The Road and the time: a new turn in the geographical history of mankind
April 09, 2018 | 12:48 |4095
Now it is very fashionable and interesting to make ratings. Identify all the most significant - the greatest politicians, the greatest battles, the most interesting books, etc. Of course, an element of entertainment plays an important role here. But among these "hit parades of importance" quite often there are very interesting and useful ones. So, the Internet resource "Russian Seven", which tells about key events in the history of mankind in the format of ratings, determined the most significant geographical discoveries in history. We will focus on one, but the most important of them, ranked first in the list. This is the Great Silk Road. It is generally believed that until the II century BC the way from Europe to Asia ended at the spurs of the Tien Shan, hiding from the rest of the world the Chinese civilization.Nury AMANOV
Everything changed with the visit of Chinese Ambassador Zhang Qian to Central Asia, who was struck by the unprecedented wealth of these lands. The Chinese diplomat realized that it was time for the Middle Kingdom to reveal itself to the world.
It will be some time before the small segments of trade roads will be merged into a giant path with a length of 12,000 kilometers, linking the East and the West.
At the same time, the Great Silk Road can not be viewed as a single route. This path, like the circulatory system of a living organism, branched out in different directions, connecting cities. It went north to the valley of the Ili river and toward modern Kazakhstan, to the south to Bactria (northern Afghanistan). Then the southern road again divided into two directions: one went to India, the other to the West - to Iraq and Syria. The final point of the way was the Mediterranean.
The Great Silk Road is a journey not only of people. Silk and other goods were transported along this great road, but what is very important is ideas and technology.
Why was silk the main commodity? Well, firstly, in that era, nowhere else was it possible to buy this gorgeous, solar fabric - it was produced only in China. And then, silk, like gold, due to its high cost and huge demand, was an ideal commodity for transportation over long distances.
The main goal of the merchants who traded silk was the great Rome, the eternal city, where people lived, for whom this fabulously expensive material was affordable. All the costs associated with the organization of such a long and dangerous commercial enterprise were repaid a hundredfold.
For a long time the Great Silk Road will feed the markets of the largest continent of the world - Eurasia.
But as they say, everything comes to an end. By the 15th century the Great Silk Road had fallen into decay. Geographical discoveries, which gave a powerful impetus to the development of maritime transport and the emergence of protracted military conflicts in Central Asia, led to the fact that merchants moved from ships of the desert to sea vessels.
It would seem that the page is turned upside down, and everything connected with the Great Silk Road has become the property of history, but no. In the 21st century, this historical route revived like a Phoenix bird. I do not think there is another such historical phenomenon.
In half a millennium the Great Silk Road unites countries, regions and peoples again, but at a different level of technical and intellectual development. As well as centuries ago, the goods, ideas and technologies are carried this way. And Turkmenistan plays an important role in this process. It is no accident that the year of2018 goes on in the country under the motto "Turkmenistan is the heart of the Great Silk Road".
