Long-Distance Travel in the Ancient World
! Lack of police enforcement outsied of established settlements
! Changed in classical period ! Improvement of infrastructure ! Development of empires
Trade Networks Develop
! Dramatic increase in trade due to Greek colonization
! Maintenance of roads, bridges ! Discovery of Monsoon wind patterns ! Increased tariff revenues used to maintain open
routes
Trade in the Hellenistic World
! Bactria/India ! Spices, pepper, cosmetics, gems, pearls
! Persia, Egypt ! Grain
! Mediterranean ! Wine, oil, jewelry, art
! Development of professional merchant class
The Silk Roads
! Named for principal commodity from China ! Dependent on imperial stability ! Overland trade routes from China to Roman Empire ! Sea Lanes and Maritime trade as well
Organization of Long-Distance Trade
! Divided into small segments ! Tariffs and tolls finance local supervision ! Tax income incentives to maintain safety,
maintenance of passage
Cultural Trade: Buddhism and Hinduism
! Merchants carry religious ideas along silk routes ! India through central Asia to east Asia ! Cosmopolitan centers promote development of
monasteries to shelter traveling merchants ! Buddhism becomes dominant faith of silk roads,
200 BCE-700 CE
Buddhism in China
! Originally, Buddhism restricted to foreign merchant populations
! Gradual spread to larger population beginning 5th c. CE
Buddhism and Hinduism in SE Asia
! Sea lanes in Indian Ocean ! 1st c. CE clear Indian influence in SE Asia
! Rulers called “rajas” ! Sanskrit used for written communication ! Buddhism, Hinduism increasingly popular faiths
Christianity in Mediterranean Basin
! Gregory the Wonderworker, central Anatolia 3rd c. CE ! Christianity spreads through Middle East, North Africa,
Europe
! Sizeable communities as far east as India ! Judaism, Zoroastrianism also practiced
Christianity in SW Asia
! Influence of ascetic practices from India ! Desert-dwelling hermits, monastic societies ! After 5th c. CE, followed Nestorios
! Emphasized human nature of Jesus
Spread of Manichaeism
! Mani Zoroastrian prophet (216-272 CE) ! Influenced by Christianity and Buddhism ! Dualist
! good vs. evil ! light vs. dark ! spirit vs. matter
Manichaean Society
! Devout: “the Elect” ! Ascetic lifestyle ! Celibacy, vegetarianism ! Life of prayer and fasting
! Laity: “the Hearers” ! Material supporters of “the Elect”
Decline of Manichaeism
! Spread through silk routes to major cities in Roman Empire
! Zoroastrian opposition provokes Sassanid persecution ! Mani arrested, dies in captivity
! Romans, fearing Persian influence, also persecute
The Spread of Epidemic Disease
! Role of trade routes in spread of pathogens ! Limited data, but trends in demographics reasonably
clear
! Smallpox, measles, bubonic plague ! Effect: Economic slowdown, move to regional self-
sufficiency
Internal Decay of the Han State
! Court intrigue ! Formation of actions ! Problem of land distribution
! Large landholders develop private armies ! Epidemics ! Peasant rebellions
! 184 CE Yellow Turban Rebellion
Collapse of the Han Dynasty
! Generals assume authority, reduce Emperor to puppet figure
! Alliance with landowners
! 200 CE Han Dynasty abolished, replaced by 3 kingdoms
! Immigration of northern nomads increases
Sinicization of Nomadic Peoples
! “China-fication” ! Adoption of sedentary lifestyle
! Agriculture
! Adoption of Chinese names, dress, intermarriage
Popularity of Buddhism and Daoism
! Disintegration of political order casts doubt on Confucian doctrines
! Buddhism, Daoism gain popularity ! Religions of salvation
Fall of the Roman Empire: Internal Factors
! The Barracks Emperors ! 235-284 26 claimants to the throne, all but one killed in
power struggles
! Epidemics ! Disintegration of imperial economy in favor of local and
regional self-sufficient economies
Diocletan (r. 284-305 CE)
! Divided empire into two administrative districts ! Co-Emperors, dual Lieutenants
! “Tetrarchs”
! Currency, budget reform ! Relative stability disappears after Diocletans’s death, civil
war follows ! Constantine emerges victorious
Fall of the Roman Empire: External Factors
! Visigoths, influenced by Roman law, Christianity ! Formerly buffer states for Roman Empire
! Attacked by Huns under Attila in 5th c. CE ! Massive migration of Germanic peoples into Roman
Empire ! Sacked Rome in 410 CE, established Germanic emperor
in 476 Ce
Cultural Change in the Roman Empire
! Growth of Christianity ! Constantine’s Vision, 312 CE ! Promulgates Edict of Milan, allows Christian
practice ! Converts to Christianity
! 380 CE Emperor Theodosius proclaims Christianity official religion of Roman Empire
St. Augustine (354-430 CE)
! Hippo, North Africa ! Experimented with Greek thought, Manichaeism ! 387 converts to Christianity ! Major theologian
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