Important Medieval Trade Routes
A vast number of roads were built across the Roman Empire. After the fall of the Roman Empire, trade across these advanced roads did decline. However, trade would eventually rise again using a wider array of trade routes that crossed multiple continents. This resulted in goods and ideas being shared with diverse peoples across the globe.
One of the most important trade routes of the Middle Ages was the Silk Road. This network of trade routes connected East Asia and Southeast Asia with South Asia, Persia, the Arabian Peninsula, East Africa and Southern Europe. It was central to the economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between these regions from the 2nd century to the 18th century.
The Silk Road was given its name during the Han Dynasty (207 BCE - 220 CE) from the lucrative trade in silk carried out along the route. The Han dynasty expanded the Central Asian section of the trade routes through military conquests. The Chinese took great interest in the security of their trade products and extended the Great Wall of China to ensure the protection of the trade route.
By the Umayyad era (661–750 CE), Damascus became a major trade center. The Abbasid dynasty began building Baghdad in 762, which became the most important city along the Silk Road.
The Mongol expansion throughout the Asian continent (1207-1360) helped bring political stability and re-established the Silk Road. When the Mongols came to control the trade routes, trade circulated throughout the region even though the Mongols never abandoned their nomadic lifestyle.
The Silk Road trade played a significant role in the development of the civilizations it connected and the political and economic relations between them. Though silk was the major trade item exported from China, many other goods and ideas were exchanged including religion (especially Buddhism), sciences, and technology such as paper and gunpowder.
The Gold-Salt Trade was conducted by caravans of camels across the Sahara Desert. According to Ibn Battuta, the explorer who accompanied one of the caravans, the average size per caravan was 1000 camels with some caravans as large as 12,000. The caravans would be guided by highly paid Berbers who knew the desert and could ensure safe passage from their fellow desert nomads.
The survival of a caravan could be dangerous and would rely on careful coordination. Runners would be sent ahead to oases so that water could be shipped out to the caravan when it was still several days away, as the caravans could not easily carry enough with them to make the full journey.
The West African Kingdom of Ghana became a major trading center for the Gold-Salt Trade. With gold and salt being transported and traded through Ghana, the Kingdom of Ghana was able to become very wealthy by taxing the goods that came through the trade center.
Other materials that were popular trading in Ghana were ivory, horses, swords, spices, silks, and books from Europe. With the amount of protection on the trade routes and the large number of trade routes, Ghana was given the nickname The Gold Coast.