Changes And Continuities Of The Silk Road

The Silk Road was a major pre-modern trade route, which linked the east with the west along a major land route and by land-based methods of transportation. The overarching connection with historical kingdoms and empires is traditionally based on the movement of silk and other luxury goods from China to the Roman Empire and throughout the Mediterranean. The effect of this trade brought about a major internationalization of trading partnerships with China, India, and other nations that would connect with Europe. The development of the Silk Road from China began during the Han Dynasty, but it quickly expanded into Central Asia during the 2nd and 1st centuries B.C. For instance, the shipment of silk to Europe brought about a major demand for luxury
The alliances between China, Persia, and other Central Asian regions brought about a clash of civilizations, which often involved the Byzantine Empire and/or the Roman Empire as a result of increased trade relations during the first centuries A.D. During this time, the struggle to control the trade routes became a geopolitical struggle that created military conflicts between civilizations. For instance, the Nisibis War of the 290s A.D. defines the restrictions to Roman power over the Silk Road: “The Nisibis War interfered with merchant traffic along the Silk Road, and Persian merchants took the Indian Ocean to compete with Romans in the Indian markets” (Harrell 53). These are some of the international conflicts that occurred due to the Silk Road and the access that it provided those that controlled and regulated these trade markets. In this way, the benefits of exotic goods from Asia provide a massive economic stimulus for European and Roman markets, yet the continual struggle to dominate trades routes by these competing civilizations also caused a great deal of strife and
The conflict over sea routes provided more pirating and smuggling operations, so that Roman traders and other empires could circumvent the Parthian dominance over the Silk Road: “The Romans, too, encouraged the Spice Route trade from the Red Sea to India in an attempt to bypass the Parthians…The Romans and the Parthians were long-time rivals for power in Western Asia (Reid 8). Much like the Silk Road and the Incense Route, the Spice Route created a highly hostile and combative maritime environment for merchants, navies, and other persons traveling the Indian Ocean. Again, the Indian and Ethiopian navies often hindered the struggle for dominance of these routes, but during the late 6th and 7th centuries, the Arabs retook the Spice Route from what was previously known as the Incense Route. These problems often negated the highly profitable spices being shipped in these seafaring endeavors, which made travel very dangerous. More so, the volatility of the world’s ocean made it dangerous to ship these items over such long distances. Surely, the Silk Road was an immobile route that could be ambushed or controlled y various empires along its span, but the dangers of the sea made navigation on the Spice Route a very dangerous option. However, the Indian merchants often took these risks as a means of overcoming the tariffs and land-based dangers of