One of the remarkable and majestic events in the history of East was the formation and development of the Great Silk Road. It was the monument of human curiosity, enterprise and insuperable desire to know – what is there, beyond the horizon. In the history of human being there is no famous road than trans Eurasian highway that connected China and West Europe. It was transport corridor, where nations of many countries exchanged goods, culture, art and leading ideas.
Chinese diplomat Zhang Qian earned the grant credit of pioneer who passed through this road first. Earlier, caravan roads were disconnected, dangerous enough and traders came across with the necessity to overpay to middlemen on the way of goods advancement. It was the first Chinese diplomatic mission on the territory of Central Asia. Zhang Qian clearly saw the perspective of the development of trade relations in Central Asia and immediately reported to his Imperator on return. The end of the second century BC was the beginning of the development of the Great Silk Road. Over 1500 years this system of caravan ways served to people, and this is the absolute record among the other land roads.
The Road tied great civilizations of China, India, Middle East and Europe, endured flourish and collapse, war for the right to control over its strategic parts, growth and weakening of importance. If you look at the map of Great Silk Road, you can notice that it looks like a big river, where small rivers pour into it and sometimes are bending like getting round difficulties.
It is not by chance, that in the middle of VI century Sogdians twice got beaten while trying to reach to the Byzantine Empire straightly because of difficulties caused by Iranian kings. First time, Persians demonstratively burned silk which the merchants brought. Second time, they poisoned the ambassadors. But these events did not threaten to the purposefulness of Sogdians. They found alternative route through ancient steppe paths – through northern coasts of Caspian and reached to Byzantine Empire and established diplomatic and trade relations. Time by time, the roads yet more ramified, strengthened, and main routes became beautiful. Organization of the trade required particular terms; caravanserais were constructed along the whole extent of the road, ancient hotels and storehouses were built; money relations and a system of protecting foreign merchants were developed. A lot of people of various professions as drivers, security, translators, and moneychangers were employed. Following to Templers, cheque system launched to work in the east. For example, before starting trade tour from Horasan to Sogd, traders could give gold to Iranian moneychangers and get cheque which Sogdian moneychanger paid in cash on return.
Huge extension of the Great Silk Road, inevitably, did not allow to be under control of one empire. Because of sphere of influence to the main trade artery there were the wars, which threatened to the commercial activity of merchants. But Great Silk Road endured dynasty and supremacy, proving its viability, which neither intestine strives, nor breakdown of central power, nor ruins of cities, nor robbery of caravans, could destroy it.
The risk was high, so the profit as well, whereas all things that could be bought cheaper in one end of Silk Road turned into real gold in another end. Chinese people enriched own culture with strong and beautiful middle Asian horses, Lucerne, walnuts, grapes, garnets and other agricultural crops, which successfully cultivated. Naturally, the culture of cotton cultivation came into China from Middle East. And Chinese people gifted to Sogdians silkworm breeding, art of making jewelry from gold and silver, paper, gunnery, tea and chinaware. It is notable, that Europeans practically had nothing to offer in exchange. They paid in gold and silver. It was easy to see that huge money resources concentrated in East, and this fact did not gladden European kings.
After the sole supremacy of Genghis Khan over Silk Road in XIII – XIV centuries and extreme growth of trade, the Road began to suffer from partition again. But, nevertheless, four owners of the Road – China, Middle Asia, Iran and Golden Urda tried to provide security for merchants regardless of religion and nationality.
That time, extent of whole route took about one year of walk. More often, merchants preferred to use seaway till China that was twice shorter and relatively safer. Besides, one ship could load as much goods as a big caravan. That’s why, by XVI century only local caravan routes between China and Middle Asia left in use.
We are very much obliged to Great Silk Road. This Road not only assisted to the appearance of many institutions as inter-national trade, labor partition, bank system, protection of property rights, and also it promoted the development of cultural relations between nations, dissemination of technology, ideas and art. For instance, silk delivered prosperous Europeans from such phenomenon as louse, and Middle Asian and Chinese paper reduced the price of book-printing. But mainly, nations get acknowledged about the existence of each other, cultural values, religion and traditions.
“Silk road – the road of dialogue” is one of the programs of UNESCO on preserving cultural and historical heritage, which allows in future to revive Great Silk Road, as historical monument and trans-national highway with all its functions and significance.
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