1200 to 1450 time period

- The 1200 to 1450 time period was marked by significant developments in trade, culture, and political structures across the globe. Major events included the establishment of the Mongol Empire, the rise of the Ottoman Empire, and the flourishing of the Renaissance in Europe.

**The silk roads** were a vast network of roads and trails that facilitated trade and the spread of culture and ideas across Eurasia in and before the period 1200-1450. These routes not only enabled the exchange of goods but also facilitated the transmission of knowledge, technologies, and religious beliefs, impacting the socio-cultural landscape of the regions they connected. Innovations in commercial practices:

- Development of money economies:

This transition moved societies away from bartering systems, enabling more efficient and standardized trade practices

. - paper money: Introduced by the Tang Dynasty in China, paper money provided a lightweight and easily transportable medium of exchange, fostering long-distance trade

. - Increase use of credit \-flying money:

A form of early credit or promissory notes used by merchants in China, which reduced the risk of theft and logistical challenges associated with transporting large quantities of coinage.

- Rise of banks: Banking institutions emerged to manage and facilitate the growing volume of commercial transactions, providing services such as loans and currency exchange, which supported trade and economic growth.

Transportation

Caravanserai: These were roadside inns or fortified compounds located along trade routes, particularly the Silk Road, providing shelter, lodging, and provisions for merchants, travelers, and animals. Provided safely from plunderers, Became center of cultural exchange and diffusion: Caravanserai served as hubs for cultural exchange, where merchants from different regions interacted, sharing languages, customs, and ideas, contributing to cultural diffusion along trade routes.

Saddles: Technological advancements in saddle design improved the comfort and efficiency of riding animals like horses and camels, facilitating long-distance travel and trade. Proto-industrialization- a process by which China began producing more goods than their own population could consumes, which were then sold in distant markets. This early stage of industrial development led to significant economic growth and trade surpluses for China.

Mongols

- Pax Mongolica: This period of relative peace and stability in the Mongol Empire during the 13th and 14th centuries facilitated trade, cultural exchange, and the flow of ideas across Eurasia. The Mongols implemented policies that encouraged trade, such as standardized weights and measures, and protected

Economics

-Improved infrastructure

built bridges and repaired roads

-Increase communication

Yam system

  • A network of post houses and relay stations used for the rapid transmission of messages across the empire.

    Mongol transfers

  • Medical knowledge

  • Greek and islamic scholars to western europe

  • Adoption of uygher scipt

The India ocean trade work

  • A network of trade routes that connected various states throughout Arto-Eurasia through trade. 

Cause of Expansion

  • Collapse of mongol empire

  • Commerical practices

    -Money economies and the ability to by goods on credit made trade earier and therefore increase the use of these routes.

  • Transpirtation Technologies

    -Magnetic compass

    -Astrolabe

    -lateen sails

    -Knowledge of monsoon winds

    -Improvements in shipbuilding.

  • Spread od lslam

Silk roads

  • Silk and porcelain

Indian ocean

  • cotton textiles

  • grains

  • luxury goods

Trans saharan trade

A series of trade routes that connected north africa and the Mediterranean world with the interior of West Africa and the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa

Causes of Expansion

  • Tranpoetarion technologies

  • saddles

  • Caravanserai

Trans-Saharan Goods

  • gold

  • Kola nuts

  • houes

  • Salt

Trade networks and diffusion

  • cultural transfers

  • Literary and artistic transfers

  • Scientific and technological innovations

    -papermaking

    -gunpower

Expansion of cities

  • Hangzhou

  • Samarkand and Kashgar

Cities in decline

  • Baghdad

    -capital of Islamic cultural and artistic achievements

  • Constantinople - A major center for trade and culture, serving as the capital of the Byzantine Empire, which preserved and transmitted ancient Greek and Roman knowledge.

Iba Buttuta

  • Muslim scholar from Morocco

  • Traveled all over Dar al-Islam

  • took detailed notes about places, people, rulers, and cultures

Marco Polo

  • Travled from Ltaly to china

  • traveled throughout the indian ocean

  • wrote about court of the Kublai Khan and China’s grandeur and wealth

Margery Kemp

  • Christian Mystic

  • Made pilgrimages to Christianity’s holy sites

    -Jerusalem, Rome, Spain, etc

  • Dictated her observations to be written down

Agricultural transfers

  • bananas

  • champa rice

  • Citrus fruits

The black death- development in china then got spread to other parts though out trade routes like the Silk Road. This pandemic significantly affected population dynamics, labor markets, and agricultural production, leading to shifts in social structures and economic strategies.