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124-594: The Baljuna Covenant was an oath sworn in mid-1203 AD by Temüjin —the khan of the Mongol tribe and the future Genghis Khan—and a small group of companions, subsequently known as the Baljunatu . Temüjin had risen in power in the service of the Kereit khan Toghrul during the late 12th century. In early 1203, Toghrul was convinced by his son Senggum that Temüjin's proposal of a marriage alliance between his and their families

248-528: A "complex network of trade routes" that gave people the chance to exchange goods and culture. A maritime Silk Route opened up between Chinese-controlled Giao Chỉ (centred in modern Vietnam , near Hanoi ), probably by the 1st century. It extended, via ports on the coasts of India and Sri Lanka , all the way to Roman -controlled ports in Roman Egypt and the Nabataean territories on the northeastern coast of

372-737: A Chinese tomb of Shanxi province dated to the Sui dynasty (581–618). Both the Old Book of Tang and New Book of Tang , covering the history of the Chinese Tang dynasty (618–907), record that a new state called Fu-lin (拂菻; i.e. Byzantine Empire) was virtually identical to the previous Daqin (大秦; i.e. Roman Empire). Several Fu-lin embassies were recorded for the Tang period, starting in 643 with an alleged embassy by Constans II (transliterated as Bo duo li , 波多力, from his nickname "Kōnstantinos Pogonatos") to

496-613: A contingent of Roman legionaries. The Romans may have been part of Antony 's army invading Parthia . Sogdiana (modern Bukhara ), east of the Oxus River, on the Polytimetus River, was apparently the most easterly penetration ever made by Roman forces in Asia. The margin of Chinese victory appears to have been their crossbows, whose bolts and darts seem easily to have penetrated Roman shields and armour. The Han dynasty army regularly policed

620-723: A leading astronomer and physician in Khanbaliq , at the court of Kublai Khan , Mongol founder of the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) and was even granted the noble title 'Prince of Fu lin' ( Chinese : 拂菻王; Fú lǐn wáng). The Uyghur Nestorian Christian diplomat Rabban Bar Sauma , who set out from his Chinese home in Khanbaliq (Beijing) and acted as a representative for Arghun (a grandnephew of Kublai Khan), traveled throughout Europe and attempted to secure military alliances with Edward I of England , Philip IV of France , Pope Nicholas IV , as well as

744-457: A means of currency, just as valuable as silk yarn and textiles. Under its strong integrating dynamics on the one hand and the impacts of change it transmitted on the other, tribal societies previously living in isolation along the Silk Road, and pastoralists who were of barbarian cultural development, were drawn to the riches and opportunities of the civilisations connected by the routes, taking on

868-480: A number of important technologies, and in addition to raiding vulnerable settlements for these commodities, they also encouraged long-distance merchants as a source of income through the enforced payment of tariffs. Sogdians played a major role in facilitating trade between China and Central Asia along the Silk Roads as late as the 10th century, their language serving as a lingua franca for Asian trade as far back as

992-507: A person swearing an oath to hold a raised hand in a specific gesture. Most often the right hand is raised. This custom has been explained with reference to medieval practices of branding palms. The Scout Sign can be made while giving the Scout Promise . In Scouting for Boys the movement's founder, Robert Baden-Powell , instructed: "While taking this oath the scout will stand, holding his right hand raised level with his shoulder, palm to

1116-543: A promise"; from Proto-Germanic *aiþaz ; from Proto-Indo-European *oi-to- : "an oath". Common to Celtic and Germanic, possibly a loan-word from one to the other, but the history is obscure and it may be non-Indo-European, in reference to careless invocations of divinity, from the late 12th century. The concept of oaths is deeply rooted within Judaism . It is found in Genesis 8:21, when God swears that he will "never again curse

1240-620: A route to revenge against the Jin, and the Muslim merchants Ja'far and Hasan, who exchanged a thousand sheep for guarantees of future security and favourable trade pacts . He even recruited members of Toghrul's Kereit tribe, such as Chinqai who became a prominent administrator under Ogedei. Historians have emphasised the social, cultural, and religious heterogeneity of the Baljuna oath-takers. There were no Mongols, apart from Temüjin and his brother Qasar , in

1364-545: A small group of companions, especially after he swore loyalty to his father's anda ( lit. " blood brother "), the chieftain Toghrul of the central Kereit tribe. His ambitions were stymied by Jamukha , his own anda , whom he intermittently fought from the 1180s onwards. Although the Kereit were ostensibly the most powerful tribe on the Mongol steppe by 1201, the tribe's nobility began to fear that they too would soon be usurped by

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1488-615: A solemn affirmation instead of an oath. The United States has permitted affirmations since it was founded; it is explicitly mentioned in the Constitution . Only President Franklin Pierce has chosen to affirm rather than swear at his inauguration. As late as 1880, Charles Bradlaugh was denied a seat as an MP in the Parliament of the United Kingdom because of his professed atheism as he

1612-484: A vow. Due to this, King Dasharatha took an oath for his Queen Kaikeyi (on her maid, Manthara 's insistence) and thus had to exile his favorite son, Lord Rama along with his wife Devi Sita and brother Lakshmana for fourteen years in the forest. In the Mahabharata, Devrata took an oath of celibacy so that Satyavati 's father would marry her to Devrata's father, King Shantanu . He also took an oath to not rule

1736-565: A wife for his son Isaac from the daughters of Canaan, but rather from among Abraham's own family. The foundational text for oath making is in Numbers 30:2: "When a man voweth a vow unto the Lord, or sweareth an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth." According to the Rabbis, a neder (usually translated as "vow") refers to

1860-427: A written statement, only if the author swears the statement is true. This statement is called an affidavit . This is in contrast to a statutory declaration , where no sworn oath or affirmation is involved. The oath given to support an affidavit is frequently administered by a notary , who will certify the giving of the oath by affixing her or his seal to the document. Willfully delivering a false oath (or affirmation)

