what is the global importance of the silk road?

Question

Discuss it's global importance, as well as how patterns of economic exchange shifted and altered during (600-1450 CE)

Answer 1

The Silk Road or Silk Route was the ancient trade route linking China with the West. It carried silk and other goods between the great civilizations of Rome and China. The most global importance besides trade was probably the spread of ideas. Buddhism spread along the Silk Road. It originated in India and spread to China and other Asian lands. With the loss of Roman territory in the Middle East and the rise of Moslem power there the Silk Route became unsafe and less travelled. After 800 AD traffic decreased as traders began to travel by safer sea routes. This was especially true as the Ottoman Turkish Empire expanded to control the Middle East. During the 13th and 14th century the Mongols revived the Silk Road for a while.

Answer 2

http://www.ess.uci.edu/~oliver/silk.html