#2 - Trade Routes (Silk Road)

Silk Road

a vast network of interconnected land and sea routes that facilitated trade, cultural diffusion, and the spread of technology and disease across Eurasia from China to the Mediterranean Sea, with its name derived from the luxury silk that was a highly desired commodity in the West.

Black Death

a devastating bubonic plague pandemic that swept Eurasia and North Africa in the mid-14th century, killing an estimated 75-200 million people and significantly altering society.

Stirrup

a metal loop or frame attached to a horse's saddle that supports the rider's feet, improving control, balance, and combat effectiveness.

Saddle

a saddle, specifically the camel saddle, is a critical innovation that allowed for the efficient transport of goods and people across difficult terrains like the Sahara Desert, revolutionizing long-distance trade by distributing cargo weight and providing stability for both the rider and the camel.

Yoke

a figurative sense of oppressive rule or control, often implying a loss of freedom or burdensome systems. A prominent example is the "Mongol Yoke," which describes the often-harsh and controlling Mongol rule over Slavic populations after the Mongol conquests.

Steppe

Samarkand

a major city and cultural hub on the Silk Roads, located in modern-day Uzbekistan, known for its significant role in trade, magnificent architecture, and as a center of Islamic scholarship and learning under Timur's empire. It served as a crucial stopping point for caravans between China and the Mediterranean and became a testament to the commercial wealth and cultural exchange along these routes.

Banking Houses

a banking house was a financial institution, often a family business, that managed merchant transactions such as deposits, investments, loans, and currency exchange, enabling safer and more efficient interregional trade by utilizing bills of exchange. These networks of banking houses, found in places like the Silk Roads and the Islamic world. Credit + safer from thieves

Caravanserai

a roadside inn or large hostel built along major trade routes, like the Silk Road, that provided shelter, water, and food for traveling merchants and their caravans, serving as crucial centers for the exchange of goods, cultures, and information.

Hangzhou

the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty and one of the world's largest cities with a population exceeding one million. Strategically located on the Grand Canal and the East China Sea, it was a major center for maritime and internal trade, exporting goods like silk, porcelain, and tea via the Silk Roads and maritime routes.

Baghdad

the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258 CE), a major global intellectual and cultural center during the Golden Age of Islam, and a key hub on medieval trade routes. Center for translation, scholarship, and the exchange of ideas across cultures, before its fall to the Mongols in 1258.

Sogdian Merchants

Iranian traders from the ancient region of Sogdiana (modern Uzbekistan and Tajikistan) who played a crucial role in the Silk Road trade from roughly the 4th to the 8th centuries CE. They established diasporic communities along trade routes, acting as "cultural bees" to spread goods, ideas, languages, and traditions across Central and East Asia.

Silk

highly valued Chinese luxury fabric itself and the broader "Silk Roads" network that facilitated its trade and the exchange of ideas across Eurasia.

Relay Trade

a system of long-distance commerce where goods are passed from one merchant to another, changing hands multiple times along a route before reaching their final destination.

Caravan

a group of merchants, pilgrims, or travelers who journey together for safety and efficiency, typically using animals like camels or horses to transport goods and people across land,

Flying Cash

a Chinese system of credit certificates that allowed merchants to deposit money in one location and withdraw the equivalent amount in another, eliminating the need to carry large sums of heavy metal coins for long-distance trade

Paper Money

legal currency issued on paper, developed in China as a convenient alternative to metal coins, beginning in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) as "flying cash" and becoming more widespread during the Song Dynasty (11th century).

Currency

a system of money in general use as a medium of exchange, fulfilling the economic functions of a unit of account, a store of value, and a medium of exchange.