The Silk Roads | The Ottoman Empire

The Silk Roads


The Silk Roads, a network of ancient trade routes across the formidable terrain of Central Asia, were the stage upon which classical societies encountered each other. Beginning in 500 BCE, the long military and economic reach of two powerful empires -- Rome in the west and Han Chinese in the East -- transformed these prehistoric trade routes into consequential conduits for an ever growing volume of goods, ideas, people, flora and fauna. Within these empires, however, the trade routes accelerated commercial, cultural, political, and biological development of their formerly more autonomous societies. They linked individuals from West to East into far reaching economic, imperial, and religious networks that thrived well into the 15th century. This map highlights the various empires that flourished along these routes, as well as the journeys traveled by some of the world's most famous early explorers.

1.			The establishment of both overland and sea-routes of silk roads led to a great expansion of traded goods between the China and Mediterranean areas. What else did these regions exchange besides goods like silk and perfumes?
2.			Of the many factors that explain the collapse of the Han and Roman empires, how important do you think the silk roads and their consequences were? In explaining the collapse of both empires, do you think internal or external problems were more important? Why?
3.			What kinds of internal problems had greatly weakened the Roman Empire by the 3rd century C.E.?

The Ottoman Empire


The Ottoman Empire was an Islamic empire that dominated much of the Mediterranean region from the fourteenth to the twentieth centuries. The empire was founded in 1281, but its great rise to power did not really occur until after the sacking of Constantinople. At that point, Mehmed II claimed Constantinople for the capital of the empire. At its largest phase, the empire encompassed the majority of the North African coast -- what is now Eastern Europe up through Hungary, Anatolia, and parts of the Persian Gulf. However, by the end of the eighteenth century the Ottoman Empire went into a decline, based on the fragmentation of what had once been one of the most impressive militaries in the West. Earlier in Ottoman history, the military utilized all of the most current technology in its corps; however, as conflict grew within the military, and different factions warred amongst themselves, it became impossible for the government to control the disintegration of the various units. When warfare broke out with Russia in the nineteenth century it became evident that what was once a great military power was now hopelessly overpowered. The empire continued its decline, losing much of its territory in the nineteenth century to Russia, Italy, Greece, and Great Britain. The end finally came during World War I, when the Allies defeated what was left of the Ottoman Empire. The territories of the empire were divided up between the victors, with Great Britain and France gaining control over the Middle East, and Greece gaining control over Anatolia.

4.			Explain the role of religion in the social structure of the Islamic Empires.
5.			Discuss how the introduction of new crops changed agricultural practices in the Ottoman Empire.
6.			Place the construction of the city Fatehpur Sikri within the context of Islamic cultural development.