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The Silk Road (Lesson 24 TCI Section 1: The Opening of The Silk Road.)

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The Silk Road (Lesson 24 TCI Section 1: The Opening of The Silk Road.)

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The biggining of the Silk Road begain   during the Han Empire. The Silk Road was mainly created by Zhang Qian and his followers. He is often called the father of the Silk Road.
The reson it was first created is to make a mission of Zhang  Qain and 100 other men to persuade people in the West to help defee the Huns. Though the allance never happened, it helped China learn about many cultures in the West. The cutures were Perasia, Rome, Syria, and India. In a second trip, Zhang found better horses and grapes, both unknown to the Chinese. Gradually, minor trade routes connected to the big main road and was named the Silk Road due to its connection to China and their ever valuable Silk.
The begining of trade started with the Chinese and the Romans. Chinese silt is very valuable and only China knew how to make it. Roman were the only people to make glass. They immeditally started trading.

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The Silk Road (Lesson 24 TCI Section 2: The East Silk Road.)

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The Silk Road (Lesson 24 TCI Section 2: The East Silk Road.)

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Of the two silk roads there were the Eastern and the Western Silk Roads. The Eastern Road connected the two cities Luoyang to Kashgar. The Western one connected Kashgar to Antioch.
The Eastern Road also went the Gobi desert to Dunhuang in Northwestern China. This part of the Silk Road was protected by The Great Wall of China.
Once they got to Dunhuang they could either choose a Northern or Southern route around the Talklamakin Desert. Out of most of the travelers, they choose north due to a couple of oasises like Loulan and Kucha.
Though traveling the Northern route, it has its disadvantages. Bandits often attacked travelers between oasises and rough sanstorms buried travelers and their luggage. Another thing is that migrains drove people off the path
Travelers have thought of ways to protect themselfs though, they would travel in groups with camels called caravns. Camels were good for traveling the desert. They had an extra line of eyelashes and thicker nostrols to keep the sand out. They could also keep enought food and water to make sure the human survived from oasises.
Silk was the perict thing for travelers. It was costly to travel and so you needed to have something light and valuable. Silk was both of those.

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The Silk Road (Lesson 24 TCI Section 3: The West Silk Road.)

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The Silk Road (Lesson 24 TCI Section 3: The West Silk Road.)

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Kashgar was the city where the East and West Silk Road met. Goods were often shared there. After people met, they continued the opposate way they came. Western Silk Road travers often ues yaks instead of camels. The Western Silk Road often ended ports at the Medditranian Sea.
The begining of the Western Silk Road begain with the tough Pamir Mountains. Some mountains rose over twenty thousand feet. When that high, travelers felt headaches, dizzieness, and a ringing in the ears. These mountains where narrow also. This area was nicknamed "the trail of bones." because many people and animals died.
After the dreadful mountains travelers went through a fertile land in now today Afganistain. This went all to the Iranian Pletau and the Caspain Sea. After that, They passed through the Ainchent Civilization of Mesopitamia. Ctesiphon was a impotaint stop for the travelers. Ctesiphon was north of Babylon and on the Trgris River. After the city, travelsers had to trek the Syrian Desert where they were in danger of many desert preditors.
Finally after all of that, the found the Medditrainian Sea. Most of the stuff traded would then go to the Chinese. Peoples from the Nile River like Egypt, Arabia, and Perasia witch brought carpets, purfume, and cosmetics. Central Asian Traders brought dyes, slaves, and metals.
The Roman Empire also brought stuff to trade. The main thing was glass where like vases, trays, necklases, and small bottles like glass soda bottles. They also brought a miterial that made silk fireproof and cloral. Cloral was good for Chinese Doctors because when it lost its color you could put it on people's skin and it would heal them.
Romans were so crazy for silk they keep sending gold out for it. It was so much that the emporor banned silk for men. He thought it would make the Empire weak and was worried about all the gold being gone.

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The Silk Road (Lesson 24 TCI Section 4: Cultural Exscange and The Silk Road.)

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The Silk Road (Lesson 24 TCI Section 4: Cultural Exscange and The Silk Road.)

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Goods were the only thing that was traded along the Silk Road. Cultures and Ideas were also traded along. This is called cutrual defusion. After Rome and China had traded for a long time, The Romans eventually learned to make silk and the Chinese leared how to make glass.
Many habits changed also. Diets, farming, and gardining also changed in some cultures as well. This was mainly China because they imported spices and new foods. Amoung these plants and foods there were grapes, cucumbers, figs, pommagranite, chives, and sesime.
Whe Western civilization's share of foods and spices were peaches, oranges, pears, and different types of flowers such as roses, pointsedias, and camillieas.
There was one major religion that spread through the Silk Road and that was Buddhism. This religion was created in India and it spread through the Silk Road. This is how Buddhism came to China.