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Get Help Now!RE: Week Three Discussion 1 Topic 1 – Silk Roads
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The efforts lead by the Chinese to exchange silk for horses is what lead to the creation of the Silk Road, this is one of the first important links between Asia and Europe. There was significant trade along the 4,000 mile route referred to as the Silk road between the Roman and Chinese Empires, often changing hands several times before reaching its destination. Both of these narratives emphasize cultural, geographical, governmental and religious values. Maro Polos account was meant to motivate and encourage Europeans to explore unfamiliar areas of the world in search of riches obtained through trade and different cultures outside of Europe. Faxian’s account was centered around the teachings of Buddhism and learning more about the Buddhist disciplines that could help enrich the Buddhist communities of China.
Both Marco Polo and Sehi Fa-hsien, better know as “Faxian” were famous for their travels along the silk road. I believe their motives were similar in that they both wanted to gain information about culture and religion that they could document and bring back the teachings to their countries. They both describe the challenges they faced along their journey and the hardships they faced and overcome, however this is where the similarities end.
Faxian, a Chinese Monk along with Hwuy-king, Tao-ching, Hwuy-ying and Hwuy-wei began his journey along the silk road in an attempt to obtain better copies of the Buddhists books that would provide a greater discipline for the Buddhist community as they were not readily available in China while Marco Polo grew up in a family of mercantile, he learned about appraising, foreign currency trade and how to work cargo ships. Marco joined his father Niccolo and uncle Maffeo when he was 17 years old on a journey that would take them 24 years to complete. The accounts of their journey would prove to be an important source of knowledge of the different people, customs, cultures, religion, plants, animal and technologies that they encountered during their 24 year long journey.
References:
The Journey of Faxian to India (ca. 400 CE) https://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/faxian.html
Reilly, K. (2012). The human journey: a concise introduction to world history. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
The Journeys Of Marco Polo And Their Impact https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/journeys-marco-polo-and-their-impact
Marco Polo and his travels http://www.silk-road.com/artl/marcopolo.shtml
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20 hours ago
Neil Beveridge
RE: Week Three Discussion 1 Topic 2 – Abbasid Caliphate
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The Abbasid was a dynasty of rulers who came to power over the Islamic world after the removal of a previous dynasty called the Umayyad[1]. This change in dynasties led to an explosion of new Islamic art and architecture[2]. After the Abbasids had completed their defeat of the Umayyad, these new much more opulence-loving and wealthy victors proceeded to move to a new location called Baghdad. In Baghdad the Abbasids proceeded to usher in a new era of advancement in architecture, agriculture, trade, and knowledge rivaling that of its northern neighbors in Europe[3]. However, among their advancements, the one that was most evident was their architecture.
The Abbasid architecture seems to credit the historical evidence that suggests the massive degree of development that took place at this time. In Baghdad, with the new desire of the ruling Abbasids to have an opulent city, immense structures began to be built. Most notable seems to be the palace and its adjacent mosque which were both very large and lavish[4]. This palace and mosque complex incorporated many new architectural ideas and most likely reflected not only the grandeur of the new capital to its contemporaries, but also to those living now. Among those contemporaries was an Islamic observer called Yakut, who around 1000 A.D. wrote a piece which described the capital city. In his piece he speaks very highly and descriptively of the advancements that took place in Baghdad. I think that Yakut’s descriptive account, along with the historical data from architectural evidence point to a very powerful and wealthy city. I also think that Yakut’s account is decent firsthand account for historical data. It is a decent firsthand account because even though the Abbasid had begun its decline, much of the infrastructure and ways of life would have probably been happening as the decline had not yet reached proportions of cultural eradication experienced in 1258 A.D.
When it comes to gathering historical data about the Abbasid reign, historical researchers can look at the architecture or buildings and writings of the time. Although ruins of some of the Abbasid buildings still stand, many of them seem to be in a dilapidated condition, with seemingly large chunks of structure missing. Due to this loss of structure, historians would have to piece together, possibly on assumption, a real image of that ruin. This probable reliance on assumption is where limitations in historical conclusions may happen. In contrast, a strength of having these buildings standing is that data can be gathered from their walls, such as paintings or writings, giving us another form of possible accurate historical depiction. Along with buildings, the writings about that period also can give accurate historical depictions. If the writings are a primary source there would probably be firsthand depictions of life in them which are undoubtedly of use to historical research. Also, another strength would be that primary sources also may include dates and use names of influential people. However, there can be downsides to just using primary sources. As primary sources cannot not be entirely known to be true, they need to have supplemental evidence such as buildings or other writings, for good historical conclusions to occur. Also, we will never know if those persons “firsthand depictions” could be just a retelling of story from another person, which could potentially dilute its historical accuracy.
[1] “Islam From The Beginning To 1300.” The Abbasids, Zenith Of Islamic Civilization, 2002. http://history-world.org/islam9.htm.
[2] “Islam From The Beginning To 1300.” 2002. http://history-world.org/islam9.htm.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
Bibliography
“Islam From The Beginning To 1300.” The Abbasids, Zenith Of Islamic Civilization, 2002. http://history-world.org/islam9.htm.
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