1984-557: Is a modern name, acquired from its similarity to the overland Silk Road. Like the overland routes, the ancient maritime routes through Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean had no particular name for the majority of its very long history. Despite the modern name, the Maritime Silk Road involved exchanges in a wide variety of goods over a very wide region, not just silk or Asian exports. It differed significantly in several aspects from

2108-428: Is also used occasionally. Although the term was coined in the 19th century, it did not gain widespread acceptance in academia or popularity among the public until the 20th century. The first book entitled The Silk Road was by Swedish geographer Sven Hedin in 1938. The use of the term 'Silk Road' is not without its detractors. For instance, Warwick Ball contends that the maritime spice trade with India and Arabia

2232-500: Is the crime of perjury . There are some places where there is a confusion between the "oath" and other statements or promises. For example, the current Olympic Oath is really a pledge , not properly an oath, since there is only a promise but there is no appeal to a sacred witness. Oaths may also be confused with vows , but vows are really just a particular kind of an oath. Instead of, or in addition to, holding one's hand upon an object of ceremonial importance, it can be customary for

2356-770: The Alans ], Lijian [Syria under the Greek Seleucids], Tiaozhi (Mesopotamia), and Tianzhu [northwestern India] ... As a rule, rather more than ten such missions went forward in the course of a year, and at the least five or six. ( Hou Hanshu , Later Han History). These connections marked the beginning of the Silk Road trade network that extended to the Roman Empire. The Chinese campaigned in Central Asia on several occasions, and direct encounters between Han troops and Roman legionaries (probably captured or recruited as mercenaries by

2480-640: The Berel burial ground in Kazakhstan , confirmed that the nomadic Arimaspians were not only breeding horses for trade but also produced great craftsmen able to propagate exquisite art pieces along the Silk Road. From the 2nd millennium BCE, nephrite jade was being traded from mines in the region of Yarkand and Khotan to China. Significantly, these mines were not very far from the lapis lazuli and spinel ("Balas Ruby") mines in Badakhshan , and, although separated by

2604-478: The Eastern and Western worlds . The name "Silk Road" was first coined in the late 19th century, but some 20th- and 21st-century historians instead prefer the term Silk Routes , on the grounds that it more accurately describes the intricate web of land and sea routes connecting Central , East , South , Southeast , and West Asia as well as East Africa and Southern Europe . The Silk Road derives its name from

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2728-618: The Great Wall of China to ensure the protection of the trade route. By the first century CE, Chinese silk was widely sought-after in Rome, Egypt, and Greece. Other lucrative commodities from the East included tea, dyes, perfumes, and porcelain ; among Western exports were horses, camels, honey, wine, and gold. Aside from generating substantial wealth for emerging mercantile classes, the proliferation of goods such as paper and gunpowder greatly affected

2852-806: The Hungarian plain and the Carpathian Mountains to the Chinese Gansu Corridor, and linking the Middle East with Northern India and the Punjab , undoubtedly played an important role in the development of the Silk Road. Scythians accompanied the Assyrian Esarhaddon on his invasion of Egypt, and their distinctive triangular arrowheads have been found as far south as Aswan . These nomadic peoples were dependent upon neighbouring settled populations for

2976-756: The Karakum Desert . Both routes joined the main southern route before reaching ancient Merv , Turkmenistan. Another branch of the northern route turned northwest past the Aral Sea and north of the Caspian Sea , then and on to the Black Sea. A route for caravans, the northern Silk Road brought to China many goods such as "dates, saffron powder and pistachio nuts from Persia; frankincense , aloes and myrrh from Somalia ; sandalwood from India; glass bottles from Egypt, and other expensive and desirable goods from other parts of

3100-551: The Kushan Empire between the first and third centuries reinforced the role of the powerful merchants from Bactria and Taxila . They fostered multi-cultural interaction as indicated by their 2nd century treasure hoards filled with products from the Greco-Roman world, China, and India, such as in the archeological site of Begram . The Silk Road trade did not sell only textiles, jewels, metal and cosmetic, but also slaves, connecting

3224-938: The Magyars , Armenians , and Chinese. The Silk Road reached its peak in the west during the time of the Byzantine Empire ; in the Nile- Oxus section, from the Sassanid Empire period to the Il Khanate period; and in the sinitic zone from the Three Kingdoms period to the Yuan dynasty period. Trade between East and West also developed across the Indian Ocean , between Alexandria in Egypt and Guangzhou in China. Persian Sassanid coins emerged as

3348-724: The Malay Peninsula , and the Mekong Delta ; through which passed the main routes of the Austronesian trade ships to Giao Chỉ (in the Tonkin Gulf ) and Guangzhou (southern China ), the endpoints (later also including Quanzhou by the 10th century CE). Secondary routes also passed through the coastlines of the Gulf of Thailand ; as well as through the Java Sea , Celebes Sea , Banda Sea , and

3472-820: The Maldives . It branches from here into routes through the Arabian Sea entering the Gulf of Oman (into the Persian Gulf ), and the Gulf of Aden (into the Red Sea ). Secondary routes also pass through the coastlines of the Bay of Bengal , the Arabian Sea, and southwards along the coast of East Africa to Zanzibar , the Comoros , Madagascar , and the Seychelles . The term "Maritime Silk Road"

3596-509: The Persian Gulf and Red Sea into Persia , Mesopotamia (sailing up the Euphrates River in modern-day Iraq ), Arabia , Egypt , Aksum (Ethiopia), and Somalia in the Horn of Africa . The Silk Road represents an early phenomenon of political and cultural integration due to inter-regional trade. In its heyday, it sustained an international culture that strung together groups as diverse as

3720-856: The Red Sea . The earliest Roman glassware bowl found in China was unearthed from a Western Han tomb in Guangzhou , dated to the early 1st century BCE, indicating that Roman commercial items were being imported through the South China Sea . According to Chinese dynastic histories , it is from this region that the Roman embassies arrived in China, beginning in 166 CE during the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Emperor Huan of Han . Other Roman glasswares have been found in Eastern-Han-era tombs (25–220 CE) further inland in Luoyang , Nanyang , and Nanjing . Soon after

