Audrey Groesbeck 

 

                    The Silk Road

1. Silk Road originated in the 2nd Century B.C.

            a) Need for military and political alliances

2. Zhang Qian

            a) Court official sent by Han Wudi

            b) First to travel the Silk Road

3.  Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen

            a) Nineteenth Century German explorer

            b) First to coin the term ~Silk Road~

4. Han dynasty

            a) At the beginning of the Han the Silk Road flourished

            b) In the 3rd Century the fall of the Han caused the Silk Road to decline

5. Tang dynasty

            a) The Silk Road picks up again in the 7th Century

            b) The Silk Road reaches its golden age in the 8th Century

            c) Fall of the Tang in the 10th Century causes the Silk Road to decline until the 13thcentury

6. Conquests of the Mongols

            a) Trade goes up and the Silk Road flourishes

            b) Became a time with frequent and extended trade between the east and west

7. 15th Century

            a) Sea route from Asia to Europe discovered.

b) Trade declined again due to the sea route.

8. 1900

a) Karakoram highway, from Islamabad to Kashgar was built by China and Pakastan

9. Foods brought in by the Silk Road from the West

            a) Alfalfa, pomegranates, and grape vines.

            b) Horses were also brought in on the silk road