by Boris Zubry
The eastern end of the Silk Road developed somewhat slower than the western end of it due to the turbulence created by the warring tribes and the states trying to gain a new foothold in the region or to protect the existing one. In China of the time, the “Warring States” period was brought to an end by the powerful Qin state, which unified China and formed, under the ruthless warlord Qin Shi Huangdi the Qin Dynasty. The harsh reforms forcefully introduced to bring the conflicting individual states together may seem too brutal now. Yet, they worked, and some say well. The unification of the language and culture and standardization of the administrative system had long-lasting positive effects. The forced reforms (some are still employed even now) had produced the desired results and often, above the expectation. The newly shaped country was booming rapidly, becoming an empire. The capital of the newly unified state was set up in Changan, which quickly developed into a large city, known presently as Xian. A new age of prospering (the level that had not been seen before) descended on China, and China was ready to protect it fiercely. The Chinese Wall was and still attesting to that. The wall was needed to protect the land from the uninvited, illegal, and often aggressive aliens that streamed in individually and in caravans. The physical barrier was the only logical answer. All those people wanted to take part in prosperity, and not too many sought to offer loyalty. Loyalty raised a big question. The wall was the only alternative left after diplomacy failed time and time again. These were not the refugees one would like to help, but the flag carrying invaders one would want to avoid.
The overpopulated and extremely aggressive Xiongnu tribe had frequently been invading the northern borders of China and especially, during the “Warring States” period. That was a long period of instability and endless tragedy. The simple peasants suffered from both sides almost equally being squeezed beyond the limit. Xiongnu existed to fight and fought to exist. They did not produce anything valuable and lived only at the expense of the others. The bloodshed did not amount to much and did not pay if the gain was on the other end of the spear. Xiongnu preferred rape, pillage, and murder to agriculture, art, and crafts. That was not in their blood. For them, war often was the favored state of affairs. So, they killed for profit, and they were ready to die if luck was on the other side. That happened too. The Mastery of Martial Arts was a better provider for them than the Mastery of Agriculture and the crafts for the others. The killing was a well-paying craft for them. Xiongnu came, saw, and conquered, and all the neighbors had either to accept it or to fight back and even more fiercely than the Xiongnu. Considering the opposition, that was not easy at all. Xiongnu was very good at fighting. And, history teaches us that Xiongnu won more often than lost. That was a tough period for the region and its people. Wars always brought famine and famine had brought sicknesses and epidemics. With the help of Xiongnu, society and civilization were not moving forward, but sideways at best.
The frequency of these attacks and the raw savagery of it were rapidly increasing, forcing the fragile Chinese government to find a more permanent solution to the defense issues. The more modern military and much better fortifications were needed, and fast. The northern states had been trying to counteract the attacks by building the defensive border walls that were more like single fortifications spread out over a long distance. Those walls had to hinder the overgrowing invaders and to warn of their approach well in advance. That often helped, and many attacks were diverted and even prevented. The Xiongnu preferred not to fight and often to go back if the greater force was on the other side. Now, due to the walls, it was possible to assemble and deploy where it was needed. The early warning system that incorporated many types of signals and human intelligence allowed to master a superior force to combat the invaders quickly and move it around. Under the Qin Dynasty, in an attempt to subdue the constantly warring Xiongnu tribe a drive to join the previously built sections of the protective wall was successfully initiated. The “Great Wall” of China, at the immense expense to the Chinese people, was born as the result of this campaign. When the Qin Dynasty collapsed in 206 B.C., after only 15 years of ruling, the unity of China was preserved by the Western Han Dynasty, which continued to build up the Wall. Wall held it all together. Possibly, that saved China as a country.
In the constant struggle for survival in Central Asia, many alliances were sought, forged, broken, fought out, and paid for. Friendships and betrayals were on everyday agenda of all tribes, ethnic groups, and nations. Huge territories were conquered, pillaged, liberated, and conquered again. The trickles of blood often became streams and even rivers. The entire tribes perished being killed, driven away or enslaved. Who could count them all if we often do not know who was there in the first place? All we have is a few pieces of the puzzle, and we don’t even know how that puzzle supposed to look like. The history was full of empty holes that did not offer any information or even a slight knowledge that could be used to build on. All we know for sure that death was visiting this region as often as the sandstorms and it was staying longer. And, regardless of the odds, life continued along the Silk Road, prospering. People were born there, grew up, did something that maybe even now is still there, and passed away, leaving the Silk Road to the next generation. It was the main artery linking India, Persia, and China, and feeding both ends. It lasted for thousands of years and was not about to roll over and die because of some new hardship. The road and the people of the road were strong and healthy, and they saw so much hardship before. The Silk Road, that’s where life pulsated reflecting developments in all countries and in every tribe along the way.
