn’t make it to all five trading spots

38. What did you learn so far about the Silk Road
On the Post It:
Grade yourself on your listening in class.
Did you finish all homework. Yes or No.
Evaluate yourself on your understanding of the homwork.
Define Silk Road including where it started and ended.
What are four goods traded?
What other than goods were spread and what is that called?

39. Cultural Exchange and Silk Road
Silk Road created cultural diffusion in which goods, ideas, technology and knowledge spread between cultures
China and Rome not only received new products but learned how to make them for themselves
By 500 CE the Chinese understood the technology Roman glassmaking.
Around the same time, Rome learned how to produce silk

40. Changes to China
In addition to learning to make glassware, gardening and agriculture changed.
China imported many new foods such as grapes, cucumbers, figs, pomegranates, walnuts, chives, sesame
Near China, draw and label two symbols for two foods or products that China learned about as a result of trade on Silk Road.

41. Changes to the West (especially Rome)
In addition to learning to make silk, there were diet, gardening and agricultural changes.
Rome and western people imported oranges, peaches, pears and flowers like roses, mums, peonies and more
Near Rome, draw and label two symbols for two foods or products that Rome learned about as a result of trade on Silk Road.

42. Buddhism spreads from India along Silk Road
Buddhism had its beginnings in India.
Because the Silk Road passed through India, and India was in the middle, many people learned of Buddhism
Buddhism was introduced in China in 1st century
Some Chinese Buddhists would travel the Silk Road just to get to India to get sacred texts on the religion.

43. Buddhism is now a world religion
Near India, draw and label a symbol for Buddhism. Then draw and arrow that shows how Buddhism spread from India to China.
Then answer the two thought questions below the map.

44. Effects of Trade
What other effects might there be to trade other than just the exchange of goods and the chance to get rich?

46. Silk Road Today – 2009 Visit

47. Now, how would you do on a practice quiz over the Silk Road?
Look at the target questions on the Unit Target Guide I’m about to give you. Answer the Silk Road target questions with your Asian Empires partner.