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China begins producing silk
China begins producing silk in the years between 4000BCE and 3000BCE -
First Contact between China and the West
It is thought that the first contact between the west and China was around the year 200BCE -
Han dynasty (200BCE-220CE)
In the year 138 BCE Han Dynasty emperor Wu sent one oh his emissaries on a diplomatic mission to the western regions of China. This emissary was Zhang Quian who was sent to find some native tribes who could help the Han in defeating the Xiongnu who had been harasse them. On the way he found the Dayuan a tribe of Greco-Bactrians who had mighty western horses and so he went back to Wu. Who decided to trade with them. After this event, Emperor Wu speculated on what else the west might have had. -
Silk Road is opened
In the year 130 BCE the Silk Road is opened -
Silk is introduced to Rome
in the year of 1AD silk is first introduced to Rome, and is seen as fashionable. -
16CE
Western Regions cut off the connection with the central court, and also broke the trade route. -
Eastern Han Dynasty (25CE-220CE)
In 73CE, Ban Chao set off on a diplomatic trip to western China and reopened the road, and later his assistant extended this route to the Persian Gulf. -
Eastern Han Dynasty (25CE- 220CE)
In 166CE, the Roman Empire sent an envoy to China. Then ties with the Europe were formed through this road. -
Secret of producing silk is out
Around 60 CE Europeans had already known that silk didn't come from trees but from worms. So the Byzantine emperor Justinian (527- 565 CE), tired of paying the exorbitant prices the Chinese demanded for silk, sent two emissaries, disguised as monks, to China to steal silk worms and smuggle them back to the west. The plan was successful and initiated the Byzantine silk industry. -
The Silk Road in the Tang Dynasty (618CE–917CE)
In the early Tang Dynasty the Silk Road was controlled by the Tuque Tribe, allying with small states in the Western Region against the government, and disrupting trade.The Tang Dynasty later conquered the Tuque Tribe, reopened the route, and further promoted trading, resulting in a boom in trade with the West.However, by 760 AD, the Tang Government had lost control of the Western Region and trade on the Silk Road ceased. -
The Silk Road during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368)
Trade on the Silk Road revived and reached its peak during the Yuan Dynasty, when China became largely dependent on its silk trade. -
Ming and Qing (1368 - 1911) and the decline of the Silk Road.
When the Byzantine Empire fell to the Turks in 1453 CE, the Ottoman Empire closed the Silk Road and cut all ties with the west.
Also, the Silk Road declined because of the rapid increase of maritime trade as travel by land was more dangerous than by water. -
The end of the Silk Road
The closing of the Silk Road forced merchants to take to the sea to ply their trade, thus initiating the Age of Discovery (1453-1660 CE) which led to the dicovery of the Americas and a more connected world.