HST 150 Lecture 42: HST 150
Document Summary
Trade route that connected the han and roman empires in classical times. Facilitated the exchange of goods, ideas, and disease. Southeastern asia, china, and india traded silk and spices west to consumers in central asia, iran, arabia, and the roman empire. Spices were important because they had numerous purposes (food preservation, flavoring, and pharmaceutical). Central asia traded horses, jade, and magic potions west. Following the fall of the han and roman empires, the route was revived in post- classical times, first by the tang and song and later by the mongols. Problems: internal opposition, power struggle (26 people claimed the throne in just. 50 years), generals struggled for power and died violently; empire was simply too large, epidemics. Diocletian divided the empire into two districts: eastern (anatolia, syria, egypt, and. Greece) and western (italy, gaul, spain, britain, and north africa). Germans, migrating from the north, attacked the western half; especially powerful were the visigoths.
