The Roman Empire and the Silk Routes: The Ancient World Economy & the Empires of Parthia, Central Asia & Han China

Book Review: Five Stars


The Roman Empire and the Silk Routes: The Ancient World Economy & the Empires of Parthia, Central Asia & Han China by Raoul McLaughlin
This text book standard of in-depth information covers an immense subject. The book reveals fascinating facts of scientific advancements, political struggles and strategies, plus geographic logistics that marked this intriguing transitional era of international commerce.

Excerpts:
Trade that could be conducted between China, the Tarim kingdoms and Transoxiana. Chinese accounts suggest that an Iranian caravan leaving China could consist of 600 camels loaded with 10,000 silk rolls (4 tons of fabric). Ten caravans this size could export 100,000 rolls or 40 tons of silk. There were over 50 million people in Han China, so exports weighing 40 tons would represent under 1 ton of silk per million people. This is not a large figure compared with the regular tribute that the Han Empire gave to the Xiongnu nation to maintain peace on its northern frontiers.
The second century BC the Han Empire was the largest regime in the ancient world with a population revealed by census records to be greater than 50 million people. But the Han had powerful rivals on the Asian steppe lands that lay to the north and west of central China, including a confederation of mounted nomads known as the Xiongnu (“Hun-nu” or Huns). Faced with these opponents, the Han government used silk to devise commercial strategies that would guarantee the long-term supremacy of their empire. In particular, Han policymakers believed they could use trade exports to cause foreign powers to be economically reliant on Chinese products and manufactured items. Then, if the foreign regime did not comply with Chinese authority, the Han could impose trade sanctions that would cause economic damage.