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Continuities & Changes Over Time Essay (Silk Road Interactions Between 200 B.C.E – 1450 C.E.)
During the period of time between 200 B.C.E. and 1450 C.E., the silk road underwent many subtle transformations while at the same time holding on to its original purpose. The trade of spices and goods to and from Asia and Europe remained constant, while the materials bartered slowly changed. The political boundaries as well as the national identities of the encompassing countries also were altered.
Despite changes in materials, the original purpose of the silk road remained intact throughout this time period. Asian commodities were traded with European merchants along the road and vice versa. Asia’s economy, such as that of China specifically, remained heavily reliant on the money from silk road trade, irregardless of the origin or type of goods that fueled such. Comparably, Europe’s economic status remained fueled by Asian trades.
While the basic purpose of the silk road remained mostly unchanged, the goods traded on it and the areas it went through did. While the silk road originally began on a small scale as a simple route of transport for Eurasian merchants, it later grew into an international necessity, not only economically, but culturally as well. Once exposed to Asian spices, fabrics, etc., Europeans became increasingly “addicted” to their newfound luxuries. This, in addition to Europe having the same effect on Asia, gradually shaped both cultures. Because of the numerous political changes that took place during this expanse of time, the route travelled by silk road merchants passed through new nations formed at the collapse of the Roman Empire. This, in turn, shaped the identities of additional nations/cultures along the path of the silk road.
Overall, the silk road’s basic purpose remained intact from 200 B.C.E. to 1450 C.E., but the specific patterns of interactions that occurred along it did not. Empires fell, new nations were formed, and that brought myriad changes to silk road cultures and the interactions between those that traveled on it.
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my version:
Time has a distinct ability to change many things, but many also stay the same. This holds true for the trade interactions along the Silk Road from 600 to 1450 C.E. The Silk Road was an extensive interconnected network of trade routes across the Asian continent connecting East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean world, as well as North and Northeast Africa and Europe. Although the continuities may outweigh the changes, the Silk Road underwent many subtle transformations while at the same time holding on to its original purpose. Between 600 C.E and 1450 C.E., the Silk Road trade changed in the areas of who controlled the trade and the necessity of the trading goods, but the trade of diseases and plagues to and from Asia and Europe remained constant.
Many new things shifted and developed on the Silk Road, but diseases remained prosperous. All the way from 600 to 1450 C.E., fatal plagues and diseases were present including the bubonic plague. Plagues broke out simply because thousands of diverse people from different places traveled the Silk Road. Major impacts of trading disease were glacial population decreases and massive epidemics.
Imperial Conquests was a huge factor that altered trade on the Silk Road. With the fall of the three major classical civilizations, the stage was set for new trends that defined 600-1450 C.E. as another period with different migrations, conquests, and more developed trade patterns than before. Due to the dramatic emergence of the Mongols and Muslims because of imperial conquests; it had an immense impact on political and economic structures by changing the control of the Silk Road and shaping the new development of arts, sciences and technology.
Around 600 C.E. the Silk Road remained on a small scale as a simple route of transport for Eurasian merchants. Because of the spread of new ideas and the diversity of trade, by 1450 C.E. it later grew into an international necessity, not only economically but culturally as well. Once exposed to Asian spices, fabrics, etc., Europeans became increasingly addicted to their newfound Asian luxuries and vice versa. This impacted both countries greatly; as both Europe and Asia went on to shape both cultures.
Overall, the Silk Road’s basic purpose remained intact from 600.C.E. to 1450 C.E., but the specific patterns of interactions that occurred along it did not. As the Silk Road grew more important, disease remained present, empires fell, new nations were formed, and that brought myriad changes to Silk Road cultures and the interactions between those that traveled on it.
-Carl Martindale
I am fully aware that the word "irregardless" is not used in formal standard English, however I elected to make use of the term despite this, due to the fact it allowed the surrouding sentence to flow more smoothly, without disrupting the overall sturctural tone of the paper in whole.
The fact that a nonstandard word/phrase is implemented in a paper is not indicative of ignorance on the part of its author, or, ostensibly, that the paper will contain misinformation.
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