3844-715: The Sasanian Empire that allowed the Byzantines to bypass the Sasanian merchants and trade directly with the Sogdians for purchasing Chinese silk. Although the Byzantines had already procured silkworm eggs from China by this point, the quality of Chinese silk was still far greater than anything produced in the West, a fact that is perhaps emphasized by the discovery of coins minted by Justin II found in

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3968-563: The Silla Kingdom in Gyeongju , Korea. Chinese wealth grew as they delivered silk and other luxury goods to the Roman Empire, whose wealthy women admired their beauty. The Roman Senate issued, in vain, several edicts to prohibit the wearing of silk, on economic and moral grounds: the import of Chinese silk caused a huge outflow of gold, and silk clothes were considered decadent and immoral. I can see clothes of silk, if materials that do not hide

4092-644: The Sulu Sea , reconnecting with the main route through the northern Philippines and Taiwan . The secondary routes also continue onward to the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea for a limited extent. The main route of the western regions of the Maritime Silk Road directly crosses the Indian Ocean from the northern tip of Sumatra (or through the Sunda Strait ) to Sri Lanka , southern India and Bangladesh , and

4216-408: The Temple of Jupiter , Capitoline Hill . Iuppiter Lapis was held in the Roman tradition to be an Oath Stone , an aspect of Jupiter in his role as divine law-maker responsible for order and used principally for the investiture of the oathtaking of office. According to Cyril Bailey, in "The Religion of Ancient Rome" (1907): We have, for instance, the sacred stone ( silex ) which was preserved in

4340-435: The Wusun . Zhang Qian's report suggested the economic reason for Chinese expansion and wall-building westward, and trail-blazed the Silk Road, making it one of the most famous trade routes in history and in the world. After winning the War of the Heavenly Horses and the Han–Xiongnu War , Chinese armies established themselves in Central Asia, initiating the Silk Route as a major avenue of international trade. Some say that

4464-417: The bragarfull . Hedin vowed that he would have Sváva, Eylimi's daughter, the beloved of his brother Helgi; then such great grief seized him that he went forth on wild paths southward over the land, and found Helgi, his brother. Such Norse traditions are directly parallel to the "bird oaths" of late medieval France, such as the voeux du faisan (oath on the pheasant) or the (fictional) voeux du paon (oath on

4588-426: The kingdom and remain loyal to the king, who would be a descendant of Satyavati. Thus, Devavrata got the name Bhishma , which means someone who has taken a terrible oath. Many others also took oaths that they fulfilled. Walter Burkert has shown that since Lycurgus of Athens (d. 324 BCE), who held that "it is the oath which holds democracy together", religion, morality and political organization had been linked by

4712-447: The withdrawal from the battle and several of his captains were missing. Despite the danger, he waited through the following night for his surviving troops to gather. Bo'orchu arrived at dawn, having lost his horse at Qalaqaljid, and he was shortly followed by Boroqul , who was tending to Ögedei , Temüjin's third son, who had suffered a serious neck injury. Temüjin then retreated, stopping only to bury Kuildar, who had been killed during

4836-428: The 12th century, the route was used to ship bullion from Yunnan (gold and silver are among the minerals in which Yunnan is rich), through northern Burma, into modern Bangladesh , making use of the ancient route, known as the 'Ledo' route. The emerging evidence of the ancient cities of Bangladesh, in particular Wari-Bateshwar ruins, Mahasthangarh , Bhitagarh , Bikrampur , Egarasindhur, and Sonargaon , are believed to be

4960-460: The 21st century, the name "New Silk Road" is used to describe several large infrastructure projects along many of the historic trade routes; among the best known include the Eurasian Land Bridge and the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). In June 2014, UNESCO designated the Chang'an-Tianshan corridor of the Silk Road as a World Heritage Site , while the Indian portion remains on the tentative site list. The Silk Road derives its name from

5084-407: The 4th century. The Silk Road was initiated and spread by China's Han dynasty through exploration and conquests in Central Asia . With the Mediterranean linked to the Fergana Valley , the next step was to open a route across the Tarim Basin and the Hexi Corridor to China Proper . This extension came around 130 BCE, with the embassies of the Han dynasty to Central Asia following the reports of

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5208-417: The 640s and 650s. During Emperor Taizong's reign alone, large campaigns were launched against not only the Göktürks , but also separate campaigns against the Tuyuhun , the oasis states , and the Xueyantuo . Under Emperor Taizong , Tang general Li Jing conquered the Eastern Turkic Khaganate . Under Emperor Gaozong , Tang general Su Dingfang conquered the Western Turkic Khaganate , an important ally of

5332-452: The Baljuna Covenant is omitted completely from the Secret History . This lacuna led sinologists to doubt the episode's historicity for nearly a century, from Palladius in the 1860s to E. H. Parker , the influential Paul Pelliot , Arthur Waley , and René Grousset in the mid-20th century. In 1955, Francis Woodman Cleaves published an essay repudiating this assumption; Cleaves' theory has now become general among historians, due to

5456-431: The Baljuna Covenant, who became known as Baljunatu ( lit. "Baljuna men", or "Muddy Water Drinkers") were honoured with the highest titles and were remembered as late as the 1300s. Many took prominent positions in Genghis' Mongol Empire —these included Chinqai, the Muslim merchant and diplomat Ja'far Khoja, and Qaban, an Uriankhai whose son Subutai became one of the most formidable Mongol generals. The incident of

5580-439: The Byzantine empire. After these conquests, the Tang dynasty fully controlled the Xiyu , which was the strategic location astride the Silk Road. This led the Tang dynasty to reopen the Silk Road, with this portion named the Tang-Tubo Road ("Tang-Tibet Road") in many historical texts. The Tang dynasty established a second Pax Sinica , and the Silk Road reached its golden age, whereby Persian and Sogdian merchants benefited from

5704-437: The Byzantine ruler Andronikos II Palaiologos . Andronikos II had two half-sisters who were married to great-grandsons of Genghis Khan , which made him an in-law with the Yuan-dynasty Mongol ruler in Beijing, Kublai Khan. The History of Ming preserves an account where the Hongwu Emperor , after founding the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), had a supposed Byzantine merchant named Nieh-ku-lun (捏古倫) deliver his proclamation about

