Transcontinental Trade of the Old World
As I mentioned in my post on Rome’s economy, trade is a vital aspect of a healthy society. As civilizations developed and advanced, so did the trading routes, becoming more complex and farther reaching. Today, we will talk about one of the first transcontinental trade networks on the planet, the Silk Road, connecting the far east of Asia to Europe. Everything started during the days of the Han dynasty, when Emperor Wu was searching for ways to end the threat of the Nomadic nation of Xiongnu in modern day Mongolia. As such, he sent an emissary , named Zhang Qian, to central Asia for potential allies. Zhang, despite traversing the territories of his enemies, made it to his destination and successfully made contact with the local Yuezhi and Dayuan people, but was quickly attracted by something else: horses. Now, the Hans were no strangers to these animals, as they themselves fielded cavalry and chariot units in significant quantity. H...