How Did Silk Roads Change 200 Bce Eurasia
Between the years 200 BCE and 1450 CE Eurasia saw some of the most dramatic changes we have record of throughout history. Empires rose and fell, territories were invaded, and lands were conquered. Religions were created, and traditions were started. Throughout all the chaos that change brings about, there was one constant, The Silk Roads. They connected all of Eurasia, and were a key component in the cultural and economic development of the continent. Throughout the millennia they were in use, the success and use of the Silk Roads depended on the prosperity and the state of the empires it ran through.
The fall of the Han Dynasty in 220 CE was the first of many events that would lead to the near-death of the Silk Roads. The end of the empire …show more content…
The Tang invented what they called “Flying Cash” (called so because of it’s tendency to blow away), because it was much easier to travel long distances with. Flying Cash were simply paper certificates with different monetary values written on them that could be traded for solid money at the capitol. Due to fact that they were transferable, merchants on the Silk Roads exchanged Flying Cash like currency. Flying Cash was never meant to be official currency, so there was very little in circulation. Real government printed paper money was not used until the Song dynasty in 1023. The official paper money could be exchanged for the standard coins at any of the issuing banks. Large amounts of paper money was much easier for merchants to travel with in comparison to the bulky coins that were usually seen at the …show more content…
These two essential components of the Silk Roads success were the willing participation of the Empires of Eurasia, and land trade by merchants being the primary choice as far as methods of trade. These two variable were almost constant throughout the years the Silk Roads were in use. In fact, the downfall of the once-great Silk Roads can be attributed to the loss of these two major components. With the overthrow of the Mongols and the rise of the Ming Dynasty in 1368, there was a startlingly dramatic decline in use of the Silk Roads. In a short period of time it was apparent that the Ming encouraged isolation and did nothing to promote trade, while the great political powers of Eurasia cut themselves off from one another, to add to this, maritime trade was becoming more popular than ever. Suddenly the Silk Roads were losing the two necessary variables they had always had and relied on for success. All of these factors eventually lead to the collapse of the famous Silk
The fall of the Han Dynasty in 220 CE was the first of many events that would lead to the near-death of the Silk Roads. The end of the empire …show more content…
The Tang invented what they called “Flying Cash” (called so because of it’s tendency to blow away), because it was much easier to travel long distances with. Flying Cash were simply paper certificates with different monetary values written on them that could be traded for solid money at the capitol. Due to fact that they were transferable, merchants on the Silk Roads exchanged Flying Cash like currency. Flying Cash was never meant to be official currency, so there was very little in circulation. Real government printed paper money was not used until the Song dynasty in 1023. The official paper money could be exchanged for the standard coins at any of the issuing banks. Large amounts of paper money was much easier for merchants to travel with in comparison to the bulky coins that were usually seen at the …show more content…
These two essential components of the Silk Roads success were the willing participation of the Empires of Eurasia, and land trade by merchants being the primary choice as far as methods of trade. These two variable were almost constant throughout the years the Silk Roads were in use. In fact, the downfall of the once-great Silk Roads can be attributed to the loss of these two major components. With the overthrow of the Mongols and the rise of the Ming Dynasty in 1368, there was a startlingly dramatic decline in use of the Silk Roads. In a short period of time it was apparent that the Ming encouraged isolation and did nothing to promote trade, while the great political powers of Eurasia cut themselves off from one another, to add to this, maritime trade was becoming more popular than ever. Suddenly the Silk Roads were losing the two necessary variables they had always had and relied on for success. All of these factors eventually lead to the collapse of the famous Silk