5828-414: The Central Asian Silk Road through their ports in Barygaza (known today as Bharuch ) and Barbaricum (known today as the city of Karachi , Sindh , Pakistan ) and continued along the western coast of India. An ancient "travel guide" to this Indian Ocean trade route was the Greek Periplus of the Erythraean Sea written in 60 CE. The travelling party of Maës Titianus penetrated farthest east along

5952-478: The Chinese Emperor Wu became interested in developing commercial relationships with the sophisticated urban civilizations of Ferghana, Bactria, and the Parthian Empire : "The Son of Heaven on hearing all this reasoned thus: Ferghana (Dayuan "Great Ionians " ) and the possessions of Bactria ( Ta-Hsia ) and Parthian Empire ( Anxi ) are large countries, full of rare things, with a population living in fixed abodes and given to occupations somewhat identical with those of

6076-412: The Chinese people, but with weak armies, and placing great value on the rich produce of China" ( Hou Hanshu , Later Han History ). Others say that Emperor Wu was mainly interested in fighting the Xiongnu and that major trade began only after the Chinese pacified the Hexi Corridor . The Chinese were also strongly attracted by the tall and powerful horses (named " heavenly horses ") in the possession of

6200-407: The Dayuan (literally the "Great Ionians," the Greek kingdoms of Central Asia ), which were of capital importance in fighting the nomadic Xiongnu. They defeated the Dayuan in the Han-Dayuan war . The Chinese subsequently sent numerous embassies, around ten every year, to these countries and as far as Seleucid Syria. Thus more embassies were dispatched to Anxi [Parthia], Yancai [who later joined

6324-510: The Empire as a whole. The Roman-style glassware discovered in the archeological sites of Gyeongju , the capital of the Silla kingdom (Korea) showed that Roman artifacts were traded as far as the Korean peninsula. The Greco- Roman trade with India started by Eudoxus of Cyzicus in 130 BCE continued to increase, and according to Strabo (II.5.12), by the time of Augustus , up to 120 ships were setting sail every year from Myos Hormos in Roman Egypt to India. The Roman Empire connected with

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6448-407: The Ganges, they are only private citizens." His comments are interesting as Roman beads and other materials are being found at Wari-Bateshwar ruins , the ancient city with roots from much earlier, before the Bronze Age , presently being slowly excavated beside the Old Brahmaputra in Bangladesh. Ptolemy's map of the Ganges Delta , a remarkably accurate effort, showed that his informants knew all about

6572-400: The Han general dispatched envoy Gan Ying to Daqin (Rome). The Silk Road essentially came into being from the 1st century BCE, following these efforts by China to consolidate a road to the Western world and India , both through direct settlements in the area of the Tarim Basin and diplomatic relations with the countries of the Dayuan, Parthians and Bactrians further west. The Silk Roads were

6696-466: The Kereit force, including Kuildar of the Mankut and Jurchedei of the Uru'ud  [ ru ] , Temüjin was decisively defeated at the Battle of Qalaqaljid Sands in early 1203. The defections proved crucial in allowing Temüjin to escape—Jurchedei wounded Senggum with an arrow , halting the Kereit attack—but Toghrul also chose not to pursue, reasoning that his enemy was out of the strategic picture. Temüjin's forces had suffered severe losses during

6820-417: The Kereit then took to the field in force, and Temüjin only escaped because two herdsmen named Badai and Kishlik overheard the plans and came to warn him. Decisively outnumbered, Temüjin was forced into headlong flight—he rode with his companions to the borders of Jin China , where he hoped to find reinforcements and, if necessary, seek sanctuary across the border. Even though he received some defectors from

6944-429: The Naimans and Merkits , uniting the Mongol steppe under one ruler. In 1206, he held a great kurultai ( lit. "assembly") on the Onon River , at which he took the title "Genghis Khan" and rewarded those who brought him to power. These included the herdsmen Badai and Kishlik who had warned him of Toghrul's betrayal—they were honoured with the Kereit leader's palace tent , furnishings, and bodyguard . The men who swore

7068-432: The Roman conquest of Egypt in 30 BCE, regular communications and trade between China, Southeast Asia, India, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe blossomed on an unprecedented scale. The Roman Empire inherited eastern trade routes that were part of the Silk Road from the earlier Hellenistic powers and the Arabs. With control of these trade routes, citizens of the Roman Empire received new luxuries and greater prosperity for

7192-587: The Roman craze for Chinese silk (supplied through the Parthians), even though the Romans thought silk was obtained from trees. This belief was affirmed by Seneca the Younger in his Phaedra and by Virgil in his Georgics . Notably, Pliny the Elder knew better. Speaking of the bombyx or silk moth, he wrote in his Natural Histories "They weave webs, like spiders, that become a luxurious clothing material for women, called silk." The Romans traded spices, glassware, perfumes, and silk. Roman artisans began to replace yarn with valuable plain silk cloths from China and

7316-421: The Silk Road from the Mediterranean world, probably with the aim of regularising contacts and reducing the role of middlemen, during one of the lulls in Rome's intermittent wars with Parthia, which repeatedly obstructed movement along the Silk Road. Intercontinental trade and communication became regular, organised, and protected by the "Great Powers." Intense trade with the Roman Empire soon followed, confirmed by

7440-419: The Silk Road slave trade to the Bukhara slave trade as well as the Black Sea slave trade , particularly slave girls. Byzantine Greek historian Procopius stated that two Nestorian Christian monks eventually uncovered the way silk was made. From this revelation, monks were sent by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian (ruled 527–565) as spies on the Silk Road from Constantinople to China and back to steal

7564-410: The Silk Road trade. The originating source seems sufficiently reliable, but silk degrades very rapidly, so it cannot be verified whether it was cultivated silk (which almost certainly came from China) or a type of wild silk , which might have come from the Mediterranean or Middle East. Following contacts between Metropolitan China and nomadic western border territories in the 8th century BCE, gold

