Audrey Groesbeck 

                    The Silk Road

1. Silk Road originated in the 2^nd 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 3^rd Century the fall of the Han caused the Silk Road to decline

5. Tang dynasty

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

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

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

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. 15^th 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