Cheng Chen

8th of October of 2007

Belch: AP World History

Chapter 7 Notes and Outline - Proof of Reading

Networks of Communication and Exchange (300 B.C.E. - 600 C.E.)

Key Points:

• The Silk Road

• The Indian Ocean Maritime System
• Routes Across the Sahara
• Sub-Saharan Africa
• The Spread of Ideas

The Silk Road

Silk Road - First came into use around 100 B.C.E.

Origins

• In 128 B.C.E., Chinese general Zhang Jian crossed the western China area under the expedition
behalf of Emperor Wu of Han. He eventually went on 18 expeditions.
• He brought a whole new garden to China.
• New plants include: alfafa and wine grapes, pistachios, walnuts, pomegranates, sesame,
coriander, spinach, etc.
• Other new materials brought to China include jasmine oil, oak galls, copper oxides, zinc,
and precious stones.
• Soon afterwards, the Parthians (247 B.C.E.) had advantageous trade with the Chinese.
• The Greeks could buy Chinese silk in 100 B.C.E. from the Parthian traders.
• Quickly, spices, fruits, silk, and various other precious materials were traded along the Silk
Road.

The Sasanid Empire (224-660 C.E.)

• The successors of the Parthians was the Sasanid Empire. In 224, Sasan defeated the Parthians
and took control of Iran. This new empire further continued the rivalry between Rome and the
Parthian area.
• During this time, the Silk Road, as it did to China, brought many new plants to Mesopotamia.
• These new plants included cotton, sugar cane, rice, citrus trees, eggplants, etc.
• These plants will be extremely important in the near future.
• Like the previous Persian Empire, the Sasanid Empire declared their faith to be Zoroastrianism.
However, with this faith, plenty of other religions still flourished in this area. This was among the
early instances in which religion was used as a political tool.
• The Silk Road at this time was used as a route for the spreading of religion from various sources.
The Impact of the Silk Road

• The Silk Road at first caused many pastoral groups to form. Eventually, rich families did settle
and build large establishments.
• The Silk Road allowed the spread of religions (see chart above) such as Nestorian Christianity,
Manichaeism, Zoroastrianism, and Buddhism.
• The stirrup spread though out the Silk Road. It allowed riders to be much more stable and thus
caused military innovation. i.e. the superiority of the Tang calvary in China.

The Indian Ocean Maritime System

• The Indian Ocean Maritime System was a society of seafarers established across the Indian
Ocean and South China Sea.
• This trade system linked a network of sea trade routes from Africa to China. The main players
were Africans, South Arabian Persian, and the Southern Chinese people (including the
Indonesians and Malays).
• Although much of the discoveries of new lands and waters were attributed to famous people
such as Zhang Jian or Hippalus, we must not forget the the indigenous people of these areas
also greatly contributed to their expansions.

Origins of Contact and Trade

• Madagascar is the world’s fourth largest island.

• 2000 years ago, people from one of the many Indonesian islands of Southeast Asia established
themselves in the mountainous land of Madagascar, 9,500 kilometers from home.
• These people kept much of their traditions but eventually lost most of it.
The Impact of Indian Ocean Trade

• The precious materials wanted in trade included ivory and minerals.

• Evidence of ancient copper mines has been found in Oman in southeastern Arabia.
• However, this volume of trade was less than the amount occurring in the Mediterranean.
• In the Indian area, the ports were small due to geographical problems such as inland monsoon
water not by the sea.
• E India, the Malay Peninsula, and Indonesia afforded more hospitable and densely populated
shores with easier access to inland populations.
• The empires that existed through out this Indus area never bothered to develop as much
maritime powers as the Greeks or the Phoenocians did.
• The families around the coastal Indian area established bilingual and bicultural systems.

Routes Across the Sahara

Early Saharan Cultures

• The Sahara is broken only by the Nile River.

• The trans-Saharan Caravan Routes were forced into existence due to the lack of water in many
areas.
• Before the Sahara became dry (pre 2500 B.C.E.), this area was quite wet with a diverse group of
animals.
• Many believe that people from Mediterranean civilizations such as the Minoans, Mycenaeans, or
Romans may have rode chariots into the Saharan deserts. However, this evidence is lacking.
Trade Across the Sahara

• Traders developed into two groups: the north and south.

• The North primarily focused on salt trade.
• People from the souther Sahel brought forest and agriculture goods.

Sub-Saharan Africa

A challenging Geography

• The use of rivers was limited by the many rapids in the rivers.
• The Southern Sahara area was limited and surrounded by many obstacles such as the Niger,
Zaire, Senegal Rivers, the Red Sea, the Saharan Desert, etc.
• South of the Sahara are the steppes and savanna rain forests. These places were difficult to
traverse.

The Development of Cultural Unity

• "Anthropologists call “Great Traditions” those that typically include a written language, common
legal and belief systems, ethical codes, and other intellectual attitudes. They loom large in
written records as traditions that rise above the diversity of local customs and beliefs commonly
distinguished as “small traditions.”"
• The elite culture in the sub-Saharan area turned the area into a Great Tradition area.
• This area is home to ~ 2000 languages.

African Cultural Characteristics

• African culture is shaped by the geographically different conditions of the lands.

• The post ice age time caused the diverse group of people to form.
• Although the population flourished at first, the increase in dryness over the long period of time
caused the diverse groups of people to recede into specific areas.

The Advent of Iron and the Bantu Migrations

• Agriculture started in the 2nd millennium B.C.E. and spread southward from the area by the
Sahara.
• Archaeology has also uncovered traces of copper mining in the Sahara from the early first
millennium B.C.E.
• Copper smelting was during 400 C.E.
• Iron smelting was around the 1st millennium C.E.
• The Africans of Bantu probably figured out how to smelt iron by themselves.

The Spread of Ideas

Ideas and Material Evidence

• In SE Asian, pig domestication was extremely important.

• Coinage in Anatolia and Europe was extremely popular.
• At the same time coinage in China was also very popular.

The Spread of Buddhism

• Please See The Above Image and Your Religious Charts

The Spread of Christianity

• Please see Religious Chart