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7688-432: The Silk Road, from Khotan ( Xinjiang ) to Eastern China, were first used for jade and not silk, as long as 5000 BCE , and are still in use for this purpose. The term "Jade Road" would have been more appropriate than "Silk Road" had it not been for the far larger and geographically wider nature of the silk trade; the term is in current use in China. The Silk Road consisted of several routes. As it extended westwards from

7812-440: The Silk Road, possibly contributing to the Black Death. From 1453 onwards, the Ottoman Empire began competing with other gunpowder empires for greater control over the overland routes, which prompted European polities to seek alternatives while themselves gaining leverage over their trade partners. This marked the beginning of the Age of Discovery , European colonialism , and the further intensification of globalization . In

7936-425: The Tarim Basin, in the modern day Xinjiang region, until replaced by Turkic influences from the Xiongnu culture to the north and by Chinese influences from the eastern Han dynasty , who spoke a Sino-Tibetan language . Some remnants of what was probably Chinese silk dating from 1070 BCE have been found in Ancient Egypt . The Great Oasis cities of Central Asia played a crucial role in the effective functioning of

8060-463: The West until the period of the Mongol Empire . He notes that traditional authors discussing east–west trade such as Marco Polo and Edward Gibbon never labelled any route a "silk" one in particular. William Dalrymple points out that in pre-modern times, maritime travel cost only a fifth of overland transport, and argues for the pre-13th century primacy of an India-dominated " Golden Road " extending from Rome to Japan. The southern stretches of

8184-474: The West for land-based trade. The Tang captured the vital route through the Gilgit Valley from Tibet in 722, lost it to the Tibetans in 737, and regained it under the command of the Goguryeo General Gao Xianzhi . While the Turks were settled in the Ordos region (former territory of the Xiongnu ), the Tang government took on the military policy of dominating the central steppe. The Tang dynasty (along with Turkic allies) conquered and subdued Central Asia during

8308-441: The Xiong Nu) are recorded, particularly in the 36 BCE battle of Sogdiana (Joseph Needham, Sidney Shapiro). It has been suggested that the Chinese crossbow was transmitted to the Roman world on such occasions, although the Greek gastraphetes provides an alternative origin. R. Ernest Dupuy and Trevor N. Dupuy suggest that in 36 BCE, [A] Han expedition into Central Asia, west of Jaxartes River , apparently encountered and defeated

8432-430: The abundance of other sources mentioning the Baljunatu . The erasure of the incident from the Secret History was probably because of the heterogeneity of the oath-takers—the author, suspicious of non-Mongols, may have decided to ignore the event which saw them elevated to Temüjin's inner circle. Oath The word comes from Anglo-Saxon āþ : "judicial swearing, solemn appeal to deity in witness of truth or

8556-480: The ambassador Zhang Qian (who was originally sent to obtain an alliance with the Yuezhi against the Xiongnu ). Zhang Qian visited directly the kingdom of Dayuan in Ferghana , the territories of the Yuezhi in Transoxiana , the Bactrian country of Daxia with its remnants of Greco-Bactrian rule, and Kangju . He also made reports on neighbouring countries that he did not visit, such as Anxi ( Parthia ), Tiaozhi ( Mesopotamia ), Shendu ( Indian subcontinent ) and

8680-417: The ancient commercial centres of China, the overland, intercontinental Silk Road divided into northern and southern routes bypassing the Taklamakan Desert and Lop Nur . Merchants along these routes were involved in "relay trade" in which goods changed "hands many times before reaching their final destinations". The northern route started at Chang'an (now called Xi'an ), an ancient capital of China that

8804-424: The battle. His forces eventually reached a lake or river named Baljuna, a place of unknown location. The most likely location lies on the Kalka River , which Temüjin might have retreated along and which lies close to the Jin frontier in south-eastern Mongolia. Scholars have alternately identified it as a tributary of the River Ingoda , or as Lake Balzino in Buryatia . At this juncture in mid-1203, Temüjin's force

8928-431: The body, nor even one's decency, can be called clothes. ... Wretched flocks of maids labour so that the adulteress may be visible through her thin dress, so that her husband has no more acquaintance than any outsider or foreigner with his wife's body. The Western Roman Empire , and its demand for sophisticated Asian products, collapsed in the fifth century . The unification of Central Asia and Northern India within

9052-487: The commerce between East and West. At the same time, the Chinese empire welcomed foreign cultures, making it very cosmopolitan in its urban centres. In addition to the land route, the Tang dynasty also developed the maritime Silk Route. Chinese envoys had been sailing through the Indian Ocean to India since perhaps the 2nd century BCE, yet, it was during the Tang dynasty that a strong Chinese maritime presence could be found in

9176-857: The course of the Brahmaputra River, crossing through the Himalayas then bending westward to its source in Tibet . It is doubtless that this delta was a major international trading center, almost certainly from much earlier than the Common Era. Gemstones and other merchandise from Thailand and Java were traded in the delta and through it. Chinese archaeological writer Bin Yang and some earlier writers and archaeologists, such as Janice Stargardt, strongly suggest this route of international trade as Sichuan – Yunnan – Burma – Bangladesh route. According to Bin Yang, especially from

9300-501: The court of Emperor Taizong of Tang . The History of Song describes the final embassy and its arrival in 1081, apparently sent by Michael VII Doukas (transliterated as Mie li yi ling kai sa , 滅力伊靈改撒, from his name and title Michael VII Parapinakēs Caesar) to the court of Emperor Shenzong of the Song dynasty (960–1279). However, the History of Yuan claims that a Byzantine man became

9424-554: The dispute is unclear—according to the Secret History of the Mongols , a 13th-century retelling of Temüjin's life and campaigns, he was torn between his close ties to Temüjin and his love for his son, only choosing to support the latter when presented with an ultimatum. On the other hand, according to the Jami al-tawarikh of Rashid al-Din and oral histories recounted by Marco Polo , Toghrul

