The Mediterranean Sea is located between Europe, Northern Africa, and southwestern Asia and was used for trade between 600 CE and 1450 CE. The Silk Road" is a series of trade routes that spanned 7000 miles across the Asian continent that connected East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean world, as well as North and Northeast Africa and Europe. The silk roads were used from 130 BC to 1453 AD. Although trading on the silk roads and mediterranean sea complex had many similarities and differences, the mediterranean sea complex was a much more successful way to trade.
One of the benefits of trade is the technological advancements that arise over time. The Arab Empire invented the magnetic compass to use when trading on the mediterranean sea as well as a kamal, which is a device used to determine the latitude. Whereas the silk road could not contribute any inventions to society, all it did was transport inventions made from other locations. A few advancements that traveled along the silk road were paper making, printing, gunpowder and eventually the compass. The mediterranean sea was inventing things that were modernizing and advancing civilization, but the silk road was solely focused on trade and diffusion of ideas.
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The main goods traded throughout the mediterranean sea included olive oil, fish, wine, cereals, and fresh and dried fruit. The only reason that many of these fresh items could be traded was because they were transported by boat which was a much faster trip than by foot (like the silk road). On the silk road, the most commonly traded goods were silk, salt, sugar, porcelain, and spices, all things with a relatively long shelf life. Both the silk road and mediterranean sea transported salt and glass. The mediterranean sea is a better way to trade compared to the silk road because it is a much quicker journey so you can trade goods with shorter shelf