The Silk Road was a network of trade routes established throughout Europe and Asia in the second century B.C. The Roman Empire and both the Mauryan and Gupta dynasties of India were two of the many societies that participated in trade along the Silk Road during the classical period. Trade along the routes of the Silk Road vastly increased the level of interaction between people from diverse places. The Silk Road spread religious beliefs and stimulated economic growth in both India and Rome as well as impacting the societies in many other ways, some similar, some different. Trade via the Silk Road resulted in economic growth and increased prosperity in both Rome and India. Both societies were able to earn a steady profit from the goods they …show more content…
A possible explanation for this is that trade during the period of the Silk Road was a very long and extensive process. Goods traveling along the Silk Road were transported by caravans, the caravans stopped at weigh stations and allowed new transporters to pick up the goods, with the prices of the goods increasing at every stop. This process resulted in the prices of the goods being very high once they reach there final destinations, therefore, while traders benefited from the process, only the wealthy could afford to purchase the items. In Rome, dining with spices or wearing clothes made from imported silk was a status symbol. Only the elite patricician class could afford the opulence of trade, which in turn widened the gap between the rich and the poor in Rome. While, in India, especially during the Gupta period, the social structure was more influenced by Hinduism than by trade. Particularly the caste system which was a type of static social order based on occupation, which placed priests or Brahmins at the top of the social pyramid. Regardless of how one’s income might grow as a result of trade, one’s position in society would always remain the same. (dont use one! how to