9548-434: The eddic poem Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar relates: Hedin was coming home alone from the forest one Yule -eve, and found a troll -woman; she rode on a wolf, and had snakes in place of a bridle. She asked Hedin for his company. "Nay," said he. She said, "Thou shalt pay for this at the bragarfull ." That evening the great vows were taken; the sacred boar was brought in, the men laid their hands thereon, and took their vows at

9672-434: The entire length of the Silk Road, instead relying on a succession of middlemen based at various stopping points along the way. In addition to goods, the network facilitated an unprecedented exchange of religious ( especially Buddhist ), philosophical, and scientific thought, much of which was syncretised by societies along the way. Likewise, a wide variety of people used the routes. Diseases such as plague also spread along

9796-507: The episode's historicity because of its omission (probably on account of the heterogeneity of the oath-swearers) from the Secret History of the Mongols , a 13th-century epic poem recounting Temüjin's rise. Temüjin was born between 1155 and 1167 AD to Yesugei , a Mongol chieftain, and his Olkhonud wife Hö'elün . Yesugei died when Temüjin was nine and he, his mother, and six other siblings were all abandoned by their tribe. The family however survived and Temüjin began to collect

9920-455: The establishment of quda ( lit. "marriage alliance"). Senggum conclusively rejected this proposal: not only was his position as heir to the Kereit at risk, but he found the proposal disrespectful because of Jochi's possible illegitimacy. Senggum was supported in his position by the tribal aristocracy, which included Altan and Kuchar, two of Temüjin's relatives, and Jamukha, who urged immediate action against his old anda . Toghrul's position in

10044-513: The establishment of a new dynasty to the Byzantine court of John V Palaiologos in September 1371. Friedrich Hirth (1885), Emil Bretschneider (1888), and more recently Edward Luttwak (2009) presumed that this was none other than Nicolaus de Bentra, a Roman Catholic bishop of Khanbilaq chosen by Pope John XXII to replace the previous archbishop John of Montecorvino . Although the Silk Road

10168-558: The formidable Pamir Mountains , routes across them were apparently in use from very early times. Genetic study of the Tarim mummies , found in the Tarim Basin , in the area of Loulan located along the Silk Road 200 kilometres (124 miles) east of Yingpan, dating to as early as 1600 BCE, suggest very ancient contacts between East and West. These mummified remains may have been of people who spoke Indo-European languages , which remained in use in

10292-433: The front, thumb resting on the nail of the digitus minimus (little finger) and the other three fingers upright, pointing upwards." Silk Road The Silk Road was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 km (4,000 mi), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between

10416-480: The ground because of man and never again smite every living thing". This repetition of the term never again is explained by Rashi , the pre-eminent biblical commentator, as serving as an oath, citing the Talmud Shavous 36a for this ruling. The first personage in the biblical tradition to take an oath is held to be Eliezer , the chief servant of Abraham , when the latter requested of the former that he not take

10540-494: The head of the Persian Gulf and across to Petra and on to Alexandria and other eastern Mediterranean ports from where ships carried the cargoes to Rome . The southwestern route is believed to be the Ganges / Brahmaputra Delta, which has been the subject of international interest for over two millennia. Strabo, the 1st-century Roman writer, mentions the deltaic lands: "Regarding merchants who now sail from Egypt ... as far as

10664-492: The highly lucrative trade of silk textiles that were primarily produced in China. The network began with the expansion of the Han dynasty (202 BCE – 220 CE) into Central Asia around 114 BCE, through the missions and explorations of the Chinese imperial envoy Zhang Qian , which brought the region under unified control . The Chinese took great interest in the security of their trade products, and extended

10788-725: The international trade centers in this route. The Maritime Silk Road or Maritime Silk Route is the maritime section of the historic Silk Road that connected Southeast Asia , East Asia , the Indian subcontinent , the Arabian Peninsula , eastern Africa , and Europe . It began by the 2nd century BCE and flourished until the 15th century CE. The Maritime Silk Road was primarily established and operated by Austronesian sailors in Southeast Asia who sailed large long-distance ocean-going sewn-plank and lashed-lug trade ships . The route

10912-772: The journey by sea from various points. Crossing the high mountains, it passed through northern Pakistan , over the Hindu Kush mountains, and into Afghanistan , rejoining the northern route near Merv, Turkmenistan . From Merv, it followed a nearly straight line west through mountainous northern Iran , Mesopotamia , and the northern tip of the Syrian Desert to the Levant , where Mediterranean trading ships plied regular routes to Italy , while land routes went either north through Anatolia or south to North Africa . Another branch road travelled from Herat through Susa to Charax Spasinu at

11036-515: The lucrative trade in silk , first developed in China , and a major reason for the connection of trade routes into an extensive transcontinental network. It derives from the German term Seidenstraße (literally "Silk Road") and was first popularized in 1877 by Ferdinand von Richthofen , who made seven expeditions to China from 1868 to 1872. However, the term itself had been in use in decades prior to that. The alternative translation "Silk Route"

11160-454: The maritime spice networks between Southeast Asia and South Asia , and the West Asian maritime networks in the Arabian Sea and beyond, coinciding with these ancient maritime trade roads by the current era. Austronesian thalassocracies controlled the flow of trade in the eastern regions of the Maritime Silk Road, especially the polities around the straits of Malacca and Bangka ,

11284-425: The maritime route faced different perils like weather and piracy , but they were not affected by political instability and could simply avoid areas in conflict. Central Eurasia has been known from ancient times for its horse riding and horse breeding communities, and the overland Steppe Route across the northern steppes of Central Eurasia was in use long before that of the Silk Road. Archeological sites, such as

11408-481: The muddy water; their leader then swore an oath: Temüjin, raising his hands towards the sky, swore thus: "If I finish 'the Great Work' then I shall share with you men the sweet and the bitter. If I break this word then let me be like this river, drunk up by others." Among officers and men there was none who was not moved to tears. This retelling likely masks the historical events. The poetic Baljuna Covenant encapsulates

