Trade Networks In The Post-Classical Era

Mongol had a centralized form of political system. Political authority was centralized in the hands of the highest ruler. These powers were developed from Yen and Yan principles. Genghis Khan, the leader who united the tribes, followed the Shamanist principles that that lobbied for the give and take policy. The kingdom exercised a sense of democracy. They had the Council of Wiseman and the Great Khurultai,

Over the course of 200 BCE to 1450 CE, trade networks have continuously spread religions while changing how the civilizations traded for their goods and what types of goods they traded.

Factors that contributed to the rise of the Roman, Mongolian and Ottoman Empires involve the following: some sort of unification whether it be political or geographical; a strong army; and expansion. During Augustus Caesar’s rule of the Roman Empire, he brought political stability to his people by defeating Rome’s enemies, and preserving aristocracy, the Senate, the elected Roman magistracy, and Roman citizenship (Wallech et al., 2013). In the Mongolian Empire, Temujin, known later as Genghis Khan, also defeated all his rivals and became the leader of Mongolian tribes (May, 2008). Under his rule, the tribes of Mongolia were unified into a single supra-tribe also known as the All Mongol State (May, 2008). The Ottoman Empire attracted and united those who roamed across the Middle East “searching for means to gain their livelihoods and seeking to fulfill their religious desire to expand the territory of Islam” (Yapp & Shaw, 2017). All three empires also

The Ottoman and Safavid empires were two of the three Muslim empires that were present from 1450 to 1750. They are also often referred to as the gunpowder empires due to their innovations with heavy artillery. They used cannons and muskets in war. The Ottoman empire controlled most of the upper southwestern part of Europe and Asia. While the Safavid controlled the middle and part of southern Asia.

The foundations of civilizations were the trade networks which were built throughout the centuries. Although there were many trade networks in the ancient world, one important trade network was the Mediterranean trade network which provided a connection between eastern Europe and the world. In order for a trade system to be considered a trade network there are certain characteristics which are necessary; trading partners, trading goods, and modes of transport (Beck, Roger B). These characteristics define the specific trade network, and are what makes it different from other trading networks. Additionally the process of trade itself many times caused cultural diffusion.This, then proceeded to affect a variety of aspects of the country in question’s

During the 1400’s empires of our past ruled and conquered lands for greater then what we see today. The world at this point was vast and unknown and agricultural reigned supreme. Societies were built and run around agricultural as were their success. Empires and societies depended on the resources coming from far off lands of Asia and Africa to spur their revolutions. Trade networks were set up to ignite globalization throughout the world. These trade networks linked together trade routes and subsystems to regions of the globe. The most central trade routes and subsystem in my mind were the variating routes that linked Asia to Europe one of these routes was the third route, which was also the route Marco Polo traveled. This route enabled products

The empire began in Eurasia in 13C.E has forever changed the world map, the leader of the Mongol empire has started intercontinental trade, altered the course of leadership between two religions and prompt new nations. At its peak, the Mongol was the biggest contiguous empire in history, extending from the Carpathian Mountains to the Sea of Japan. (May, 2011) It is no doubt that during Mongol’s governs had a massive impact to the Eurasia during that period of time, but in fact the impacts that they brought to the rest of the world was also enormous. The creation of the Mongol Empire was a difficult and slow process, the leader Genghis Khan(1167-227) was born in Temujin, he was a genius with supernatural talents in ruling his army and fighting

Established in 200 BCE, the Silk Road was a very prominent influence on the trade and the spread of ideas throughout Eurasia. Its original purpose was to link faraway lands and make trade a more accessible and important part of society, and while it served that purpose, it also had many other drastic effects on the societies and cultures of the involved lands. During the period 200 BCE - 1450 CE, the order of social structures and gender roles fluctuated, while the concept of the social construct remained unchanged in most societies. Culturally, religious customs and beliefs continued to play a prominent role throughout the region, but many traditions and values of different religions were influenced and altered due to their exposure to foreign cultures along the Silk Road.

While both the Islamic States and the Mongol Khanates engaged in state building from 600 - 1450 C.E., the Mongols established a stronger state through a superior military and a centralized union of tribes.

From 600-1450, trade occurred between multiple empires allowing for empires to exchange items, knowledge about different religions/cultures, different art styles, literature which allowed people to share expierences and feel connected to eachother. Due to, post-classical trade, literacy, art/architecture and cultural traditions were shared among diverse populations.

When understanding our present through the ancient past, it is paramount to recognize the importance trade has had on the development and structure of modern-day society. Trade’s influence is not merely comprised of commerce, but also dwells into the intermingling of societies with differing religious and cultural views. This evolution of trade over hundreds of years has resulted in a present-day world, encompassed with trade in all reaches of the globe. Trade has generally benefitted those who have taken part in it since its conception, only strengthening the concept of establishing a market where individuals can receive goods and services that they would otherwise be unable to produce themselves. From the exchange of flint and obsidian in

The major trade routes of the Common Era were the Silk Road, Trans-Saharan route, Indian Ocean network, Mediterranean Sea routes, and American

The growth of trade between Africa, Asia and Europe influenced a very important religion. The location of the Islamic world was ideal for trade, it lay between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean. Muslims traveled by land and sea, creating a network of trade. A Muslim scholar named Ibn Battuta traveled around Europe, Africa and Asia for about 7 years. Ibn Battuta traveled all around West Africa, Europe and Asia. The goods they traded were silk, paper, dishes, spices, gems and coconuts. By A.D. 1000, Islam had the world’s largest cities outside of China. One of the biggest trade networks ever recorded is the Gold-Salt trade. There are 3 stages to the spread of Islam in West Africa; containment, mixing, and reform. Most of the

However, for the purposes of this paper, one must associate each religion with one or two countries to have some basis for analysis of the current events pertaining to each religion, and more importantly, the clash between that religion and Western thought. Therefore, Sinic/Confucian thought will be associated mostly with China, Hindu with India, Islam with the Middle Eastern and North African countries, Orthodox with countries of the former Soviet Union and Western with the United States and western European countries. The African continent will only be dealt with in the context of Islam, as traditional African religious are too variant and do not usually fit with one of the four theories of the press.

Throughout history trade has been a huge help with the creation of societies. Artifacts have been traded between a large quantity of societies and people, such as the vikings. Trade has been conducted in number of different ways as well. Trade also has a huge effect on how societies today culturally diffuse through the use of trade. In many societies, such as Ghana, Songhai and Mali, trade has played a huge importance in their development. There are also many people that have encourages cultural diffusion throughout the world. Tade can also have an effect on stock markets throughout the world which could change the way trade occurs in the future.