The Western Wall of the Silk Road Photo by Oliver Wild

The Silk Road began as a loose collection of Asian traders. In around 3000 B.C. the Chinese began to produce silk. At about the same time the Minoan Civilization began and the Sumerians developed the first writing system. Around 2500 B.C. the Bactrin and Arabian camel were domesticated. This was a vital development for long desert travel. 1000 years later, Iron working was developed in Asia Minor (Persia). This allowed better chariots to be developed along with better weapons. At this time many more peoples made the transition from nomadic life to settle in one of the many Asian kingdoms.

Around 500BC two very important things happened. China broke into many small kingdoms and re-adopted the nomadic lifestyle. They begin to ride horses and wear pants. The second event was the birth of Confucius

During 400BC Alexander made his conquest of Persia unifying for a time the peoples of Asia Minor and the Middle East. This single event was pivotal to later developments. By creating a far reaching empire, connections were made between the Middle East to the Far East. In and around 300BC many political arangements were reshuffled. Rome began to expand into the Meditteranean. The Greco-Bactrian kingdom was established in Central Asia as the Parthian kingdom was established in what is modern day Iran. The Achaemenid Empire replaces the Persian. Finally the Qin Dynasty unified China for the first time. Shortly after, the Great Wall was completed to stave off an invasion by the northern nomads (Mongols).

Just as the wall was finished an invasion began from within. The Han Dynasty overthrew the Qin and made an even larger empire. Along with the political changes came technological and social advancement. The Chinese begin producing paper and Buddhism spreads into Mongolia. The Gandhara style of art is created and influenced the forming of another, Serindian.

During the 200's the Hun's (A.K.A. the Xiongnu) rose to power in central Asia. They invaded the western Chinese provinces only to be pushed back by The Han Dynasty's(China) westward expansion. The Chinese expanded as far as the Tarim Region which gave them control of the western route and the Silk Road. About 100BC the Parthian king sent ambassadors to both China and Rome. This established a critical link between Rome and China. During this time, The Romans went to war with the Parthian and were defeated. Rome also onquered Gaul (France) and Egypt.and controlling Egypt gave Rome access to the silkroad.

Around 1 B.C. with the birth of Christ, Buddhism began to spread into central Asia. For a time the Huns Controlled the Tarim region but were eventually defeated by the Chinese general Pan Ch’ao. After this relative security was obtained and the road was split into north and south. Caravan travel was popularized and therefore trade increased. After about 200 years the Han dynasty ended causing China to split into many fragments. At the same time the Huns began attacks on the Roman Empire.

These attacks continued well into the second century eventually leading to the split of the Roman Empire. The Huns also attacked China splitting it further. For the next 4 centuries, wars consumed Europe and parts of Asia. The Muslim expansion began reaching its pinnacle when most of Persia, Asia Minor, and West Asia were controlled. China was again reunited by the Tang dynasty. The Silk Road reached its golden age.

In and aroound 700BC the Arabs conquered Spain, and captured Chinese paper makers. The Tang dynasty began to decline and so did the silkroad. On May 11 th 868AD the worlds oldest known printed book was published. It was called the Diamond Sutra. Gunpowder was invented around this time in China. China became fragmented again only to be reunited by the Sung dynasty. Shortly after, porcelain was invented in China. By t 1100AD China had split again but this time, into north and south. In the latter part of the 11 th century Genghis Khan united the Mongols. After his death in the 12 th century the Mongols would go on to invade Russia, Poland, and Hungary.

Just a few decades later Kublai Khan invaded China establishing the Yuan dynasty.