How Did The Silk Road Change Over Time

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The Silk Road was a network of trading routes that spread across most of Asia and connected areas of eastern Europe back to China in 200 BCE to 1450 CE. Although many changes happened throughout this time, such as changes in religions in the area and social hierarchies, many things stayed constant, such as the desire for luxury goods and the trade of new technologies, religions, and products. The rise and fall of certain empires were a major change during this time. Starting around 200 BCE, the Silk Road was used by the Roman empire and Han dynasty to trade luxury goods such as silk. Later on, as western Rome fell, eastern Rome rose as the Byzantine empire, and used the Silk Road also. While the empires and civilizations that used the Silk Road changed over time, the trade routes and patterns remained constant. The Silk Road still connected parts of eastern Europe all the way back to China. Even as the popularity and use of the Silk Road fluctuated throughout the different empires, the trade routes and patterns stayed the same because the goods, ideas, and religions traded were very influential. Furthermore, …show more content…

The religions traded back and forth along the Silk Road went through many changes. For example, Christianity and Buddhism became much more materialistic religions because of the goods available to them. Additionally, Christians began to infuse Roman and Greek thoughts into their religion. This was due to the fact that many different and unique ideas were spread throughout different civilizations along the Silk Road. While the religions themselves were changing, the process of them being spread stayed constant. Many religions, such as Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam were traded and exchanged across the Silk Road through social interactions. While the religions that were traded went through many fundamental changes, the process by which they were spread stayed the