![]() This shows how long the trade routes have been in operation, and how far they reached.īy the 2nd century BC, it is known that the trade routes stretched even as far as China. For example, the blue lapis lazuli stone in the famous funeral mask of the Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun was exported from Badakhshan in Afghanistan to Egypt in 1300 BC.Įven before that, around 2500 BC, lapis lazuli was exported from Afghanistan to Iraq for the harps buried with the kings of the ancient city of Ur, some of which can now be seen in the British Museum. Goods wanting to pass between any of these places had to go through Afghanistan, and thus Afghan cities, strategically placed on these trade routes, were able to benefit massively as places of mercantile exchange.Īfghanistan’s impact on world trade can be seen very far back in history. Some lead east to China some north to the great cities of Bokhara, Samarkand and Khiva, and then to the nomadic steppe some south-east into India and others east into Iran, which then lead to the Mediterranean Sea and Europe. It sits at the heart of Central Asia, at the meeting point of ancient trade routes – known together as “The Silk Road” – that go out to all parts of Asia. One Western poet from the 19th century, James Elroy Flecker, summed up this view by describing the way eastwards as “The Golden Road.”Īlthough the West might not have such an opinion of Afghanistan at this present time, for hundreds, indeed thousands of years until quite recently, the stereotypical Western idea that the East – and Afghanistan – was a land of great wealth was in fact perfectly true.įor centuries, Europe was in world terms, a poverty-stricken and unimportant territory, whereas the East was the land of affluence, high-value international trade and intellectual achievement and in these areas, Afghanistan can claim to have been a leader of the East.Īfghanistan can thank its geographical position for its wealth. ![]() A new Silk Road is a railway that runs between China, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Russia.8 March 2010 - One belief that the Western world often held about Asia and the East was that it was a land of enormous luxury and wealth.As one of the most famous historical figures to travel the Silk Road, Marco Polo is the first European to chronicle his experience traveling to China.It was said that the Silk Road brought the Black Death which result in the deaths of a large percentage of Europe’s population.On the Silk Road, many of the large caravans were heavily guarded to keep away from bandits.But, the goods would be traded all along the route until they reached the far ends. Many traders went from one city to the next and back home, they did not travel the entire Silk Road.China’s many routes started from this city. Samarkand was the biggest and most impressive city on the Silk Road and was famous for its craftsmen, astronomers, poets. Samarkand provided water for 200,000 people.On the Silk Road, camels, horses, and even yaks were the common transportation.Spices not only were very important for trade in the west but also were important for preserving food or masking the flavor of rotten food on the Silk Road.Chinese brought silk products including dyed rolls, tapestries, clothing, carpets, and embroideries, to Europe. Silk was considered as valuable as gold because it was very light to carry and very valuable.European brought jade, wine, slaves, animals, tableware, wool, and Mediterranean-colored glass to China.The Silk Road not only contained silk but also carried other goods like spices, porcelain, perfume, gems, coral, ivory, furs, gunpowder, glass beads to barter or sell.While on the land portion of the Silk Road, transfers used camels for transportation.The Silk Road often changed depending on the weather, raids, natural disasters and bandits threatened the safety, and included land and sea routes that traders had to cross in order to do business in faraway places.In 1870, Ferdinand van Richthofen, a German geographer, named it “Silk Road” because silk was the most popular goods. ![]() The 4000-mile trade route dates back to the 2nd century B. The Silk Road was an ancient network of trade routes that extended from Eastern Europe to China.
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