What challenges did a merchant faced on the Silk Road?

What challenges did a merchant faced on the Silk Road?

It was incredibly dangerous to travel along the Silk Road. You faced desolate white-hot sand dunes in the desert, forbidding mountains, brutal winds, and poisonous snakes.

How did merchants travel the Silk Road?

Merchants and tradesmen traveled in large caravans. They would have many guards with them. Traveling in a big group like a caravan helped in defending from bandits. Camels were popular animals for transport because much of the road was through dry and harsh land.

Why did merchants stop using the Silk Road?

Established when the Han Dynasty in China officially opened trade with the West in 130 B.C., the Silk Road routes remained in use until 1453 A.D., when the Ottoman Empire boycotted trade with China and closed them.

What were the disadvantages of the Silk Road?

the biggest disadvantage to the Silk Road is the spread of diseases. Measles, small pox, and, most importantly, the bubonic plague spread because of the Silk Road. A disadvantage to that same connectedness that it might be bad for small or developing countries.

Why was the Silk Road so difficult?

There were a few difficulties of traveling on the Silk Road. First, the geography of the route was sometimes difficult. Animals could slip of cliffs, and mountain passages were very narrow and dangerous to pass through. Then, the Chinese who traveled also faced sandstorms and mirages in their travels.

Who were the merchants who traded in the Silk Road?

The most successful traders of the Silk Road were the Sogdians, an Iranian people who inhabited the region of Transoxiana (corresponding to the modern-day republics of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan) in Central Asia. They formed a caravan to travel to China and Central Asia back and forth.

What did merchants do in the Silk Road?

Merchants on the silk road transported goods and traded at bazaars or caravanserai along the way. They traded goods such as silk, spices, tea, ivory, cotton, wool, precious metals, and ideas.

What problems arose or happened when using the Silk Road?

The Silk Roads were known for often spreading disease all throughout Asia and even into Europe. When one merchant had a disease or illness, they usually spread it to other merchants while interacting during trade, which allowed for disease to spread very easily. The Silk Roads contributed a lot to the Black Plague.

How did the Silk Road allow the spread of religions?

Buddhist merchants from those areas built temples and shrines along the Silk Road everywhere they went; the priests and monks who staffed those religious establishments preached to local populations and passing travelers, spreading the faith rapidly.

What did the merchants do on the Silk Road?

In the heyday of Han and Tang dynasties, groups of traveling merchants and rows of commodities-carrying camels and horses came and went in an endless stream between the East and the West. During their travel, they not only engaged in their trade, but also delivered different idea, culture and products to the East and West.

Why was the Silk Road a dangerous route?

Silk, however, was the most celebrated commodity that was transferred along this route, traveling from China westwards. Although merchants could make huge profits if they succeeded in bring their goods to their destination, it was not without risks, as certain stretches of this route were extremely dangerous. What is the Silk Road?

Who was the most famous traveler on the Silk Road?

In exchange, horses, glassware, textile s, and manufactured goods traveled eastward. One of the most famous travelers of the Silk Road was Marco Polo (1254 C.E. –1324 C.E.). Born into a family of wealthy merchants in Venice, Italy, Marco traveled with his father to China (then Cathay) when he was just 17 years of age.

Why was water important on the Silk Road?

Trade on the Silk Road. ( Public Domain ) One of the consequences of the need for water in the Gobi Desert is the foundation of rest stops / caravanserais along the route taken by the travelers. These stops allowed travelers to rest, to have food and drink, and to prepare themselves for the next portion of their journey.