11532-423: The oath, and the oath and its prerequisite altar had become the basis of both civil and criminal, as well as international law. In traditional Greek folk songs, such as The Dead Brother's Song, the significance of the oath is highlighted. The power of an oath is such that it transcends death, as the deceased brother arises from the grave to fulfill his oath to his mother. Various religious groups have objected to

11656-518: The object, a shâmar (usually translated as "oath") to the person. The passage distinguishes between a neder and a shvua , an important distinction between the two in Halakha : a neder changes the status of some external thing, while a shvua initiates an internal change in the one who swears the oath. In the Roman tradition, oaths were sworn upon Iuppiter Lapis or the Jupiter Stone located in

11780-574: The other going north of the Tian Shan mountains through Turpan , Talgar , and Almaty (in what is now southeast Kazakhstan ). The routes split again west of Kashgar, with a southern branch heading down the Alai Valley towards Termez (in modern Uzbekistan) and Balkh (Afghanistan), while the other travelled through Kokand in the Fergana Valley (in present-day eastern Uzbekistan) and then west across

11904-431: The overland Silk Road, and thus should not be viewed as a mere extension of it. Traders traveling through the Maritime Silk Road could span the entire distance of the maritime routes, instead of through regional relays as with the overland route. Ships could carry far larger amounts of goods, creating greater economic impact with each exchange. Goods carried by the ships also differed from goods carried by caravans. Traders on

12028-536: The peacock). Huizinga, The Autumn of the Middle Ages (ch. 3); Michel Margue, "Vogelgelübde" am Hof des Fürsten. Ritterliches Integrationsritual zwischen Traditions- und Gegenwartsbezug (14. – 15. Jahrhundert) In the modern law, oaths are made by a witness to a court of law before giving testimony and usually by a newly appointed government officer to the people of a state before taking office. However, in both of those cases, an affirmation can usually be replaced with

12152-421: The rapidly rising Temüjin, who had become dominant in eastern Mongolia. These aristocrats were led by Toghrul's son Senggum, who was afraid for his own inheritance. These fears would soon be realised. Aiming to secure control over the Kereit line of succession, Temüjin proposed that his eldest son Jochi be married to Toghrul's daughter Cha'ur Beki, promising one of his own daughters to Senggum's son in return for

12276-515: The rupture in relations. In the end, Senggum's arguments prevailed over Toghrul. Desiring to avoid open conflict if possible, the Kereit leader devised a plan of deception : he informed Temüjin that he had decided to accept the proposed marriages and intended to hold a celebratory banquet. An unsuspecting Temüjin set off with a minimal guard to the feast, where the conspirators had planned to ambush and kill him; warned of hostile rumours by his father's old retainer Münglig, he halted. Led by Senggum,

12400-419: The same food you offer to your own family, or clothing them, or by freeing a slave. If you cannot afford this, then you shall fast three days. This is the atonement for violating the oaths that you swore to keep. You shall fulfill your oaths. God thus explains His revelations to you, that you may be appreciative. Germanic warrior culture was significantly based on oaths of fealty. A prose passage inserted in

12524-571: The silkworm eggs , resulting in silk production in the Mediterranean, particularly in Thrace in northern Greece, and giving the Byzantine Empire a monopoly on silk production in medieval Europe. In 568, the Byzantine ruler Justin II was greeted by a Sogdian embassy representing Istämi , ruler of the First Turkic Khaganate , who formed an alliance with the Byzantines against Khosrow I of

12648-400: The summer recruiting warriors attracted by the ideals of his campaign, Temüjin amassed enough of a force to defeat the Kereit in battle that autumn. Three years later in 1206, having defeated all enemies on the steppe , Temüjin entitled himself Genghis Khan at a kurultai and honoured the Baljunatu with the highest distinctions of his new Mongol Empire . Nineteenth-century historians doubted

12772-814: The taking of oaths, most notably the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and Anabaptist groups, like Mennonites , Amish , Hutterites and Schwarzenau Brethren . This is principally based on Matthew 5:34–37, the Antithesis of the Law . Here, Christ is reported as having said: "I say to you: ' Swear not at all ' ". James the Just stated in 5:12 "Above all, my brothers, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your 'Yes' be yes, and your 'No', no, or you will be condemned." Beyond this scriptural authority, Quakers place importance on being truthful at all times, so

12896-543: The temple of Iuppiter on the Capitol, and was brought out to play a prominent part in the ceremony of treaty-making. The fetial , who on that occasion represented the Roman people, at the solemn moment of the oath-taking, struck the sacrificial pig with the silex , saying as he did so, "Do thou, Diespiter , strike the Roman people as I strike this pig here to-day, and strike them the more, as thou art greater and stronger." Here no doubt

13020-631: The testimony opposing oaths springs from a view that "taking legal oaths implies a double standard of truthfulness" suggesting that truthfulness in legal contexts is somehow more important than truthfulness in non-legal contexts and that truthfulness in those other contexts is therefore somehow less important. Not all Christians interpret this reading as forbidding all types of oaths, however. Opposition to oath-taking among some groups of Christian caused many problems for these groups throughout their history. Quakers were frequently imprisoned because of their refusal to swear loyalty oaths . Testifying in court

13144-679: The themes—a potent mixture of social equality and personal asceticism —Temüjin would emphasise to potential recruits. Temüjin in all probability spent a large portion of the summer attempting to recruit warriors to his cause: those he succeeded with included the Onggirat (the tribe of his wife Börte), the Ikires, and some of the Nirun Mongols. Other recruits included leaders of the Khitan tribe , who saw in Temüjin

13268-503: The trade route against nomadic bandit forces generally identified as Xiongnu . Han general Ban Chao led an army of 70,000 mounted infantry and light cavalry troops in the 1st century CE to secure the trade routes, reaching far west to the Tarim Basin. Ban Chao expanded his conquests across the Pamirs to the shores of the Caspian Sea and the borders of Parthia . It was from here that

13392-499: The trades of marauders or mercenaries. "Many barbarian tribes became skilled warriors able to conquer rich cities and fertile lands and to forge strong military empires." The Sogdians dominated the east–west trade after the 4th century up to the 8th century. They were the main caravan merchants of Central Asia. A.V. Dybo noted that "according to historians, the main driving force of the Great Silk Road were not just Sogdians, but

