Trade - Carter

As far back as the classical period of antiquity, the farthest eastern reaches of Asia have been inextricably intwined with Europe. Although it would not be until the medieval period that merchants would actually traverse the entire continent of Eurasia in one trip, trade was nevertheless occurring through a system of interconnected stages that spanned across mountains, deserts, steppes, and oceans. The most famous of these trade routes, is of course the Silk Road. Named for the commodity most commonly associated with the Orient by Europeans, the traditional Silk Road is actually several different routes that all connected China with the Mediterranean. There was the cheaper yet more dangerous northern route, which endured harsh deserts and seemingly impassable mountains, or the more circuitous southern route, which passed through India and Pakistan before linking up with the northern route in Persia. Then, there was the Indian Ocean Route, which was more expensive, but also faster, and less likely to be impeded by political conflicts. 

Each of these routes had advantages and disadvantages, but all of them accomplished the purpose of enabling an exchange of goods and ideas between the opposite ends of the vast Eurasian continent. While the practical purpose of these routes was to transport luxury goods such as silk, glass, spices, and manufactured items, they also facilitated the exchange of culture, technology, and even disease. For example, even long after the collapse of Alexander's empire, Hellenic cultural was still disseminating throughout the East, permanently influencing Indian and Chinese philosophies and aspects of their art. Later, technologies such as stirrups originated among the steppe nomads of western Eurasia, but due to the Silk Road, was soon found and adopted by civilizations on both ends of the route, fundamentally changing military tactics, and thus the course of history itself. Eventually, even religion was able to use the Silk Road in order to spread across the world, as Nestorian Christianity spread deep into the east along the Silk Road's various routes, while Buddhism would have never expanded as quickly as did without the Silk Road to abet its spread. These are only a few examples of the immense impact the Silk Road had upon history.