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Continuity and Change Essay - The Silk Roads from 200 BCE to 1450 CE

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Continuity and Change Essay - The Silk Roads from 200 BCE to 1450 CE
The Silk Road was an important trade network that established cross-cultural trade; people from Han China all the way to the Roman Empire were involved. The Roads came around at about 200 B.C.E, and persisted for another 1,700 years. Luxury goods, religions, diseases, food, and ideas have emerged within that time. The Silk Road and its trade remain constant even though its patterns of interaction have been altered through the plague and Islam, Christianity, and Buddhism. Over time, the Silk Roads’ routes spread all throughout Eurasia. Empires that were large and wealthy often traded goods, for this was very good for their economy. Unmistakably, trade comes with the dispersion of disease. Rats that lived on boats started the Bubonic Plague; ships carrying the disease would spread it at various stops, infecting more people. The Mongols contributed to the spread of the Black Death. Changes occurred when millions of people were killed during the Middle Ages. Furthermore, when the Roman Empire fell in the mid-5th century, trade was reduced along the Silk Roads. The plague was one of many factors that changed over interaction along the Silk Roads. Religion was a monumental change that resulted through communication of merchants and travelers. Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity arose and made its way across the Roads. After time, these religions became the most prominent in Eurasia.
Among many changes lie a few continuities. The purpose of the Silk Road itself along with the goods traded remained the same for 1,650 years. Goods such as silk, spices, and currency were exchanged and developed. Ideas, technology, and innovation were also shared in the process. The purpose of the Roads was to make trade easier while satisfying the economy.
Overall, change ended up being a positive result for nations that traded along the Silk Roads. From 200 B.C.E to 1450 C.E, people throughout Eurasia were providing and obtaining materials that sped up the development of human

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