In the West, the mighty Greek Empire was taken over by even more powerful Roman Empire. That changed the requirements and the type of commodities influencing the trade under the new people. Metals, gold, precious and semi-precious stones, jade, onyx, bronze objects, rare wood, porcelain, ceramics, tea, spices, and fabrics were continually moving to the east and to the west. The artifacts, delicacies, exotic animals, slaves, traveling craftsmen, adventurers, and mercenaries regularly went in one direction or another. Oils, wine, carpets, glass, fur, leather, lacquer, iron, medicine, drugs, chemicals, smelling essences, ivory, out of the ordinary plants and the silk moved cautiously in all directions. And, soldiers jealously guarded its progress. Many of these goods were bartered for others along the way, and objects often changed hands several times. The trade moved along, and money was made.
Many objects were used as raw materials that were modified and altered, often adding value. The value in different forms frequently was added even before the caravan was on its way again. Traders knew their markets ready to meet the demands without wasting too much time and expenses. The business was bumming, and many people depended on its success. There were no records of Roman traders being seen in Changan, nor Chinese merchants in Rome. Still, their goods were appreciated and available in both places. Even if the people did not go that far, the goods did. The goods did not know borders. This obviously would have been in the interests of the Parthians and other middlemen making a living in trading and around the Silk Road taking as large a profit from the change of hands as they could. They risked, and they profited, and they risked more, and they profited more, but so many died. Violence and money often went together, as partners. This trade and the up keeping of the road were very demanding on the lives of people involved, many lives. Caravans from the entire known world slowly moved, step-by-step, toward the destination. If camels and horses could survive this road and this place, people could survive it too. Trade was an honorable profession. And, thousands went on pushing farther and farther, succeeding more often than not. Many lived to tell the tale, and some even wrote books. That was the history of the place that is still active even now.
It would be wrong to say that the Silk Road was just one nicely built and well-developed route. No, not at all. No single path ever existed. Different branches of the same road grew out, extended, branched, flourished and died over time to service all oasis realms of this vast region. If we co
uld look at the Silk Road at its peak and from the modern passing satellite, we would see it as a tree with dozens of branches stretching out to all different regions of Asia, and Europe. Then, there were the waterways that took it to Africa that was a popular destination as well. It always functioned as a living organism continually adjusting to the surrounding. The routes all started from the capital of China in Changan, headed up the Gansu corridor and reached Dunhuang on the edge of the Taklimakan. The northern route then passed through Yumen Guan (Jade Gate Pass) and crossed the neck of the Gobi Desert to Hami (Kumul) before following the Tian Shan Mountains in the northern fringes of the Taklimakan Desert. Then, it passed through the major oases of Turfan and Kuqa before arriving at Kashgar at the foot of Pamir. The southern route branched off at Dunhuang passing through the Yang Guan and skirting the southern edges of the desert via Miran, Hetian (Khotan), and Shache (Yarkand). Finally, it turned north, meeting the other branch at Kashgar. Limitless smaller routes were also used but to a lesser extent. One of them branched off from the southern road and headed through the Eastern end of the Taklimakan Desert to the city of Loulan before joining the Northern course at Korla. Kashgar became the new crossroads of Asia, and it remained as is for generations. From Kashgar, the paths again divided heading across the Pamir Mountains to Samarkand and Bukhara (present Uzbekistan) and to the South of the Caspian Sea over the Karakorum into India and Tibet. An additional route split from the Northern route after Kuqa and headed across the Tian Shan range to the shores of the Caspian Sea via Tashkent, Uzbekistan. This was the spider web of the roads commonly called “The Silk Road,” and many parts of it are still, even today, the main road arteries when traveling there. Even if some parts of the road and the branches of it were not there any longer, people’s mind was still the same. They were the people, the nation, of the Silk Road.
The Silk Road was developing so fast and so actively that it started to attract more traders, travelers, and bandits as a feeder full of bird seeds would attract the birds. Profits to be made were so huge that numerous adventurers, good with the sword and a bow, joined the ranks of the bandits and the guards often, at the same time. Bandits from Tibet, China, Persia, India and all smaller tribes and nations in the small and bulky bands hid along the road using the steep terrain as the cover, ambushing the weaker caravans. The traders were forced to add to the expense by establishing the private armies of mercenaries to defend the convoys. Soon, it became a must. China and the other states in the area had to build some fortifications staffed with soldiers and supplies within a day of the caravan travel to better protect the travelers. Many forts were later joint by the wall, and many are still seen even now.
Caravans could spend now night or a few days within the vicinity of the fort offering some safety. Soon, well-populated settlements began to mushroom around the forts. These settlements provided rest (“caravan-saray” – the resting place for caravans), needed services, medical assistance, supplies, water, food, comfort, slaves, and the trade. Goods could be sold, and goods could be purchased there, and at a reasonable price. Many traders quickly understood that there was no need to travel the entire length of the road. They could make less money, but much quicker, and with fewer risks. All they had to do was just to make the part of the journey, sell the goods, and head back for more. The other trader would take it farther down the road selling it along the way. Actually, goods now moved faster and with a smaller amount of losses. Traders were meeting each other at predetermined places and at a specific time. The business was brisk. Time was not wasted, and the expenses were saved. Profits increased, and the demand for everything stabilized and widened. Goods were ordered in advance improving chances of the sale. This was becoming a new trend in the business nurturing and feeding the road even better than before. The people of the Silk Road were quite receptive to the change, and it took to the new heights permanently changing the surrounding area and the inhabitants of Central Asia. The Silk Road, like a living organism, was dictating the trends.
