Silk Road Trivia

1. How would you characterise the relationship between oasis dwellers and nomads?

- The relationship between the oasis dwellers and nomads was inter-dependent as each had resources that the other lacked which resulted in trading, but the relationship was also troubled by violence when the nomads decided to raid the cities.

2. What is meant by ‘trans-ecological’ exchanges?

- Trans-ecological exchanges are trades that were conducted between people of different ecological zones; for example in Silk road times, trading between agrarian people such as oasis dwellers and pastoralist people such as the nomads.

3. What is the characteristic vegetation of steppe zones?

- Steppe zone vegetation consists of extensive areas of grassland with various types of grasses and shrubs as well as the occasional tree around bodies of water such as lakes.

4. Where is Gandhara situated geographically, and what is its relevance for the Silk Road and Chinese history?

- The Kingdom of Gandhara covered areas of modern-day Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. During Silk Road times, it was an important trade centre on the Silk Road and a Buddhist Holy Land that attracted many Chinese Buddhist pilgrims.

5. Why were caravans popular with merchants travelling along the Silk Road?

- The use of caravans was popular because travelling in large numbers provided merchants with greater safety from dangers such as attacks from robbers and also improved profit margins as the cost of the journey/goods could be distributed among more people (economies of scale).

6. Who was Xuanzang?

- Xuanzang was a Buddhist monk in the 7th century who is renowned for his 17 year pilgrimage to India which he undertook to discover more about Buddhism, bringing back to China upon his return many Buddhist manuscripts and relics.

7. What was Manichaeism?

- Manichaeism was a religion that originated in the Sassanid Persian Empire in the 3rdC CE which emphasised the constant ongoing struggle between good and evil....