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99-541: L.F. Rothschild (later known as L.F. Rothschild, Unterberg, Towbin ) was a merchant and investment banking firm based in the United States and founded in 1899. The firm collapsed following the 1987 stock market crash . L.F. Rothschild & Co. was founded in 1899 by Louis F. Rothschild (1869–1957), not related to the European Rothschild family . Together with partner Leonard Hockstader, Rothschild took up

198-528: 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

297-591: 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 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

396-737: 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

495-613: 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

594-399: A crop loan at the beginning of the growing season, which allowed a farmer to develop and manufacture (through seeding, growing, weeding, and harvesting) his annual crop. Underwriting in the form of a crop, or commodity, insurance guaranteed the delivery of the crop to its buyer, typically a merchant wholesaler. In addition, traders performed the merchant function by making arrangements to supply

693-723: 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

792-405: 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

891-480: 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

990-508: A specific trade, thus overcoming the usury objection. Once again this merely developed what was an ancient method of financing long-distance transport of goods. The medieval Italian markets were disrupted by wars and in any case were limited by the fractured nature of the Italian states. And so the next generation of bankers arose from migrant Jewish merchants in the great wheat-growing areas of Germany and Poland. Many of these merchants were from

1089-557: 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

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1188-770: 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

1287-640: 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

1386-806: 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

1485-756: 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

1584-551: 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

1683-938: 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

1782-724: 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

1881-820: 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"

1980-509: 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

2079-856: 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

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2178-715: 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

2277-563: 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

2376-644: 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

2475-610: The United States , the term additionally has taken on a more narrow meaning, and refers to a financial institution providing capital to companies in the form of share ownership instead of loans. A merchant bank also provides advice on corporate matters to the firms in which they invest. Merchant banks were the first modern banks. They emerged in the Middle Ages from the Italian grain and cloth merchants community and started to develop in

2574-695: 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

2673-654: The 11th century during the large European fair of St. Giles (England) , then at the Champagne fairs (France). As the Lombardy merchants and bankers grew in stature based on the strength of the Lombard plains cereal crops, many displaced Jews fleeing Spanish persecution were attracted to the trade. The Florentine merchant banking community was exceptionally active and propagated new finance practices all over Europe. Both Jews and Florentine merchants perfected ancient practices used in

2772-428: 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

2871-673: 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

2970-701: 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

3069-439: 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

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3168-437: 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

3267-414: 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

3366-478: 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

3465-412: 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

3564-407: 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

3663-437: 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 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

3762-510: 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

3861-407: 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

3960-436: 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" is also used occasionally. Although the term was coined in the 19th century, it did not gain widespread acceptance in academia or popularity among

4059-400: 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

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4158-498: The Middle East trade routes and the Far East silk routes . Originally intended for the finance of long trading journeys, these methods were applied to finance the medieval Commercial Revolution . Jews entered the great trading piazzas and halls of Lombardy, alongside the local traders, and set up their benches to trade in crops. They had one great advantage over the locals. Christians were strictly forbidden from any kind of lending at interest, since such activities were equated with

4257-432: 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

4356-587: 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

4455-421: 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

4554-419: 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

4653-410: 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

4752-425: 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

4851-474: 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

4950-441: 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

5049-480: 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

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5148-480: The banking business. For the same reasons, merchant banking activities became just one area of interest for modern banks. Here is a list of merchant banks of the past and present: Known as "accepting and issuing houses" in the UK and "investment banks" in the US, modern merchant banks offer a wide range of activities, including Issue management, portfolio management , credit syndication , acceptance credit , counsel on mergers and acquisitions , and insurance. Of

5247-429: The bench's own trades in the meantime. The term bankrupt is a corruption of the Italian banca rotta , or broken bench, which is what happened when someone lost his traders' deposits. Being "broke" has the same connotation. A sensible manner of discounting interest to the depositors against what could be earned by employing their money in the trade of the bench soon developed; in short, selling an "interest" to them in

5346-489: 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 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

5445-431: 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

5544-522: The buyer of the crop through alternative sources—grain stores or alternate markets, for instance—in the event of crop failure. He could also keep the farmer (or other commodity producer) in business during a drought or other crop failure , through the issuance of a crop (or commodity) insurance against the hazard of failure of his crop. Merchant banking progressed from financing trade on one's own behalf to settling trades for others and then to holding deposits for settlement of "billette" or notes written by

5643-437: 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

5742-563: The companies they took public were Intel , Cray Research , and biotechnology company Cetus Corporation . In 1986, just ten years after merging with L.F. Rothschild, Towbin and Unterberg left the firm to join Shearson Lehman . The split was attributed to their opposition to plans to expand the firm's bond sales and trading operations. However, in the negotiations with outside firms related to that expansion and capital infusion, at least one particularly attractive offer required that Unterberg and Towbin step down from management positions or leave

5841-413: 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 the entire length of the Silk Road, instead relying on a succession of middlemen based at various stopping points along

5940-599: 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

6039-407: 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

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6138-409: 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

