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Trade was also increased by the Parthian state in northeastern Iran and its co trol of the markets in Mesopotamia. New Crops In addition to horses, China imported alfalfa, grapes, and a variety of other ne w crops as well as medicinal products, metals, and precious stones China exported peaches and apricots, spices, and manufactured goods includ ing silk, pottery, and paper Nomadism in Central and Inner Asia Sythians The Silk Road depended on pastoral nomads to provide animals, animal hand lers, and protection.
Herodotus describes the Scythians who were superb riders, herdsmen, and h unters. They were located in the lands to the north of the Black and Caspian Seas. They moved around regularly and efficiently to prevent overgrazing. Their homes were felt fabric spread over a lightweight framework. The Nomadic Lifestyle Nomads knew and used the products grown by farmers, but ideally desired selfsufficiency. As a result the foods required for this selfsufficiency were primarily milk and meat. Clothing was made from felt, leather, and furs. Nomads were dependent on settled regions for bronze or iron used in bridles , stirrups, cart fittings, and weapons. The Silk Road and the Spread of Religion The Sasanid Empire Sasanids defeated the Parthians around 224 C. E. The Sasanids then confronted the Romans, and later after 330, the Byzantines These rival empires frequently attacked each other across the frontier betwee n the 340s and 628. In peacetime, exchange and trade flourished between the two empires.
Arab pastoralists in the desert between Syria and Mesopotamia provided the camels and guides to extend the Silk Road from the Euphrates River all the way to the Me diterranean coast. The development of the militarily efficient camel saddle by the third century B caused the virtual disappearance of wheeled vehicles by the sixth century C. E. Warrior Nobles Cousins of the Shah, or powerful nobles ruled the mountains and plateaus of Iran. Society revolved around a local aristocracy that lived in rural estates.
Though this aristocracy dominated, a longlasting political fragmentation like t hat of medieval Europe did not develop. No folk migration occurred like that of the Germanic tribes who defeated Ro man armies to overtake Roman territory Zoroastrians and Christians Nestorian Christianity Nestorius’ view was that Jesus was made up of two persons with two distinct natures instead of one person with two mystically unified natures. Jesus technically w s not the “Son of God” or “Logos,” rather, the Son of God dwelled in Jesus. Nestorius calls Mary christotokos (Christbearer or mother of Christ) instead of theotokos (Godbearer or mother of God) the term used in Orthodox Christianity and Catholicism. The Orthodox bishops saw this as denying the full divinity of Jesus, and declar ed Nestorius a heretic. Yet Nestorian Christianity spread across the silk road to the east. The political fallout was that Nestorian Christians moved toward the east and were welcomed by the Sasanid emperors. They were happy to declare allegiance to the east rather than to Constantinople.
The Silk Road and the Spread Of Religion Manicheaism Religion and the Silk Road TurkicSpeaking Nomads and Buddhism The Impact of the Silk Road on Technology Turkic nomads, who became the dominant pastoralist group in Central Asia, b enefited from the trade Their elites constructed houses, lived settled lives, and became interested in f oreign religions including Christianity, Buddhism, and (eventually) Islam The Indian Ocean Maritime System The Indian Ocean maritime system linked the lands bordering the Indian Oce an basin and the South China Sea Trade took place in three distinct regions: (1) the South China Sea, dominated by Chinese and Malays (2) Southeast Asia to the east coast of India, dominated by Malays and Indians (3) The west coast of India to the Persian Gulf and East Africa, dominated by P ersians and Arabs Trade in the Indian Ocean was made possible by and followed the patterns of the seasonal changes in the monsoon winds Sailing technology unique to the Indian Ocean system included the lateen sail and a shipbuilding technique that involved piercing the planks, tying them together, and caulking them. Climate Regions of South Because the distances traveled were longer than in the Mediterranean, trader in the Indian Ocean system seldom retained political ties to their homelands, and w ar between the various lands participating in the trade was rare Origins of Contact and Trade There is evidence of early trade between ancient Mesopotamia and the Indus This trade appears to have broken off as Mesopotamia turned more toward tr ade with East Africa.
Two thousand years ago, Malay sailors from Southeast Asia migrated to the is lands of Madagascar These migrants, however, did not retain communications or trade with their h omeland The Impact of Indian Ocean Trade What little we know about trade in the Indian Ocean system before Islam is gl aned largely from a single first century C. E. GrecoEgyptian text, The Periplus (list of stops during a sea route or voyage) of the Erythrean Sea This account describes a trading system that must have been well established and flourishing when the account was written The goods traded included a wide variety of spices, aromatic resins, pearls, Ch inese pottery, and other luxury goods. The volume of trade was probably not as high as in the Mediterranean The culture of the Indian Ocean ports was often isolated from that of their hin terlands Traders and sailors in the Indian Ocean system often married local women in he ports that they frequented.
These women thus became mediators between culture Routes Across the Sahara Early Saharan Cultures Undatable rock painting show an early hunting culture, that would eventually become cattle breeders The artwork indicates that the cattle breeders were later succeeded by horse herders who drove chariots The highland rock art indicates that camel riders followed the charioteers The Camel The camel was introduced from Arabia and its introduction and domesticatio n in the Sahara was probably related to the development of the transSaharan trade Written evidence and the design of camel saddles and patterns of camel use i ndicate a southtonorth diffusion of camel riding.
The camel made it possible for people from the southern highlands of the Sa hara to roam the desert and to establish contacts with the people of the northern Sahara Trade Across the Sahara Trade across the Sahara developed slowly when two local trading systems, on e in the southern Sahara and one in the north, were linked Traders in the southern Sahara had access to desert salt deposits and export ed salt to the subSaharan regions in return for kola nuts (has caffeine, and chewed individu lly) and palm oil (used as a cooking oil). Traders in the north exported agricultural products and wild animals to Italy. When Rome declined (3rd century C. E. ) and the Arabs invaded North Africa (m id7th century C. E. ) The trade of Algeria and Morocco was cut off The Berber people of these areas revolted against the Arabs in the 700s and e stablished independent citystates including Sijilmasa and Tahert. Distribution of Berbers in Northwest Africa After 740 C. E. he Berbers found that the southern nomads were getting gold dust from the Niger and other areas of West Africa in exchange for their salt This opened their eyes to a great business opportunity A pattern of trade developed in which the Berbers of North Africa traded cop per and manufactured goods to the nomads of the southern desert in return for gold The nomads of the southern desert, for their part, exchanged their salt for th e gold of the Niger and other West African river areas The Kingdom of Ghana The kingdom of Ghana was one of the early subSaharan beneficiaries of this n ew transSaharan trade in north west Africa The origins and early history of Ghana are obscure The first description we have is the eleventh century account by alBakri, who escribed a city of two towns, one a Muslim merchant town and the other the capital of an animist king and his court. After 1076 Ghana was weakened by the invasion of the Moroccan Almorovids Even after the Almorovids retreated from the south, Ghana never recovered it s former wealth and status.
SubSaharan Africa A Challenging Geography SubSaharan Africa is a large area with many different environmental zones an d many geographical obstacles to movement Some of the significant geographical areas are : Sahel tropical savanna tropical rain forest of the lower Niger and Zaire savanna area south of the rain forest teppe and desert below that temperate highlands of South Africa The Development of Cultural Unity In subsaharan Africa no overarching “great tradition” developed SubSaharan Africa is a vast territory of many “small traditions. ” Historians know very little about the prehistory of these many “small tradition s” and their peoples African cultures are highly diverse There is an estimated 2000 languages spoken Another reason for the long dominance of “small traditions” is that no foreign power was able to conquer Africa and thus impose a unified “great tradition. ”