13516-537: The traditional nineteen—they instead included Khitans, Tanguts , Keireits, Naimans , Central Asians, and possibly even South Asians , from a total of nine different clans. Swearing loyalty to Temüjin, a devout adherent of Tengrism , were three Muslims and several Christians and Buddhists . In transcending traditional avenues of community, the Baljuna Covenant was "a type of brotherhood [akin to] modern civic citizenship based upon personal choice and commitment", in

13640-562: The trajectory of political history in several theatres in Eurasia and beyond. The Silk Road was utilized over a period that saw immense political variation across the continent, exemplified by major events such as the Black Death and the Mongol conquests . The network was highly decentralized, and security was sparse: travelers faced constant threats of banditry and nomadic raiders, and long expanses of inhospitable terrain. Few individuals traveled

13764-547: The underlying notion is not merely symbolical, but in origin the stone is itself the god, an idea which later religion expressed in the cult-title specially used in this connection, Iuppiter Lapis . The punisher of broken oaths was the infernal deity Orcus . In Hindu epics , like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata , oaths, called pratigya , are taken seriously. It is mentioned that people would give up their lives, but not break

13888-464: The words of the historian Jack Weatherford . In late 1203, a revitalised Temüjin marshalled his forces and defeated the Kereit in a hard-fought three-day battle at the Jeje'er Heights on the lower Kherlen River . The fleeing Toghrul was killed by a Naiman sentry who did not recognise him; Senggum fled first to Tibet and then Kashgar , where he was later killed. Over the next three years, Temüjin defeated

14012-524: The world." In exchange, the caravans sent back bolts of silk brocade , lacquer-ware , and porcelain . The southern route or Karakoram route was mainly a single route from China through the Karakoram mountains, where it persists in modern times as the Karakoram Highway , a paved road that connects Pakistan and China . It then set off westwards, but with southward spurs so travelers could complete

14136-574: Was already predisposed against Temüjin and reacted angrily to the marriage proposal. It is possible that Toghrul's mind was swayed by a merchant delegation from Central Asia containing representatives from the Qara Khitai and the Uighurs , whom Temüjin would probably exclude from the Silk Road trade structures were he to gain ascendancy; it is also likely that Temüjin's own ambitions were somewhat to blame for

14260-464: Was also difficult; George Fox , Quakers' founder, famously challenged a judge who had asked him to swear, saying that he would do so once the judge could point to any Bible passage where Jesus or his apostles took oaths — the judge could not, but this did not allow Fox to escape punishment. Legal reforms from the 18th century onwards mean that everyone in the United Kingdom now has the right to make

14384-565: Was also utilized by the dhows of the Persian and Arab traders in the Arabian Sea and beyond, and the Tamil merchants in South Asia . China also started building their own trade ships ( chuán ) and followed the routes in the later period, from the 10th to the 15th centuries CE. The network followed the footsteps of older Austronesian jade maritime networks in Southeast Asia, as well as

14508-486: Was an attempt to usurp their power. After escaping two successive Kereit ambushes, Temüjin was cornered and comprehensively defeated at the Battle of Qalaqaljid Sands . Temüjin regrouped the scattered remnants of his forces and retreated to Baljuna, an unidentified river or lake in south-eastern Mongolia . There, he and his closest companions swore an oath of mutual fidelity, promising to share hardships and glories. Having spent

14632-600: Was excavated and found to have not only Greek bronzes but also Chinese silks. Similar animal-shaped pieces of art and wrestler motifs on belts have been found in Scythian grave sites stretching from the Black Sea region all the way to Warring States era archaeological sites in Inner Mongolia (at Aluchaideng) and Shaanxi (at Keshengzhuang  [ de ] ) in China. The expansion of Scythian cultures, stretching from

14756-507: Was far more consequential for the economy of the Roman Empire than the silk trade with China , which at sea was conducted mostly through India and on land was handled by numerous intermediaries such as the Sogdians . Going as far as to call the whole thing a "myth" of modern academia, Ball argues that there was no coherent overland trade system and no free movement of goods from East Asia to

14880-675: Was initially formulated during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han (141–87 BCE), it was reopened by the Tang Empire in 639 when Hou Junji conquered the Western Regions , and remained open for almost four decades. It was closed after the Tibetans captured it in 678, but in 699, during Empress Wu 's period, the Silk Road reopened when the Tang reconquered the Four Garrisons of Anxi originally installed in 640, once again connecting China directly to

15004-418: Was introduced from Central Asia, and Chinese jade carvers began to make imitation designs of the steppes, adopting the Scythian -style animal art of the steppes (depictions of animals locked in combat). This style is particularly reflected in the rectangular belt plaques made of gold and bronze, with other versions in jade and steatite . An elite burial near Stuttgart , Germany, dated to the 6th century BCE,

15128-491: Was judged unable to swear the Oath of Allegiance in spite of his proposal to swear the oath as a "matter of form". Islam takes the fulfillment of oaths extremely seriously, as directed by the Qur'an: God does not hold you responsible for the mere utterance of oaths; He holds you responsible for your actual intentions. If you violate an oath, you shall atone by feeding ten poor people from

15252-541: Was moved further east during the Later Han to Luoyang . The route was defined around the 1st century BCE when Han Wudi put an end to harassment by nomadic tribes. The northern route travelled northwest through the Chinese province of Gansu from Shaanxi Province and split into three further routes, two of them following the mountain ranges to the north and south of the Taklamakan Desert to rejoin at Kashgar , and

15376-535: Was very small, amounting to either 2,600 or 4,600 warriors. Biographies in the Yuán Shǐ , a 14th-century official history , exaggerate the exigent situation by stating Temüjin was accompanied by only nineteen followers, but this might well refer only to the company leaders. According to the Yuán Shǐ , the starving men killed a wild horse that fortuitously appeared, eating its flesh and using its by-products to safely drink

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