6237-596: 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 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

6336-429: The firm. Hard feelings between senior management that resulted by considering that offer were believed to be the causal factor behind their departure by most insiders. Ultimately, the firm's stock trading exposure during the stock market crash in 1987 led directly to its demise. Unterberg left Lehman four years later, in 1990, to form Unterberg Harris . The firm suffered heavy losses in the 1987 stock market crash and

6435-458: 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

6534-413: The future delivery of grain shipped to distant ports. In both cases, they made their profit from the present discount against the future price. This two-handed trade was time-consuming and soon there arose a class of merchants who were trading grain debt instead of grain. The court Jew performed both financing (credit) and underwriting (insurance) functions. Financing took the form of a farmer obtaining

6633-446: 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

6732-561: 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

6831-433: 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 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

6930-617: 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

7029-555: The late 18th century, Protestant merchant families began to move into banking to an increasing degree, especially in trading countries such as the United Kingdom ( Barings ), Germany ( Schroders , Berenbergs ) and the Netherlands ( Hope & Co. , Gülcher & Mulder ) At the same time, new types of financial activities broadened the scope of banking far beyond its origins. The merchant-banking families dealt in everything from underwriting bonds to originating foreign loans . For instance, bullion trading and bond issuance were two of

7128-454: 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 ,

7227-425: 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

7326-457: 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 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

7425-559: 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 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

7524-456: The offices and business of Albert Loeb & Co. at 32 Broadway in New York City, New York. The firm's primary business was sales and trading of fixed income securities. The firm also had an arbitrage group as well as retail brokerage and wealth management operations. Following its merger with C.E. Unterberg, Towbin in 1977, the firm was known as L.F. Rothschild, Unterberg, Towbin and

7623-518: 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

7722-431: 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

7821-461: 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 the 21st century, the name "New Silk Road" is used to describe several large infrastructure projects along many of the historic trade routes; among

7920-453: The people who were still brokering the actual grain. And so the merchant's "benches" ( bank is derived from the Italian for bench, banco , as in a counter ) in the great grain markets became centers for holding money against a bill ( billette , a note, a letter of formal exchange, later a bill of exchange and later still a cheque ). These deposited funds were intended to be held for the settlement of grain trades, but often were used for

8019-497: 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 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

8118-648: The same families who had been part of the development of the banking process in Italy. They also had links with family members who had, centuries before, fled Spain for both Italy and England. As non-agricultural wealth expanded, many families of goldsmiths (another business not prohibited to Jews) also gradually moved into banking. This course of events set the stage for the rise of Jewish family banking firms whose names still resonate today, such as Warburgs and Rothschilds . The rise of Protestantism , however, freed many European Christians from Rome's dictates against usury. In

8217-567: 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

8316-548: The sin of usury . Jewish law disallowed usury among Jews, but not when the borrower was Gentile. The Jewish newcomers, on the other hand, could lend to farmers against crops in the field, a high-risk loan at what would have been considered usurious rates by the Church; but the Jews were not subject to the Church's dictates. In this way they could secure the grain-sale rights against the eventual harvest. They then began to advance payment against

8415-605: The specialties of the Rothschilds. In 1803, Barings teamed with Hope & Co. to facilitate the Louisiana Purchase . In the 19th century, the rise of trade and industry in the US led to powerful new private merchant banks, culminating in J.P. Morgan & Co. During the 20th century, however, the financial world began to outgrow the resources of family-owned and other forms of private-equity banking. Corporations came to dominate

8514-503: 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

8613-499: 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

8712-579: The two classes of merchant banks, the US variant initiates loans and then sells them to investors. These investors can be private investment firms . Even though some of these companies call themselves "merchant banks", they have few, if any, of the characteristics of former merchant banks. Today, according to the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), "the term merchant banking is generally understood to mean negotiated private equity investment by financial institutions in

8811-468: The unregistered securities of either privately or publicly held companies." Both commercial banks and investment banks may engage in merchant banking activities. In 2016, the Federal Reserve proposed a ban on merchant banking as part of a “take no risk” regulation strategy. Silk Road The Silk Road was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until

8910-596: 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 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

9009-524: 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

9108-569: Was acquired by Kansas -based Franklin Savings Association in February 1988. However, even with new capital, the firm's holding company, L. F. Rothschild Holdings Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 1989. By the end of 1989, the firm had gone from a peak of 2,200 employees to 45. Among the notable alumni of L.F. Rothschild are : Merchant bank In modern usage in

9207-622: 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

9306-600: 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

9405-525: 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 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

9504-675: 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

9603-418: 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,

9702-469: Was led primarily by Thomas I. Unterberg and A. Robert Towbin. As of March 26, 1977, it moved to 55 Water Street, leasing the 45th and 46th floors. The firm was known for its merchant banking investments, particularly in high-technology companies. In the early 1980s, the firm emerged as the leading underwriter of initial public offerings , surpassing the elite investment banks (at the time, including Lehman Brothers , Goldman Sachs , and Morgan Stanley ). Among

9801-541: 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

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