James+P


 * The Silk Road**

Dusty Trails is a travel writer for //Explore// magazine and keenly interested in the Silk Road. A self-proclaimed renaissance man, Mr. Trails enjoys outdoor activities, photography, and attending cultural events. To help Mr. Trails decide which features of the Silk Road he should travel back in time to visit, you'll need to research the Silk Road and present your key findings on the following questions:

= **Key Questions:** =


 * 1) What was the Silk Road? How was the Silk Road created? How was it protected? How were cities and territories connected?
 * 2) What type of goods or ideas- physical, intellectual, or religious- crossed the Silk Road?
 * 3) Why is the Silk Road important to World History? What is the relationship between the Silk Road and the Han Dynasty and Roman Empire?

=Resources= Your research will be confined to the following web resources and library databases. If you wish to use a resource not on this list you must seek approval from your teacher.

**The Silk Road**
 * []
 * []
 * [|http://www.ess.uci.edu/~oliver/silk.html]
 * [|http://www.ess.uci.edu/~oliver/silk2.html]
 * []


 * Library Databases **
 * @http://www.micdslibrary.com/databases.html

Scroll down to the History/Social Studies menu; the ABCCLIO Ancient World History database is particularly helpful.

=Research and Citations= Use the space below to record your research for each question. Remember that you will need to cite your sources using the format found on the MICDS Library resource page.

=== What was the Silk Road? The silk road was a trade route that spanned from China all the way to Rome. There were two main routes called the western and eastern although many other branches developed crossing through different settlements. The biggest object traded was silk although many other things developed. The road stretched 4,000 miles in distance. It was very difficult to travel for a long distance because of all the deserts, mountains and a lot of other problems like bandits. The silk road helped tremendously in the development of the large civilizations that were involved. It helped tremendously in the development of certain cultures. === === How was the Silk Road created? Originally, Chinese traded internally, but emperor Wu of the Han was anxious to forge an alliance with Yue-chi of Central Asia to offer resistance to the Xiongnu. As a result, he sent a general there but got captured and didn't return until 10 years later. Tales of "heavenly horses" interested the emperor and he sent out more expeditions until a link was made. Military strength and administrative organization of the Han Dynasty allowed for official post road. Chinese silk was shipped west along the road while products from central Asia began to reach the Chinese interior in large quantities. This news encouraged meeting of cultures and settlements of former minorities which brought new ideas, new food, diverse cultures and religions. The creation of the silk road started small before people got involved and countries started to crave over the new items they were receiving everyday. ===

=== How was it protected? The silk road was protected by the Chinese by extending their military forces to protect the caravans from central Asian tribes. Also, merchants sometimes relied on local people to act as guides for them. Even with this put in place there were still some instances when the items were stolen but the number wasn't nearly as high. The protection of the road was extremely important to the development of it and it would not be nearly as successful if it did not have very good security. ===

=== How were cities and territories connected? Cities and territories were connected by many different routes but there were two main ones which were the northern and southern routes. Everything of the silk road started in Changan, the capital of china, and headed up the Gansu corridor to Dunhuang on the edge of the Taklimakan desert. After that, the northern and southern routes crossed and Kashgar became the new crossroad of Asia. After that the routes divided again. At the same time several other branches developed These smaller routes were not used nearly as much. The silk road traveled through several oasis settlements when occasionally arriving at bigger cities. There were many cities and territories connected which was one of the main reasons why it was so successful. ===

=== What type of goods or ideas- physical, intellectual, or religious- crossed the Silk Road? There were many types of goods and ideas that crossed the silk road. Obviously, the most craved good was silk, but many other precious commodities were traded. They included metals such as gold and platinum, ceramics, furs, medicine, farming and smelting technology, Chinese inventions of gunpowder, paper making and printing, perfumes, fruits, and animals. A lot of the things traded along the road were brand new to the civilizations they arrived at. Also, the main idea traded along the road was probably Buddism. It spread from India to China along the road. The Chinese began to take the religion seriously and when it was well developed, they started to make statues that were strangely fatter than the Indian statues. The silk road ideas and goods took a lot of bravery to get the items to where their going. ===

=== Why is the Silk Road important to World History? What is the relationship between the Silk Road and the Han Dynasty and Roman Empir e? The silk road is important to world history because it spread ideas all over the world that certain people had never heard about. With the silk road came new things that people could trade for plus get profit on. It also gave a foundation for the things that we have invented today. Since ideas and items leaked out of individual civilizations people had time to make it better. Also, the relationship between the silk road and the Han and Romans was crucial in making the two places better. The Romans in the farthest outreach of the road could receive silk and trade their precious commodities. Since the Romans did not know how to make silk, this was the only way to receive it so the road was valued greatly. Although reaching from 1 side to the other is very difficult, the relationship between the road and the Han and Romans was extremely great. ===

Similarities and Differences
Before deciding which dynasty your client should visit, you may wish to create a simple Venn Diagram to compare/contrast the two empires. You may use [|this template] or create one online at Read-Write-Think.

=== Which empire should Mr. Trails, a travel writer, visit? Why? I think Mr. Trails should visit the chinese empire. Rome is a great empire, but it doesn't have to do as much with the silk road as China. China invented the silk road and Rome used it for trading. There is also more action going on in the Chinese empire involved with this road. Also, the Chinese main trade item was named after the road and the inventions the Chinese made led them to have a flourishing trade system. Nobody had made as many achievements as the Chinese. Next, the Chinese used the road to make alliances while the Romans just traded. The Chinese were clearly more involved and used the road to it's full potential. There is no question that Mr. Trails should go back in time to the Chinese empire. ===

= **Travel Poster Components:** =

The travel poster should be attractive, persuasive, and highlight the major features of the Silk Road as they relate to each empire. You will create the poster using Glogster.edu (instructions will be provided in class) and it should contain the following components:

__**Travel Poster Components**__
 * 1) One Glogster.edu poster for the Silk Road
 * 2) At least six "must see" tourist destinations/features with detailed text and relevant images
 * 3) At least two audio recordings

//Note: For the Silk Road, "destinations/features" may be physical, intellectual, or religious.//

The **[|Poster Rubric]** will be used to evaluate your work; you should refer to it before handing in your final product. When you have completed the poster, embed it below the "Travel Poster" heading below:

Travel Poster
//embed your poster here by copying the embed code from Glogster and adding an HTML widget//

= **Oral Presentation Guidelines** = The presentation is your opportunity to explain why the Silk Road is an ideal tourist destination and should follow these guidelines:


 * 1) Less than 3 minutes in length
 * 2) Should address/explain the "must see" features of the Silk Road
 * 3) Should explain why the client should visit these features

This presentation is about speaking skills and the use of your poster. You will be permitted to use notecards but are NOT to simply read your notes to the audience. The **[|Presentation Rubric]** will be used to evaluate your work; you should refer to it before giving your final presentation.