After the strong-arm rule of the Western Han dynasty passed, the successive regimes slowly brought more states under Chinese control. Settlements along the Silk Road came and went changing the hands of the owners and the occupants or frequently losing importance due to a change in the routes or the demands on the goods and services. Some settlements disappeared because of violent attacks by the bandits, foreign armies, and sometimes the mercenaries on their own service. Unfortunately, that happened way too often not to leave the scars. The Chinese, situated on the edge of the Lop-nor-Lake, garrison town of Loulan, for example, was substantial up to the third century A.D. Then, it was abandoned when the Chinese lost control of the route for a considerable time. Many settlements were buried by the sands of the Taklimakan Desert during the times of abandonment and could not be repopulated without significant difficulties and cost even if the need aroused. These settlements always reflected the nature of the trade passing through the region and the services the community could provide. Silk, on its way to the West, often got no farther than this region of Central Asia. It was needed there as well. Demand for the goods offered by the Silk Road was so high in the whole of Asia that only the unsold leftovers could make its way to the West. West wanted more of almost everything, but West had to earn the position of respect and the power with the East. West had to learn yet how to trade with the East, and that required some skills. Also, the West could not offer too many goods desired by the East, and trade was hanging in misbalance. West needed more time to become interesting for the East as the full trade partner. Back then, West was more a destination for sale and much less for the purchase. The dark ages left a deep impression on everything in Europe, including craft and art development. It took time, but things started to turn around in thirteen and fourteen centuries.
The most significant commodity carried and distributed along this route was not silk, but religion. Buddhism came to China from India this way, along with the northern branch of the Silk Road. The first influence of Buddhism came together with an exploration of passes over the Karakorum. The Eastern Han Emperor Mingdi had sent a trusted representative to India to discover more about this strange faith spreading out in his empire with such a speed. The later missions returned from India bearing scriptures and the priests. This opened the gates for the new religion and culture associated with it, little, if at all, known in this region or many others before. It was something very new but getting definitely interesting. Buddhist art, crafts, customs, and people started to move freely throughout Eastern and Central Asia, spreading the philosophy farther and farther. Many became attracted to it and relatively fast. Religious grottoes were explored and then, slowly replaced by scores of monasteries with monks developing and promoting the new culture. It was not just a new wave, new ideas, but a new well-developed culture. Due to gentleness, patience, and non-invasive manner, this religion conquered people of this citizenry thoroughly and in the shortest time. Peace, kindness, and patience were a great alternative to danger, harm, and wars. Buddhism gave the roots there and then and still is almost as strong as it was thousands of years ago. This phenomenon influences nearly all, if not all, aspects of life in Eastern and Central Asia, short of Islam influenced regions.
The Judaism arrived in full force only in the seventh century A.D. after being pushed out from the Middle East by very aggressive Islam. Yet, some believe, and archeology demonstrates that Judaism was there already and for hundreds of years. The first hundred years after being born, Islam had marked by the streams of blood of innocents resisting to forced conversion. Yes, the quick expansion of Islam was attributed to forced conversion almost everywhere. People did not want to accept it willingly, and that should tell us something about the peaceful religion. More blood of millions upon millions was spilled over the years in the name of God Allah and his prophet Mohamad than in the name of any other God. It seems that Allah and Mohamad were so thirsty for blood that they wanted it all at once. Patience was not a virtue when it came to
the religion of Islam and especially, conversion. Even the Christians in all their zealotry to the conversion of non-Christians from other faiths to the one they believed in, could not get close in the body count. And Christians tried. They tried so hard that even killing of their own people by inquisition was justified as the saintly deed. The saintly deed? Still, Muslims took the price time and time again. The number of lives of the innocents killed in the religion-fueled atrocities is uncountable, and Muslims lead the way. They killed and killed and killed, and they still are.
Arabs, Tatars, Mongols, Moors, Turks – almost fifteen hundred years of the continuous merciless rape, pillage, slavery, and murder. Victimization of the Europeans, Africans and the Asians throughout the three continents left so many unhealing scars that the world may never recover. The entire regions were converted to Islam and raped to the point of extinguishing all local racial characteristics. The entire cultures were wiped out and replaced by a form of Islam. It was too painful even to count and to count what. The side effects of cancer called Islam are still affecting our societies in the form of terrorism, sheer aggressiveness, refusal of education, and a very little desire for peaceful coexistence with the rest of the world. Just look around. Islam proved to be not a friend to anyone and most of all to itself. The war of the worlds started in the sixth century is still going on, as before, and is never over.