Trade Routes During The Post-Classical Era

Trade was and is a huge component in the development and advancement of civilizations. Trade advances societies through the spread knowledge and ideas, exchange of resources and the establishment of power. The type of ideas spread could include religion, culture, art, philosophy, technology and methods of government. Nations which lacked key food resources could sell precious goods like gold, textiles or silk. When different societies saw the wealth in these civilizations they were inclined to gain these precious goods and could go to war to have them. Three of the major trade routes that were critical in the post-classical era were the Indian Ocean trade, the sea and land trade in Western Europe and the Silk Road.
The Indian Ocean route was composed of East Africa, the Middle East and South East Asia and was a huge component in the development of civilizations and spread of knowledge and
The Silk Road was at one point the only trade route that connected the two continents. The only problem with the Silk Road was that it was by land and not by sea. This was a problem because it took longer, was more expensive to travel and was risky. However, when the Mongol Empire was created by Genghis Khan, who took over all of Asia to Eastern Europe, he protected the trade routes with his forces. His security made trade a lot easier because it was safer and therefore, more goods could be carried at once. The Silk Road not only traded goods like silk, gems, and natural resources but ideas were also exchanged. Through trade, many societies learned about China’s development of gunpowder, which was a huge technological development and in essence made some civilizations unstoppable forces. Also the Silk Road spread Islam throughout Asia from the Middle East. For these reasons the Silk Road was a major factor in the development of