The Great Silk Road

The conquests of Alexander the Great significantly expanded the knowledge of West and East about each other, creating the prerequisites for establishing trade relations. China began to export silk as soon as it realized its need, first in jade and jadeite from the mines of Khotan and Yarkend , and then in thoroughbred Arabian horses , which were significantly superior in quality to short Chinese horses.

Han Dynasty Silk Samples

The old Northern Road originated during the time of Emperor Wu-di , who, under the pressure of the steppe people of the Huns, sent his dignitary Zhang Qian to search for their Yuezha enemies who migrated west to establish allied relations with them. During the trip 138-126 years BC. e. Zhang Qian, who reached Bactria, saw an article of horses in the Ferghana Valley that struck him with their beauty. He reported to the emperor about the absence of silk weaving in other countries and advised the emperor to export silk abroad in exchange for beautiful horses, as well as sweet fruits, wine, alfalfa and others. Silk in the West was highly appreciated for its ability to withstand universal calamity - annoying parasite insects . Thus, Zhang Qian managed to establish relations between China and the Hellenistic states of Asia, as well as collect information about Parthia and India .

In 121 BC e. the first camel caravan with silk and bronze mirrors headed towards the Ferghana oasis through the Turfan depression along the Tier Shan Mountains and the Flames. In 117 BC e. Wu-di sent Zhang Qian with a new mission, a large embassy, ​​a lot of money and silk - this time to the land of the Usuns inhabiting the Ili River basin. From the Usuns, the ambassadors had to disperse to other countries, starting from the neighboring Central Asian countries ( Kangyuy , Bactria , Sogdiana ).

Trade along the established route was interrupted by devastating uprisings in that area in the years 17–27. e. ( uprising of the "red-browed" ). After the establishment of peace, trade continued, but on a new path — the South Road . In addition, part of the goods went across the Indian Ocean (see: Indo-Roman trade ). Since the 1st century AD e. the sea trade route between Europe and China, mediated by Han tributaries Jiaozhi and the Khmer power Funan , was more or less stable. This is confirmed by the finds of ancient Roman coins in the Mekong delta (the ancient harbor, mentioned by Ptolemy as Cattigara ).

During the journey from east to west, silk and spices passed through dozens of hands. In this regard, historians are talking about the travel of goods and technologies, and not people. For transportation mainly donkeys and camels were used . The number of camels in the caravans that plowed the Takla-Makan desert varied from 3 to 300. ^[1] Due to intensive trade in the Tangan power , a fashion for Central Asian outfits and products was formed. ^[one]

In IV-IX centuries, the international trading network was supported by Sogd in the east and Rahdonite Jews in the west. The Sogdian language served as the language of international communication: for example, the sacred texts of Buddhism were translated from Sanskrit into Chinese through the Sogdian medium. Letters left by one of the merchants in a bag in Dunhuang (the starting point of the path to the west) shed some light on the internal organization of Sogdian trade. ^[one]

The intensity of trade relations decreased after the crowding out of the Romans from the Middle East and the beginning of the Arab conquests ^[2] . During the periodically erupting Byzantine-Iranian wars, the rulers of Persia blocked caravan routes in order to cause maximum damage to the economy of Byzantium . Difficulties with the delivery of goods also arose in the early Arab period, especially after the defeat of the Chinese in the Talas battle , which forced them to leave Central Asia.

In the difficult period for trade in the 8th – 10th centuries, instead of silk, river routes and trails of the East European Plain began to be used, the main “operators” of which were the Khazars and Scandinavian Vikings (see Volga Trade Route ). The influx of wealth from the East accelerated the stratification in these lands and led to the formation of state entities, initially consisting of a chain of trade and military factories along the main trade routes ( Volga Bulgaria , Khazar Kaganate ).

As a result of the Iranian-Byzantine wars of the VI — VII centuries. one of the routes of the Great Silk Road was laid on the territory of the North Caucasus . This was due to an attempt by the Persians to block Byzantine trade relations by imposing high duties on Greek merchants. In this regard, caravans from China and Central Asia went around the Sassanid powers . They began to go around the Caspian Sea not from the south, but from the north - moving through the Northern Caspian to the North Caucasus. In this regard, two branches of the Great Silk Road appeared in the Caucasus - Misimian and Darinsky.

After the creation of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century, within the limits of which almost the entire length of the Silk Road turned out to be, prerequisites arose for the revitalization of land trade along ancient routes. Such European travelers as Marco Polo , Karpini , Rubruk , with the assistance of the Mongols, freely traveled to and from East Turkestan . In the same ways, the " black death " spread in the fourteenth century. The western section of the route in the XIV-XV centuries was controlled by the Venetians and Genoese , who acquired fortified trading posts along the shores of the Black Sea .

By the 15th century, the Silk Road fell into decay due to the resumption of military conflicts in Central Asia (the invasion of the Turkmens , the conquest of Tamerlane ), which stimulated the development of maritime trade , ^[2] leading in the long run to great geographical discoveries . The growing interest of the Chinese in maritime trade was indicated, in particular, by Zheng He's journey to the Persian Gulf and to the shores of Africa .

