Blog Post #7

The exchange of goods has been an extremely important process that has helped communities develop for many centuries. The Eurasian landmass is home to the world's most productive agriculture and largest civilizations. It also gave the rise to a sustain network of exchange. Silk Road trading network prospered most when large and powerful states provided security for the merchant and travelers. One example of this was the Roman and Chinese Empires, which had a long distance commerce. Of all luxury goods, silk was the one that symbolized Eurasian network of exchange. In the creation of silk, Chinese women were a major part of the process. They were responsible for every step of the hard and laborious enterprise of silk production. Chinese homes also became the primary site of textile production with the women as its main labor force. The high demand of silk caused the Roman writers appalled at the drain of resources. Silk also became a symbol of high status in both China and Byzantine Empires.

Silk also had a great impact on the culture. Buddhism spread quickly through Central and East Asia, and owned most of the activities of the merchants along the Silk Road. Buddhism also picked up elements of other cultures while in transit on the Silk Roads. Besides goods, diseases traveled fast. People were exposed to unfamiliar diseases, which they had no effective methods to cure it. The Greek city state of Athens, was by a new disease that had entered through Greece seaborne trade from Egypt, killing 25% of its army and weaken the city. Diseases in the Roman Empire and Han Dynasty destroyed populations and contributed to the political collapse.