Although silk was the main, but far from the only product transported along the transcontinental route. Huttal horses, highly valued in China, were exported from Central Asia, military equipment, gold and silver , semiprecious stones and glass products, leather and wool , carpets and cotton fabrics, exotic fruits - watermelons and peaches , fat tail sheep and hunting dogs, leopards and lions. Caravans brought porcelain and metal utensils, varnished goods and cosmetics, tea and rice from China. In the travel bags of the merchants, elephant tusks, rhinoceros horns, tortoise shells, spices and much more could be found. ^[3]

The Great Silk Road played a large role in the development of economic and cultural ties between the peoples of Asia Minor , the Caucasus , Central Asia and China , for example, it served as a conduit for the dissemination of technology and innovation, including in art (dance, music, visual arts, architecture), religion ( Christianity , Buddhism , Islam , Manichaeism ), technology (the production of silk itself, as well as gunpowder , paper , etc.). Moreover, almost all technologies (with the possible exception of chariots in ancient times) spread from China to the west, and not in the opposite direction (cf. four great inventions ). ^[one]

USSR

In the late 30s and early 40s of the 20th century, the USSR provided large-scale support for certain political forces in China in their conflict with Japan and Great Britain. For this, a highway was built from the USSR to China with a length of about 3 thousand km. ^[four]

Transsib

In the 1960s, the USSR entered the transcontinental transportation market between Europe and Asia along the Trans-Siberian Railway . However, the political situation, problems of logistics and different gauge did not allow the full use of the track. The corridor began to acquire its modern look and significance in 1990, when the first bow between China and the USSR (now Kazakhstan) was put into operation. On January 11, 2008, China , Mongolia , Russia , Belarus , Poland, and Germany entered into an agreement on a project to optimize the Beijing - Hamburg freight service ^[5] . In 2011, transit exceeded 15 million tons. ^[6] In 2013, the second bow between the Chinese railways and the Trans-Siberian Railway was commissioned. The transit time from China to Germany along this route is 11..15 days, which is approximately 20 days less than by sea. ^[7]

Trans-Eurasian Razvitie Belt

In 2014, Russia began a public discussion of a new concept for the development of the Far Eastern region called the Trans-Eurasian belt “Razvitie”. ^{[8] [9]} Within the framework of this concept, a draft of the Integrated Eurasian Transport System is being prepared on the basis of the Trans-Siberian and Baikal-Amur railways. The China-Mongolia-Russia railway crossing is under construction. ^[ten]

Car Route

In early 2016, the first convoy of Russian trucks arrived in Xinjiang by the mechanism of simplified transit through Kazakhstan. Now automobile transit cargo between Russia and China goes without inspection in Kazakhstan. ^[11] The reconstruction of the China-Western Europe highway through Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus is nearing completion. ^[12]

TRACECA

An attempt to revitalize the ancient trade route connecting East and West is the TRACECA program of the international transport corridor Europe – Caucasus – Asia, which is sometimes called the “New Silk Road”. ^{[2] The} land route was supposed to pass south of the Caspian Sea , through the Bosphorus . In the summer of 1998, the twelve countries of the Caucasus, the Black Sea and Central Asia, with US support, reached an agreement to create a rail, sea, air and road transport corridor from China and Mongolia to Europe, bypassing Russia. ^[2] The program secretariat is located in Baku . ^[2] By 2014, several road sections were constructed under this project, mainly in China. ^[four]

Caspian Ferry Route

In 2014, Azerbaijan modernized a ferry across the Caspian Sea . ^[13] The modernization and construction of railways from Azerbaijan through Georgia to Turkey was also completed. The construction of the Turkish section of the railway to the Bosphorus is underway ^[14] . Part of the traffic of this route can go through ferry crossings of the Black Sea from Georgian ports to the ports of Romania ( Constanta ) and Ukraine ( Odessa ). To support transport from these ports, the construction of the Via Carpatia highway is planned, and the design of the VIKING Train railway route is developed. ^[15] In 2015, the first train from China to the European Union was transported through the existing railway system of Kazakhstan and ferry transport of the Black Sea. ^{[14] [16]}

One Belt and One Way

Within the framework of the Chinese strategic program “One Belt and One Road”, a number of projects of sea and land routes between Europe and China under the general name New Silk Road are being developed. ^[10] Land routes are united by the name "Economic belt of the Silk Road", maritime "Sea Silk Road of the 21st Century."

As part of the southern land routes, a railway route is being built through Pakistan. On the northern route, the China-Mongolia-Russia railway line is being built.

The 21st Century Marine Silk Road project provides access to port terminals in China to ASEAN countries and southern China.

• Mamleva L.A. Formation of the Great Silk Road in the system of transcivilizational interaction of the peoples of Eurasia // Vita Antiqua. 1999. No. 2. P. 53–61.
• Hansen V. The Silk Road: A New History: [ eng. ] . - Oxford University Press, 2012 .-- 320 p. - ISBN 978-0-19-515931-8 .

• The formation of the Great Silk Road in the system of transcivilizational interaction of the peoples of Eurasia